Aircherokee Report post Posted January 3, 2019 I did a search on FMCA and didn't find an article covering this so thought I could add an experience we just had over this past weekend that might help others who have a Ford F53 chassis. A remote lake west in Arizona has great boondocking around it. The seven miles of dirt road gets you to a really nice area that's not in a campground and has really great views. While driving there this past weekend, the moment we transitioned from pavement to dirt, my red "BRAKE" light on the dash came on. Brakes worked fine and figured it was something that could wait until we got to camp to take a look at. We stopped at a fork in the road to recon our camp spot with the dirt bike. When I got back to the RV, my wife who was going to follow me in to camp, flagged me down and said she couldn't shift out of PARK. After about an hour with a buddy helping, checking all fuses and even Googled the problem, we couldn't find anything online except for poor souls who had to have their RV's towed to a repair facility. We took apart the BRAKE SWITCH to see if we could bypass or jump it but no luck. Of all things, we checked the little Ford F53 manual and low and behold, there's a process showing how to temporarily bypass the switch. In our manual, the instructions were on page 58/59. Here is a snippet of the process. Attached is a pic of the switch itself which is located just under the pivot point on the brake pedal lever. This procedure really saved our bacon, we would have had a much different outcome for our New Years trip if we hadn't found this "get out of jail free card" that saved the day. Keep in mind that you won't have brake or turn signals until the switch is replaced. I've since ordered a new brake shift interlock switch to replace the bad one and an additional spare to keep onboard for the next time this happens. In my opinion, it's not a matter of "if" but "when" this will happen again. Hope this helps others who find themselves in a similar situation. Happy trails! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manholt Report post Posted January 3, 2019 Thank you for posting! Happy New Year! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wayne77590 Report post Posted January 3, 2019 Oh yes, having the spare aboard will ensure it will never happen again. I love spare parts. Good find. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jleamont Report post Posted January 4, 2019 On the older F53 there is another option that might actually work on your year as well. Foot on the brake Turn the ignition to ON (do not attempt to crank the engine) Back the ignition off one click (there is a detent you will feel) Shift the transmission into Neutral Start the engine Shift into drive or reverse and go on your way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aircherokee Report post Posted April 8, 2019 ***** FOLLOW UP WITH REVISED SOLUTION ***** Previously, I wrote that when I replaced the brake light switch (see above pic), my shift interlock problem was resolved. Well it didn't solve the problem and I wanted to wait to post how we actually fixed it after the problem got resolved (note the original date of my post and you can see how long it's been before we found the solution). Here's the recap: Driving on a trip, when my Fleetwood transitioned from the pavement to the dirt road, my brake light came on my dash. When we stopped, we weren't able to get it out of park. After diagnosing the problem, here's the bizarre chain of events. I don't fault Fleetwood or Ford, but here's what we figured happened. The main wiring loom (16 wires I believe) that connects under the dash never got "snapped" together when the connector was originally installed. When the motorhome hit the bump transitioning from pavement to dirt, the connector pulled apart just enough to make just ONE row on my in cab dashboard fuse panel to go dead. This caused either the diode (see attached pic #1) to blow then short the shift interlock device to fail (see attached pic #2) or visa versa, I'm sure someone more versed in electrical can clarify that. Who'd a thunk it! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe10 Report post Posted April 8, 2019 Thanks for the update. Always appreciate "the rest of the story". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
desro3 Report post Posted July 7, 2022 I have a 2019 Winsport Class a on a Ford F53 Chassis. While driving up to Lake Shasta I was cruising along about 65 when the ABS light came on, the coach then lost power and down shifted on its own. As I made my way over to the shoulder the light cleared, and the coach ran fine. We continued on our way. We stopped for lunch about an hour later. I then started up the coach and continued to the lake. We camped there for two weeks. When we were getting ready to leave, I went to start the coach and when I turned the key the lights on the dash came on but it would not start. there was no sound like one makes when the battery is low. I checked the battery voltage, and it was 13.1volts. I could not get the shifter to move out of park. I checked the fuses however I did not take each one out. I ended up having to have the coach towed to Redding to have the local Ford dealer look at it, the drive shaft had to be taken off to tow it. To date it still is there as they state that thier to busy to get to it. Any ideas as to what may have happened? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rls7201 Report post Posted July 10, 2022 (edited) The starter relay, located in the right fender well, is a known high failure item. Turn on ignition, jump around the two big posts on the relay, and see if the starter engages. An independent Mobil service tech, might just be clever enough to help you along. Richard Edited July 10, 2022 by rls7201 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
