Engine Failsafe Mode

Engine Failsafe Mode

Let me start of by saying my car is completely stock*, I have not modded my engine or anything else on the car, I also have not installed or flashed a tune, again for clarifications my car is STOCK,

Okay I did a search on the “Engine Failsafe Mode” on MSN, Google, and Yahoo not much came up, I did a search on allfordmustangs.com and stangnet.com nothing of much relevance came up, Others mustang owners that got this message have a tune on there car again I don’t.

So my brother was driving the car and he got this message, the car switched to lower power and I guess didn’t shift properly (automatic) this is of course for engine safety reasons, he took it to the dealership directly they are looking at it hope they can figure out the problem.

By the way the user manual has no explanation of what might have caused a problem,

Anyways my question is what caused this has anyone else experienced it?

Is the Engine Failsafe Mode equivalent to Check Engine light or does the car have both?

*(few cosmetic mods this is irrelevant but that just to make everything clear)

I found a couple of posts from a f150 forum and a few others some are not a mustangs, guess its similar system

Frank S @ f150online.com/forums said:

Theengine should only go into failsafe mode after coolant loss. Looks like a trip to dealerland is in order.

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vocabulaic @ f150online.com/forums said:

Sounds like you're having cooling problems, as the failsafe mode shoudl only initialize when your engine is overheating. If your engine is still running great, I would think there's a short somewhere in electrical that is causing it to think it's in that mode when it really isn't.

Definitely get it to a mechanic/dealer.

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http://www.f150online.com/forums/showthread.php?t=138647

Zalec @ tunercarz.com said:

problem solved. its bein fixed tomarrow. the TB sensor went bad ands screwing up the ECU. they are giving us a new TB and sensor.

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http://www.tunercarz.com/driverforum/showthread.php?t=2943

here are soeme Mustang related qoutes, the above quotes are for ford cars but not mustangs

Vegasjay @ forums.bradbarnett.net said:

It could be a coil-pack....I had mine go into failsafe mode when I first got it (before any mod's), and it was a bad coil-pack per the TSB. They put a new one on, good to go. thumb.gif Hope they find your problem for you.

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http://forums.bradbarnett.net/index.php?showtopic=21615

Albeeno @ fenway.net said:

Less than 10K miles on it and it's already IN THE SHOP!

After going in to "engine failsafe mode" and creeping along at a whopping 30 MPH I immediately took it to Framingham Ford. They hooked it up to the computer and apparenty it needs a new throttle body! What the **** is this all about dunney? I need your expertise here! I'm dropping it off tonight, hopefully I'll have it by Wednesday. That is if the roads are decent and I can actually drive the God damn thing...piece of ****.... Crying or Very sad.

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http://fenway.net/board/viewtopic.php?p=16277&sid=fa8fc31fd9bea0cfdf52e948a5f7fe0e

Useless post about this,
http://www.mustangworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=374740


Fail-Safe Cooling

A fail-safe cooling system lets Mustang be driven under limited power for short distances if engine coolant is lost, eliminating the cost and inconvenience of towing. If the coolant level sensor reads below a critical level, the engine computer module switches the engine to an emergency limp-home mode, in which only half the cylinders get fuel. With only half the cylinders firing, the engine operates at lower power and generates much less heat. The cylinders alternate between even- and odd-firing pistons in this mode. The engine can move the vehicle at moderate speeds (up to about 50 mph).
http://www.carseverything.com/action/printarticle/1521/

As expected the dealership couldn’t find a problem with the car, I hope it doesn’t occur again,, I hate it when I have to take my car to the dealership.
They said they hooked it up to the diagnostic computer, but no faults or errors showed up,