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Have you had your Water in fuel light on ?

24K views 11 replies 8 participants last post by  TDW 
#1 ·
Just Curious to see how many trucks are getting the water in fuel light to come on. The 11B23 flash will change when the light comes on and also put the truck in limp mode when it does come on. If you have a 6.4L make sure that the lower filter assembly on the driverside frame rail is not stopped up with a bunch of build up . Ford is pulling the side cover off the assembly where the actual water would be in the separtor and stating that due to the corrosion inside that area that water has had to be in it at one time or another and Voiding the warranty repair .
 
#3 ·
You can read THIS ARTICLE to understand better what the common problem is. Not all truck owners will see this issue as fuel can vary as well as vehicle use can vary. As Senix stated regular draining of the water separator will help prevent this.

The best advice I can give you is to drain your water separator into a clean, clear container so that you can see if you have any water in fuel or contamination issues. I see many many interesting things in my customers' fuel. :crazy:
 
#4 ·
Water in fuel light problem

So in your opinion if you have a 08 that has had Good service records oil and fuel filters always motorcraft. Water in fuel separator drained on a regular basis and never had a water in fuel light on in the truck and you were told that you had water in your fuel and that you need a new Fuel system who should pay it? Ford or just lay down and take it from ford?? I took a fuel sample and sent it off to a lab and they so there is no water in the fuel. Trucks been at dealer 4 months now. No rental .
 
#5 ·
You can usually file a claim with the fuel station as well as with your insurance.

Sent from my EVO using AutoGuide app.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Ford is pulling the side cover off the assembly where the actual water would be in the separtor and stating that due to the corrosion inside that area that water has had to be in it at one time or another and Voiding the warranty repair .
No. Ford pulls the cover off the HP(injection) fuel pump not the lift pump to check for water damage. Water is EXPECTED in the water seperator. If your dealer is trying to void your warranty for water in the seperator they need to be better informed. So what does the HP pump look like inside? It doesnt matter what is in your fuel at this point. It is what has run through the HP pump.
 
#7 ·
Water in fuel light problem

The funny thing about that is that they have had my truck all this time and have not done nothing more than pulling filters to make sure they are not stamped FF and pulled lower filter assembly to show me the lower part of the assembly where the water trap is to show me the corrosion . I also know now that they changed the filter set to a new number and added a new o-ring to the new fuel filters for these trucks. Seems like ford has a issue with the separator in general to me . Some people are having the water in fuel lights coming on constantly due to the poor design of the sensor and housing and some are Never having the light come on at all.
 
#9 ·
FWIW, I've never had the WIF light come on and I've never had even a drop of water in the fuel when draining the separator. And I've fueled up in some pretty out of the way places.
 
#12 ·
I posted this in another thread. It is relevant to this discussion:

Water is present in diesel fuel at the refineries and is removed by chemical processes and coalescing filters. ULS diesel has compounded the problem.

Here is a quote from one source on the issue:
"Ultralow sulfur diesel fuel will be mandated for use in
on and off road vehicles in 2007. When low sulfur
diesel was introduced in Europe and California for onhighway
vehicles there was widespread damage to
injection systems, including, excessive wear and
failure. New media was needed with increased filter
efficiency, water removal and life to meet the demands
of the new fuel.
The addition of biodiesel to the fuel can cause
additional water separation and wear problems.
Dissolved water is more prevalent in biodiesel and the
presence of water can cause reversion of biodiesel to
fatty acid increasing filter plugging. Biodiesel fuel has
higher acid numbers than traditional petroleum based
diesel. The acid number for biodiesel measures free
fatty acids or degradation by-products not found in
petrodiesel. Increased recycle temperatures in new fuel
system designs may accelerate fuel degradation which
could result in high acid values and increased filter
plugging potential."

There are two classes of the problem 1) A large amount of water that gets put into a fuel tank from a tank at a service station and 2) micro droplets that are in the fuel at every fuel station (delivered that way from the refinery). The best way micro droplets of water can be removed from diesel fuel is with a coalescer filter. The Ford horizontal filter under the driver side of the truck is a paper element so it is not a true coalescer filter. The filters work by stopping small drops on the filter element and having them collide with additional drops combining them into larger drops, where they eventually get large enough to drop to the bottom of the filter. So if you get a couple gallons of water pumped into your tank from a service station and a large charge of that makes it to your Ford filter, it is going to go right through because that is not these filters work. Suspended water shows up as a haze in the fuel - you cannot actually see drops.

The only "improved solution" I could find is add an additional coalescer filter ahead of the Ford filter, preferably something better than the Ford filter. Water separator filters are made by Racor, Fleetguard, and a number of others. Particle size must be selected as part of the selection criteria.

By the way, some have experienced a wax buildup in their filters which eventually blocks the filter. Here is an excerpt from BP on what causes the wax.

WAX
Under cold conditions wax can be seen as a light yellow suspension in the fuel. When the fuel is cooled below the temperature at which the wax comes out of solution (cloud point) it can block filters by forming a yellow waxy deposit. This is a result of using the incorrect fuel for the season or region, eg. using summer grade ADF in winter or bringing an ADF from warmer areas to a colder area during winter. To help prevent waxing problems you should always ensure that all fuel is changed over to fresh fuel There is a lead time in the distribution of the fuel to ensure that all fuel available is winter grade for the cold period.
 
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