Brand: Is something in the air triggering Ford's warning light? - Minneapolis Star Tribune
Q: Several times when I’ve been driving my 2004 Ford Taurus I’ve been zapped at a highway patrol scanner point. The next time I started the car the message did not come back on. Does the scanner cause this error code. Seriously, I can’t imagine that police radar, laser or any other type of speed measuring system could interfere with the electronics on a modern vehicle. Every time I keyed the microphone on the two-way radio we used at Skip Barber racing schools, my ’77 Cadillac Seville would stall. Took a few times to realize what was happening, but then I used it to win a bet that I could shut off my car using only mental telepathy — my co-workers didn’t realize I was keying the radio behind my back. That was 35-plus years ago and the electronic technology incorporated into today’s vehicles is exponentially more sophisticated so I really don’t think radar or laser is the issue. Perhaps you suddenly jump off the throttle and stab the brakes, causing a sudden, unexpected torque converter clutch release and downshift. This might identify what happened, but of course, not why it happened. A: I’ve had several responses identifying the potential “gas/brake” scenario for causing the sudden loss of power when beginning to accelerate. For those of us who have used our left foot for braking, an overlap between brake release and throttle application may well be creating this characteristic. Source: www.startribune.com
