Electrical issues

EricBitt

New Member
Jan 4, 2023
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Phoenix
Hi guys, glad to join this forum. So I purchased my 2017 Ford Mustang GT MT brand new. Unfortunately with around 500 miles on the odometer it was rear ended at a red light. It was fixed but ever since then (or maybe always, since it was basically brand new), I've had some strange electrical issues. It's probably happened 10-20 times since I've owned the car and it has a couple of different symptoms.

Basically I'll try to start it and it doesn't even attempt to start and throws a code that there is a steering assist fault. I have disconnected the battery and had it start right up afterwards. But I normally don't do that because it clears the codes and the dealership won't do anything without a code (they don't do anything anyway, it's why I'm here).

At the same time, or maybe preceding the above issue, my lights go haywire. It's usually my headlights that just turn on. They usually go off if I lock my car, but not always. But they will go back on eventually, even if the headlights are off and not on automatic. Occasionally headlights, brake lights, and reverse lights go haywire and start turning on and flickering. This will eventually kill the battery. Most of the time it will jump, sometimes it won't start even after a jump.

I've read of people having similar issues related to the battery not properly grounded or water leaking in through the front passenger fender affecting some cpu. But the dealer has investigated and said there's no issue (I haven't sanded down the ground on passenger strut tower nor investigated that specific cpu, but I probably will).

So... Any advice on what to troubleshoot or a scanner capable of picking up some related codes? I'm close to reaching out to a lawyer regarding lemon laws, but honestly I don't want to buy a new car in this market. I just want my car to work. Thanks for reading my sad story.
 
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This is the best one. You'll need to buy an adapter bit they are pretty cheap. It will allow you to see all the modules and do some programming if you want. My 18 was programmed with forscan to completely cut off the headlights when idling with headlights off. Door open feature was also turned off. There's a lot it can do but I didn't own it and didn't program myself.

It sounds like the body control module is internally damaged or getting a bad signal from somewhere.