What to do?? Water in Fuel!!!!

cp1969 · Aug 22, 2007

jcmseven said:
Tom,

I suppose it is possible the fuel might not have been USLD which might have fooled the sensor (I have heard this can happen), but I am impressed by the fact my truck never ran badly. In fact, had the light not come on I would have never known. The truck--through all of this--has run perfectly. Since my original posting the light has not come on again. I am cautiously optimistic it will stay off. I have opted to not change filter unless the light comes back on and stays. I ran the culprit tank of fuel low and just filled up with a new tank. Hopefully, this will prevent any issues. I did not sample the fuel from the last tank, but will do so if the light comes on again. As I noted I used the separation treatment recommended by Ford, so hopefully that helped some. I will keep posted, and I appreciate the helpful comments so far.

John M

A filter change would not be required--what the light is telling you to do (in this case, maybe erroneously) is to drain the fuel water separator. It's doing its job, if there really is enough water accumulated to activate the sensor. The 'separation treatment recommended by Ford'--was that the demulsifier additive? If so, that will cause the water separator to fill more rapidly, as it will cause water to be more easily extractable from the fuel.

Running the tank to nearly empty won't particularly help because water will be at the lowest point of the tank--the part you didn't burn. If you really did get a big shot of water (doubtful) you would need to drain the tank itself, via its drain plug.

jcmseven · Aug 22, 2007

cp1969,

You are correct about the "treatment" recommended by my dealer. I am keeping my fingers crossed on this one, so far, so good. Two days and no warning light!!! I figured that even though water would settle to the bottom of the fuel, if I drove the truck and "stirred it up" some then the water would either #1 be more likely to settle in the separator so I could drain it, or #2 would be so diluted by the new fuel mixture that I could achieve removal in small graduations without risking any engine damage. I do not know if this is logical or not, but it was my thought. As I mentioned, the truck has run great through all of this, making me not wish to do anything too drastic. I am not a cheapo who would not change a filter if needed, but I did not want to do so if there was not a clear need. At this point, it seems there might not have been. Although I cannot be sure yet, I think the warning light was CORRECT and that there truly was some water in the fuel that has been emptied by my dealer's/my efforts.

John M

cp1969 · Aug 22, 2007

If you really think there is water in your system, you'd be well advised to get it out before winter comes. The fuel water separator will eventually get most of it but the key word is eventually.

You don't want to be fighting water when it's below freezing. If it was me, I'd drain the tank (after it got low), then look closely at what came out. If there is water, pitch it and start over with an empty tank. If there is no water, you can put it back in.