Rick's Free Auto Repair Advice » Excursion

Starter Engages by itself or blower stays on with key off – Ford Trucks

Rick — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 23:05:24 +0000

Owners of Ford trucks may experience a starter motor that engages all by itself. Or, they may discover the blower motor running with the key off. This may sound like a bad ignition switch (and may be), but first check out the interior fuse panel. Any leak in the windshield (which is common) may cause corrosion inside the fuse panel. Locate the fuse panel and look for any signs of moisture or corrosion. If you find any, have the windshield leak repaired (resealed) and then replace the fuse panel. Don’t try to clean off the corrosion–it’s toast.

FYI, a leaking windshield can also cause a Generic Electronic Module (GEM) to act up.

For more information on this repair or any others for your vehicle, buy an online subscription to either Alldatadiy.com or eautorepair.net. Click on this link to compare the two services: Compare Alldata and Eautorepair.

If you just need information for a single repair and want to save money,eautorepair offers a lower price 1-week subscription for only $11.99. Or, if you’ll be working on this vehicle in the future, you can buy a 1-year subscription (Alldatadiy.com for $26.99, or eautorepair.net $29.99)

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ABS issues, how to bleed ABS brakes

Airbag issues or SRS light on

Alternator issues or how to test

Belt diagram or serpentine belt issues

Blower motor

Blower motor resistor

Brakes, brake issues, what kind of brake parts to buy, ABS issues

Car Alarms or Antitheft systems

Cooling system, Water pump, What type of coolant to use

Engine flush

Firing order, cylinder layout, finding #1 cylinder

MAF or MAP sensor

Oxygen sensors, How they work, How to change, How to test

PassLock or Passkey

Thermostat issues

Transmission flush

Serpentine belt diagrams

Window issues, power window motor, replace window regulator, glass adhesive

No Horn Engine Running but plenty of Horn With Engine Off—Ford Trucks

Rick — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 03:30:00 +0000

This may sound like the dumbest thing you’ve ever heard of, but if you look at the electrical diagram it makes a little more sense. Think about it—what controls are on the steering wheel? Cruise Control and the Horn. Ok, if you’ve got a really expensive Ford Truck, you might also have remote radio controls. But for the most part, we’re talking horn and cruise. How does the cruise control know how to behave? Well, it provides power to the switches in the steering wheel. Inside each switch is a resistor. When you operate the switch, power flows through the resistor and then goes to ground. The computer watches to see exactly how much the voltage dropped and by determining that, it figures out what command you’ve just issued to the cruise. Guess what? The horn works the same way. When you press the switch, it completes a path to ground. That activates the horn relay.

My guess is that if your horn isn’t working properly, your cruise isn’t either.

What’s the common thread here? Yup, you guessed it, the ground at the cruise control. In this case you’ll find the “ground” wire from the steering wheel coming into the cruise control servo at pin #6. It’s a dark green/orange wire. The servo is mounted on the driver’s side of the engine compartment. The servo itself gets its ground from the black wire at pin #10. So first check to see if you have good ground at pin #10. If you don’t have good ground there, neither the cruise, nor the horn will work. If you do have good ground, then try placing a jumper wire from pin #6 to pin #10. If your horn now works fine, you can conclude that it’s not getting proper ground from the electronics inside the cruise servo.

Alldatadiy.com

eautorepair.net

Both Alldata and Eautorepair offer professional grade shop manuals at a price you can afford. Check them out!.

Hover your mouse over the REPAIR ARTICLES tab at the top of the page. The click on DIAGNOSTICS to search by SYMPTOM, TROUBLE CODE, or read TECH TIPS on how to diagnose a problem

Click on MAKE an MODEL to see all the articles I’ve written for your vehicle
Click on REPAIR TOPICS to read individual articles written for specific automotive systems

If you’ve had your car scanned and know the trouble code go to TROUBLE CODES

Here are some quick links to speed up your research

Click on the link below for speedy navigation:

ABS issues, how to bleed ABS brakes

Airbag issues or SRS light on

Alternator issues or how to test

Belt diagram or serpentine belt issues

Blower motor

Blower motor resistor

Brakes, brake issues, what kind of brake parts to buy, ABS issues

Car Alarms or Antitheft systems

Cooling system, Water pump, What type of coolant to use

Engine flush

Firing order, cylinder layout, finding #1 cylinder

MAF or MAP sensor

Oxygen sensors, How they work, How to change, How to test

PassLock or Passkey

Thermostat issues

Transmission flush

Serpentine belt diagrams

Window issues, power window motor, replace window regulator, glass adhesive

Ford door switches—a known problem

Rick — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 03:21:00 +0000

Remember the pin/plunger switches that car makers used to install in the door jamb? Well, you won’t find them in Fords—some brilliant engineer had a “better idea.” They decided to place the switches inside the door right under the latch mechanism. When the door latches, a lever deactivates the switch and the body control module turns off the interior lights. Good so far….. The problem is that the switches gum up with grease from the latch mechanism or corrosion. That’s when interior lights stay on.

Some shops have reported success by saturating the latch mechanism with a rust penetrant and opening and closing the door about 20 or 30 times. That works the penetrant into the mechanism and some of it finds its way to the lever and switch. You really don’t have much to lose by trying this method because the only alternative is to remove the door trim panel and replace the switch.

I’ve tried this on a few Ford vehicles and had success. However, it’s not a long term fix. You will have to do it about twice a year.

Find a replacement ford door lock switch here

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eautorepair.net

Both Alldata and Eautorepair offer professional grade shop manuals at a price you can afford. Check them out!.

