The contact owned a 1997 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked at the residence, the contact noticed smoke coming from the driver's side from the bottom of the front tire. The vehicle then caught on fire. The fire department came to extinguish the fire. A fire report was filed. The cause of the fire was an electrical engine component. There were no injuries and no medical attention needed. The vehicle remained at the residence and was not repaired. The vehicle was deemed a total loss. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 200,000.
1997 Ford F-150 electrical problems
198 complaints (7% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 115,000. 1 crash reported.
- owner complaints
- 198
- of this car's complaints
- 7%
- typical mileage
- 115,000
- crashes
- 1
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Wiring: front underhood40
- Wiring26
- Ignition13
- Wiring: interior/under dash12
- Wiring: fuses and circuit breakers9
- 12v/24v/48v battery7
- Starter assembly5
- Ignition: switch4
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Ford F-150 electrical problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 1997 Ford F-150 electrical
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Related investigations
Engine compartment fires
Ea05-005 is closed with ford?s actions in recalls 05v‑017, 05v‑388, and 06v‑286, recalling approximately 6.7 million vehicles equipped with texas instruments speed control deactivation switches (scds).the brake systems in these recalled vehicles generate a vacuum that can potentially cause the scds to fail and, in certain switch installation orientations, catch fire.ford is also including the entire population of 1998 explorers.ford has informed odi that testing to determine the cause of failures in the 1998 explorers will continue after this investigation is closed.odi believes that the vehicles exhibiting the factors causing scds failure described in this report correlate well with the observed failure rates on these vehicles by model and model year.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by the federal safety agency that a safety-related defect does not exist in the non-recalled vehicles manufactured with scds that are not included in ford?s recalls.odi will continue to monitor the non-recalled population for incidence of engine compartment fires.the agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.see attached closing report for details.
EA05005
What 1997 Ford F-150 owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
My interior and back exterior lights come on and go off randomly sometimes while driving on the roads. The light in the back above the truck bed is bothersome because it could cause attention of another driver causing a accident. My mother also has a ford f150 that does the same, however her truck isn't the same year.
December 3, 2020...my husband drove the truck over to a friends house. After being there for approximately 2 hours his friend walked in the building where he was and said, 'hey man, your truck is on fire!' everyone rushed outside to see the truck was in fact on fire. They called the fire department who came and finished extinguishing the fire. It appears the fire started on the drivers side near the tire, or behind the dash. I did not even think to check for a recall, but a friend told me to check because he was aware there was a recall. Sure enough, there is a recall and it describes what happened to my truck exactly. The federal safety agency recall number: 05v017000 date: jan 27, 2005 ford recall number: 05528
Tl* the contact owns a 1997 ford f-150. The contact stated that while driving at 68 MPH, the cruise control and windshield wiper blades stop operating, along with the driver side window inadvertently opening. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the computer that controls the cab needed replacement. The vehicle was repaired. The failures persisted and the vehicle was taken to another dealer where the contact was informed that the new computer was not operable and was told that the computer was on back order. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 189,000.
My truck was turned off in my driveway for about an hour and it caught on fire under the hood. A neighbor came to tell us and the fire department had to come put out the fire.
Driving at normal speed (45 MPH), no abnormal noises or vibrations present. Loud bang noise came from within engine bay, and truck began to sputter and stumble very badly. Check engine light came on and preceded to flash, put truck into neutral and rolled to the side of the road where truck was shut off. Excessive fuel was found on top of the engine at the third cylinder from the front on the passenger side (4.6l v8 engine). Spark plug was separated from the wire and lying on top of engine. Spark plug boot was melted and smoking suggesting it was previously burning. Spark plug was %100 covered by burnt sooty material.
The truck was parked for at least 6 hours and our neighbors come knocking on our door because our truck was on fire under the hood. It melted up everything under the hood. We got the fire out and the fire department came and made a report. The fire started on the driver side under the hood.
My grandson and I went into walmart and came out of the store. Walking across the parking lot and seen my 1997 ford f150 pickup on fire. Complete strangers came from all over the parking lot and started throwing snow on it from a pile 50 ft away. A town cop showed up and sprayed a fire extinguisher on it the the fire company showed up and put it out the rest of the way. No one was hurt. But mechanics are saying that it looks like a break switch that caused the fire.
Tl* the contact owns a 1997 ford f150. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 35 MPH the air bag warning light illuminated. Within a couple of weeks the cruise control was not operating while driving at approximately 65 MPH. The dealer was contact who stated that the vehicle was not under a recall. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who was unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000 and the current mileage was 122,000. Updated 12/5/12 *cn the manufacturer was contacted but, did not offer any assistance.
I was driving home from town when all the ball bearings fell out of the steering column and the steering wheel became loose and the truck began to sway from right to left, it was controllable at the low speed I was going but thank god I wasn't on an interstate or highway at a higher speed I could have run off the road or worse had a head on collision ! The truck has not left my property since but I still have to keep full coverage insurance and tagged for insurance purposes and a lien from my bank on it,I have also replaced the starter on it eight (8) times the parts are very cheap but it has an airbag and my local ford dealer gave me an estimate of 200.00 two hundred dollars to replace two six and seven dollar bearings. When the incident happened I had no idea what happened since the ball bearings are very tiny and are hard to see and it took a long time to figure out what happened my truck just sits there all this time because im afraid of someone getting hurt seriously or killed because im afraid of losing control on the steering. I have been driving since I was sixteen and was a big truck driver from 1979 to 1996 till I became ill but I would never drive a vehicle with steering problems, thank you
Questions about the 1997 Ford F-150 electrical
Does the 1997 Ford F-150 have electrical problems?
Owners have filed 198 complaints about the electrical of the 1997 Ford F-150, 7% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 1997 Ford F-150 electrical problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 115,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 1997 Ford F-150 electrical?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the Ford F-150 have the most electrical problems?
The Ford F-150 model years with the most electrical complaints are 2013 (324 complaints), 2011 (235 complaints) and 1997 (198 complaints).
Other 1997 Ford F-150 problems
Engine 544Tires 303Fuel system 246Brakes 231Body 224Acceleration 221Suspension 203Steering 202Transmission 150Visibility 148Wheels 112Airbags 99Lights 56Seat belts 38Locks 14Seats 7Driver assistance 2
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