2002 Fuel Tank Pressure Sensor Access | Ford Thunderbird club group 1955-2005 T-Bird models

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2002 Fuel Tank Pressure Sensor Access

  • Thread starter Thread starter jopizz
  • Start date Start date
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jopizz

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Thunderbird Year
2002
I'm getting an error P0453 which indicates a high voltage reading from the fuel tank pressure sensor. I see that the sensor is on top of the tank near the driver side fuel pump. Does anyone know if the sensor is accessible through the opening behind the driver seat. If anyone else has gotten this error and can shed some light on possible causes I'd appreciate it.

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I do not know for certain, but based on my experience replacing fuel pumps on my 2002, I think you will need to drop the tank. It isn't difficult, unless it's rusty, just time consuming.
 
I was hoping that wasn't the case. Also, the sensor is not available new which complicates things. I'm hoping it's just a wiring issue as the car sat for a long period of time and mice got to it.
 
As we all know, mice and squirrels LOVE the wiring. Hopefully once you get in there it will just be a simple wiring fix.
 
P0453 is an electrical fault, a fuel cap will not correct the problem. Since you said that mice got to the wiring, I would start there.

The possible causes of this fault are:

Fuel Tank Pressure (FTP) Sensor
Fuel Tank Pressure (FTP) Sensor Circuit Open
Fuel Tank Pressure (FTP) Sensor Circuit Shorted to Reference Voltage from Powertrain Control Module (PCM) or Voltage Power
Fuel Tank Pressure (FTP) Sensor Damaged
Powertrain Control Module (PCM)Powertrain Control Module (PCM) Damaged
Reference Voltage from Powertrain Control Module (PCM) Shorted to Voltage PowerSignal Return Circuit Open

doug7740
1955 Thunderbird Blue

P0453.jpg
 
I'm hoping it's not the sensor as new ones are obsolete. There are ones for later Fords available that are visually identical but I'm not sure if they put out the correct return voltage to make the PCM happy.
 
So I was able to get access to the sensor through the driver side fuel pump opening by bending the sheet metal back. The sensor was showing 4 volts on the output side toward the PCM which was the reason for the error code. I unplugged the sensor and got 0 volts so the wiring is good. I sprayed contact cleaner into the sensor and connector, put it back together and the 4 volts was gone and the PCM seems to be happy with what it's seeing. The error code is no longer present. I was able to buy a new sensor on Ebay; Ford part # 1U5A-9C052-CC. Although it did not show that it fit 2002-2005 Thunderbirds it's the same part number that's on my sensor. Even though I was able to get access to unplug the connector replacing the sensor through the opening would've been a chore as I could only bend the sheet metal back so far. There was also a fuel line and wiring harness sitting on top of it which would need to be moved.
 
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