Bronco Sport Badlands dies crossing 20" of Water

[Dude]

I think the PCM is incorrectly positioned there. If there's plenty of room in the engine compartment, why not put it there?

At least one owner posted pics and description of how they moved it to the engine compartment

Sponsored

 

[TheX]

Aside from one guy in the Facebook group who was pissed that when he got stuck in a river and opened his door, water flooded in and he fried some interior wiring lmao. So don’t do that.

Common sense isn't, common.

 

[Trist0n]

Common sense isn't, common.

Turns out the door seals work pretty good as long as you don’t open them, who woulda thunk it

 

[Trist0n]

I think the PCM is incorrectly positioned there. If there's plenty of room in the engine compartment, why not put it there?

A Maverick owner moved theirs up in this thread, so it’s possible. Kinda same deal with a lot of comments about how it COULD be a problem but nobody actually experiencing said problem. I’ll choose to believe the engineers aren’t completely braindead and didn’t consider it an issue. Personally I’m not gonna bother, I have my auxiliary relays tucked nicely up in the fender so there’s not a nice spot to put them.

If all else fails, a new PCM is plentiful on eBay for ~100$ and forscan programming is easy

 

[Bluebaru]

I’ve tried to find published test reports but no luck there - Ford only states the Bronco Sport can ford water up to 23.6” at “fairly low speeds” (no spec I can find on what is low speed)

This is all I’ve been able to come up with but I haven’t independently verified any of these numbers:

Off-Roading Specs:
Water Fording 23.6": Warning: at 17” of water the ECU mounted just forward of driver side front tire is 100% under water. ECU is a “sealed” module but is unknown how long the ECU can be submerged in water before damage occurs.
Ground Clearance 8.6" (8.8” Badlands (FE) 235/65/R17, 8.6” Badlands (FE) 225/65/R17, 7.9” Outerbanks, 7.8” Base/Big Bend.
Note: Badlands/FE have 0.5” higher suspension, Badlands with 235/65/R17 are 0.5” taller than 225/65R17 for a total 1” higher.

There is/was a published number for this, somewhere, but I don't remember exactly what it was or where but, to the best of my memory, the speed was not more than 6 mph and possibly as low as 3 mph.

For those with minimal or no experience, in crossing water, at border line levels, it is best to maintain a speed which allows for a little bow wave (maybe ~2-3"), when reaching the exit point, as this does two positive things for you; it keeps the water level a little lower, at our ECU, as the front of the car pushes the water out of the way and it also allows for a minimal splash back/wave off the opposite bank. You really don't want a steady wave coming over your bumper.

With a 2" lift, on my Badlands, and 29.5" diameter tires, I accidentally got in 26.5" of water, as measured on the down stream side, of the car for just over a car length, about 15' before reaching the opposite bank, of an ~ 80' wide creek, the rest of which was about 15-18" deep. We had eyeballed the depth from both sides but not actually walked it. When we got out of the water, steam was rolling out, from under the hood and when we got out to inspect it, water poured out of the doors but none got in the car, thanks to the excellent door seals. From then on, if we don't have previous experience with a particular water crossing, I walk it first, if it looks remotely close, like more than 10".

 

[Dude]

There is/was a published number for this, somewhere, but I don't remember exactly what it was or where but, to the best of my memory, the speed was not more than 6 mph and possibly as low as 3 mph.

… I walk it first, if it looks remotely close, like more than 10".

I’ve seen the speed numbers published from Ford, I’ll see if I can locate those again

the spec I was referring to is a test spec for how long those connectors when submerged in water will prevent water intrusion… locating the modules with 2+ connectors in the low area and publishing the Bronco Sport can go through 23.6” water depth better have test data (at least on the connectors) to back up the claim

Your post has good advice and I follow that as well (unless it’s a rental lol)

Sponsored