on CNN they broke into the earthquake coverage to talk about Ford full size cars and pickups built from 93-03 catching fire because of a brake pressure switch that screws into the master cylinder that tells the cruise contol computer when you hit the brake pedal. they wired it so it's always hot- even when the key is off- and the rubber diaphragm can rupture, causing the master cylinder to go up in smoke and take the vehicle and the garage it happens to be parked in with it.
really, watching Wolf Blitzer try not to break into spontaneous laughter when he was reading this was priceless..
i guess i've never tried to burn brake fluid before, but maybe it only works in Ford vehicles?
on a side note, they have done several recallls, but if you missed the recall, you can take it to a dealer and they will unhook the switch and disable your cruise control for ONLY $100...
they said there have been ove 60 MILLION cars and trucks built with this part- and only about 1.5 million have been fixed under recall..
so, i have to wonder- why couldn'tthey just wire it into the BRAKE SWITCH hooked up to the pedal under the dash- away from any flammable fluids- like they used to do and like everyone else has always done? are Ford engineers retarded?

Brake fluid contains alcohol. Windshield washer fluid contains alcohol and is now classified as flammable (even though its 80% water). Cow flatulance contains methane.

Maybe one of these caused the explosion aboard TWA flight 800?? :confused:

yes so is antifreeze

It sure is when you try to cut a full brake line with a torch….

:eek:

Brake fluid is a glycol ether blend. The fluid itself is non-flammable (flashpoint greater than 210 deg. F), but the vapors may be flammable when exposed to spark, heat, or flames.

Not that anybody cared, but I had an MSDS here and was just putting all that OSHA training to use.

The defective brake fluid switch is a common know problem with some fords, most times it doesnt start a fire it just causes the fuse to blow. The fuse happens to also feed power to the shift interlock solinoid so that when it does blow not only does your cruise control not work, you also cannt shift from park so your stuck. I also beleave ford has two seperate recalls on cruise control devices, one is for the master cyl brake switch, the other is for a cruise control activation switch that also can start a fire (this I beleave is on the taraus models plus some models of SUV's) I beleave this recall is the more hazerdous one that has caused more fires then the brake fluid switch.

Follow up to JoeKool's post

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/06/16/ford.vehicles/index.html