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Inconsistent alcohol content readings

3K views 5 replies 3 participants last post by  alarmist 
#1 ·
I own a 10 passenger Transit 150 (3.7L V6) with ~29,000 miles. A couple of weeks ago I filled the tank with e85 for the first time. The next morning, the van wouldn't start. The techs at the Ford dealer reset the computer and returned it. The next time I drove it the check engine light came on. Tech said it was the same issue and again reset. The service wasn't going to be covered under warranty because they said it was a result of operator error. They claimed I should not be mixing fuels; only put e85 in if the tank is less than a quarter full. I wasn't mixing fuels and provided them with a receipt showing that I filled the tank two days prior with 22 gallons of e85 (25 gallon tank.) They relented and said they would submit it to be covered under warranty.

For a couple of days the van did fine. The only thing I noticed was that it would run rough for the first 2 seconds, then even out. Then it wouldn't start again and I had to have it returned to the shop. They've now had it for four days and have been unable to resolve the issue. The van is inconsistently reading the alcohol content of the fuel and as a result isn't calibrated correctly and won't start. Tech said every time they get a reading from it it's different and has swung from 27 up to 60. They've replaced the mass air flow sensor and checked and confirmed other sensors. They don't seem to know where to go from here. They simply said they'll have to think outside the box.

Any ideas what this could be? How much time will the techs at this Ford dealer tinker with it before escalating it - and what does escalation look like? This is my family vehicle and we're immobile until I get it back.

Very frustrating. Thanks for any help!
 
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#2 · (Edited)
Hooo boy!! Funny you should bring this up...


Read through this hot tamale of a thread....

http://www.fordtransitusaforum.com/ford-transit-general-discussion/39066-clear-gasoline.html

THEN AGAIN maybe not, too much chaff to get through. This paragraph by me towards the end summarizes the main point...


Anyway, as mentioned before, reading the manual is what triggered looking into the subject of 'clear gasoline'. (Note the manual cautions going beyond e15) What the manual doesn't tell you you might discover on the web. Refineries are not the one to add ethanol to their refined products. Ethanol is added at the distributor level. Distributors are incentivized by tax law. Tax laws that exist thanks to the corn lobby. Distributors beneath other distributors because of the same tax incentives, driven by profit motive, may add more ethanol to the ethanol laced gasoline they receive. No one enforces, no one grades what level of ethanol is sold at the pump. The claim is made that at any given time you could be receiving gasohol that even exceeds e20.
 
#3 ·
This was the only time I've used e85 and I never intend to use it again. I read the manual which clearly states that my FlexFuel vehicle is designed to use e85. So, the merits of e85 notwithstanding, the van has malfunctioned and I'm trying to figure out how so that I can get it back on the road.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Apart from the possibility the fuel you think you used exceeded E85, suppose you add more non-alcohol fuel to lower the alcohol percentage of what is in your tank?

* - I see now I'm still wallowing in ignorance. Just now read up on E85 - Holy crap! E85 means 85% alcohol and only 15% gasoline.
 
#5 ·
The tech analyzed the fuel in the tank and said it was around 65 (I think, I can't remember exactly.) That would mesh with what I've read that during the winter months distributors lower the alcohol content some to reduce cold-start issues.

I've asked them to just drain what's in the tank and replace it with pure gasoline. We'll see where that gets us.
 
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