Hover your mouse over the REPAIR ARTICLES tab at the top of the page. The click on DIAGNOSTICS to search by SYMPTOM, TROUBLE CODE, or read TECH TIPS on how to diagnose a problem

Click on MAKE an MODEL to see all the articles I’ve written for your vehicle
Click on REPAIR TOPICS to read individual articles written for specific automotive systems

If you’ve had your car scanned and know the trouble code go to TROUBLE CODES

Here are some quick links to speed up your research

Click on the link below for speedy navigation:

ABS issues, how to bleed ABS brakes

Airbag issues or SRS light on

Alternator issues or how to test

Belt diagram or serpentine belt issues

Blower motor

Blower motor resistor

Brakes, brake issues, what kind of brake parts to buy, ABS issues

Car Alarms or Antitheft systems

Cooling system, Water pump, What type of coolant to use

Engine flush

Firing order, cylinder layout, finding #1 cylinder

MAF or MAP sensor

Oxygen sensors, How they work, How to change, How to test

PassLock or Passkey

Thermostat issues

Transmission flush

Serpentine belt diagrams

Window issues, power window motor, replace window regulator, glass adhesive

Wipers won’t shut off — Ford – The problem and the fix.

Rick — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 00:53:00 +0000

If you own one of the Ford vehicles listed below and you can’t get your wipers to shut off, here’s the fix. Ford wiper systems are controlled by the turn signal stalk on the “multi-function” switch. As you rotate the knob to activate the wipers, the resistance changes and the Wiper Control Module (WCM) reads the changing voltage and commands the wipers to a new speed or on/off. The problem of perpetual wipers is due to a poorly designed multi-function switch, not a bad WCM or a defective Generic Electronic Module (GEM). Ford has changed the part to correct the problem and now has a newer multi function switch. Before changing out the switch, make sure all the connections from the switch to the GEM and WCM module are fully seated. If they are, you will need to install the newer switch. Make sure you disable the air bag system before disassembling the cowling around the switch. An electrical mishap while working on the switch could pop off the air bag. The affected vehicles are:

1999 Taurus • 1999–2000 Mustang, Explorer, F150, F250, Ranger and Windstar •
2000 Excursion • 1999 Sable • 1999–2000 Mountainee

Alldatadiy.com

eautorepair.net

Both Alldata and Eautorepair offer professional grade shop manuals at a price you can afford. Check them out!.

Hover your mouse over the REPAIR ARTICLES tab at the top of the page. The click on DIAGNOSTICS to search by SYMPTOM, TROUBLE CODE, or read TECH TIPS on how to diagnose a problem

Click on MAKE an MODEL to see all the articles I’ve written for your vehicle
Click on REPAIR TOPICS to read individual articles written for specific automotive systems

If you’ve had your car scanned and know the trouble code go to TROUBLE CODES

Here are some quick links to speed up your research

Click on the link below for speedy navigation:

ABS issues, how to bleed ABS brakes

Airbag issues or SRS light on

Alternator issues or how to test

Belt diagram or serpentine belt issues

Blower motor

Blower motor resistor

Brakes, brake issues, what kind of brake parts to buy, ABS issues

Car Alarms or Antitheft systems

Cooling system, Water pump, What type of coolant to use

Engine flush

Firing order, cylinder layout, finding #1 cylinder

MAF or MAP sensor

Oxygen sensors, How they work, How to change, How to test

PassLock or Passkey

Thermostat issues

Transmission flush

Serpentine belt diagrams

Window issues, power window motor, replace window regulator, glass adhesive

No start on Ford Excursion, F-Super Duty, and E-Vans with 7.3 Navistart Diesel

Rick — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 21:37:00 +0000

The problem affects the 2000-03 vehicles listed above. Ford says the problem is most likely an intermittent or poor connection at the glow plug control module (GPCM).

To check it out remove the green and black connectors at the GPCM module. Look for loose fit, pin pull-out, bent pins, or corrosion. If you see any of these issues, Ford has released replacement connectors to correct the problem. Ask for part #4C3Z-12B568-AA. The kit comes with a new connector and wires that splice in place of the old connector. This kit was originally designed for the 6,0 litre diesel so DO NOT FOLLOW THE WIRING INSTRUCTIONS INCLUDED WITH THE KIT!

Follow this wiring diagram instead:

Black Connector: Repair Harness Existing Wire Harness
BK/PK YE/GN
BK/OG BK/OG
PK/LG YE/BU
DB/WH YE/WH
RD (pin 9) RD
RD (pin 2) RD

Green Connector: Repair Harness Existing Wire Harness
RD/LG BN/GN
BK/OG BK/OG
WH/LG BN/BU
DG/WH BN/WH
WH/LG WH/LG (F-series), WH/VT (E-van)
VT/OG VT/OG
RD/LB BN/RD

Alldatadiy.com

eautorepair.net

Both Alldata and Eautorepair offer professional grade shop manuals at a price you can afford. Check them out!.

Hover your mouse over the REPAIR ARTICLES tab at the top of the page. The click on DIAGNOSTICS to search by SYMPTOM, TROUBLE CODE, or read TECH TIPS on how to diagnose a problem

Click on MAKE an MODEL to see all the articles I’ve written for your vehicle
Click on REPAIR TOPICS to read individual articles written for specific automotive systems

If you’ve had your car scanned and know the trouble code go to TROUBLE CODES

Here are some quick links to speed up your research

Click on the link below for speedy navigation:

ABS issues, how to bleed ABS brakes

Airbag issues or SRS light on

Alternator issues or how to test

Belt diagram or serpentine belt issues

Blower motor

Blower motor resistor

Brakes, brake issues, what kind of brake parts to buy, ABS issues

Car Alarms or Antitheft systems

Cooling system, Water pump, What type of coolant to use