So, a couple days ago, the Flex just up and stalled out before I got far from the house. Ominous. It just started right back up when I turned the key, though.
Later on (weeks?, days?) the backup camera image was almost completely corrupted and you could barely see it. Assumed it had enough of the below zero C weather and gave up.
A week later, went to drive the car with 16 miles left on the tank to the gas station in sub-zero. Turned over, wouldn't catch.
The next day, dumped 5 gallons in it, didn't change anything. At this point, I strongly suspect the Fuel Pump Relay since that piece of junk has already been replaced and this "everything works and throws no visible codes" song and dance seemed very familiar. Borrowed a code scanner that fortunately spoke Ford (since the standard OBD-II scan returned nothing) and got P025B.
Now, the internet says if you get P025B, this is not a helpful code, since just about anything electrical connected to the fuel system could be the problem. But, of course, we know that the Fuel Pump Relay is an annoying little POS, so that's what I went to the store to get. I had a Dorman part in there, so that meant I had to find something else, and the only thing available in town that was different was Standard brand.
Before I replaced the part, I tried to start it up. The Dorman relay must have detected that I was about to solve the problem and allowed it to start. I put it in reverse to move it around a bit and notice the camera was still busted. By this time I am not fooled and I'm willing to bet the $60 on it: I replace the part. I clear the codes, start it up, drive it around the block and park it.
I put it in reverse to get closer to the curb, and lo and behold the rear camera is clear as it had always been (which is to say, early-2000s potato quality). Later on, when I went to take the car back home and it was below freezing, the camera was still operating properly. I took it home on the interstate for over an hour and everything was fine.
This is the narrative I have created from this story: The Dorman relay decided to marginally fail in such a way that it screwed up the entire electrical system and/or CAN bus and this extended in some way to the camera's signal.
If you ever get P025B and it's been a while since the Fuel Pump Relay has been replaced, changing out that part again can be a cheap way to avoid a tow and the mechanic giving you the "I dunno" and replacing something amazingly expensive like the Fuel Pump Controller. I found this guy doing some testing I doubt many shops would have the expertise to do which gave me the confidence that it was probably this dumb relay... again.
Later on (weeks?, days?) the backup camera image was almost completely corrupted and you could barely see it. Assumed it had enough of the below zero C weather and gave up.
A week later, went to drive the car with 16 miles left on the tank to the gas station in sub-zero. Turned over, wouldn't catch.
The next day, dumped 5 gallons in it, didn't change anything. At this point, I strongly suspect the Fuel Pump Relay since that piece of junk has already been replaced and this "everything works and throws no visible codes" song and dance seemed very familiar. Borrowed a code scanner that fortunately spoke Ford (since the standard OBD-II scan returned nothing) and got P025B.
Now, the internet says if you get P025B, this is not a helpful code, since just about anything electrical connected to the fuel system could be the problem. But, of course, we know that the Fuel Pump Relay is an annoying little POS, so that's what I went to the store to get. I had a Dorman part in there, so that meant I had to find something else, and the only thing available in town that was different was Standard brand.
Before I replaced the part, I tried to start it up. The Dorman relay must have detected that I was about to solve the problem and allowed it to start. I put it in reverse to move it around a bit and notice the camera was still busted. By this time I am not fooled and I'm willing to bet the $60 on it: I replace the part. I clear the codes, start it up, drive it around the block and park it.
I put it in reverse to get closer to the curb, and lo and behold the rear camera is clear as it had always been (which is to say, early-2000s potato quality). Later on, when I went to take the car back home and it was below freezing, the camera was still operating properly. I took it home on the interstate for over an hour and everything was fine.
This is the narrative I have created from this story: The Dorman relay decided to marginally fail in such a way that it screwed up the entire electrical system and/or CAN bus and this extended in some way to the camera's signal.
If you ever get P025B and it's been a while since the Fuel Pump Relay has been replaced, changing out that part again can be a cheap way to avoid a tow and the mechanic giving you the "I dunno" and replacing something amazingly expensive like the Fuel Pump Controller. I found this guy doing some testing I doubt many shops would have the expertise to do which gave me the confidence that it was probably this dumb relay... again.