NHTSA Complaint #10116586 — 1996 FORD BRONCO

CRUISE CONTROL AND BRAKE LIGHTS QUIT WORKING. REPLACED FUSE AND IT BLEW AND STILL NO BRAKE LIGHTS OR CRUISE. THE PROBLEM IS THE BRAKE PRESSURE SWITCH THAT CONTROLS THE CRUISE GOES BAD AND CAUSES FUSE TO BLOW AND CRUISE DOES NOT WORK AND BRAKE LIGHTS WILL NOT WORK. AFTER FINDING THE PROBLEM I REPLACED THE SWITCH WITH A NEW ONE FROM MOSES FORD. WITHIN TWO WEEKS FUSE BLOWN AGAIN AND SWITCH WAS BAD AGAIN. WHEN SWITCH GOES BAD IT ALLOWS BRAKE FLUID THROUGH SWITCH AND ONTO THE WIRING LEACHING UP HARNESS AND TO A LARGER HARNESS AND THE FLUID CAUSED A SHORT WHICH MELTED HARNESS. I FORTUNATELY SAW IT HAD MELTED AND HAVE LEFT HARNESS UNPLUGGED SINCE. NOW BECAUSE OF THE TWO DEFECTIVE SWITCHES IT RUINED CRUISE SERVO AND HARNESS. I WAS TOTALLY UNAWARE OF BRAKE LIGHTS BEING OUT UNTIL MY WIFE FOLLOWED ME HOME ONE NIGHT I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST CRUISE PROBLEM. FAILURE IS NOT CORRECTED AS THE DESIGN OF THE SWITCH IS POOR AND EACH ONE RESULTS IN SAME PROBLEM AND NOW MELTED HARNESS NEEDS REPLACED, WHICH ENTAILS REPLACING THE ENTIRE UNDERHOOD WIRING HARNESS AT A COST OF $400 PLUS LABOR. THERE IS A RECALL PENDING ON F150 FROM 1995-1999 BUT BRONCO IS NOT LISTED WHEN IN FACT THE BRONCO USES THE SAME HARNESS AND SWITCH AS THE F150. SAW THE ARTICLE ONLINE HEREHTTP://ABCNEWS.GO.COM/BUSINESS/WIRESTORY?ID=608161*AK