Funky electrical problems

[Asha'man]

I was on my way to school this morning and I got a check engine light. Popped the hood, looked at stuff, didn't find anything obviously wrong, so I went on down to the auto parts store (private place) on the way to school. Right about the same time I saw the CEL, I noticed that my turn signals weren't working. Looked in the manual and it seems that the turn signals, rear defrost, and reverse lights are all on the same fuse. Defrost switch wasn't clicking, so I thought I found the prob. However, I pulled the fuse at the parts store and it's perfectly intact. Messed around with testing the turn signals, and as soon as the parts guy came out to take a look, it started working (and my defrost switch started working again, too). Pulled out of the lot and it quit again. Lost the CEL, though, although I may still pull codes tomorrow. So here I am without turn signals or defrost or, probably, reverse lights, and it isn't the fuse. I'm thinking it could be the MFS, but that wouldn't explain the defrost issues. Something in that shared section of harness somewhere, maybe? Anyone with ideas, please chime in.

Ash

 

[Asha'man]

Started working again for the drive home from school tonight, go figure. We'll see what happens, I guess.

Ash

 

[Ponycar]

Check my post, I have similar problems

 

[Asha'man]

Well, my dad came up with a theory on the phone today (from where he's stranded in NM with a busted injector and maybe fuel pump ), and I'll test it tomorrow. He thinks my reverse switch is messed up, and thinking back on yesterday, every time things got messed up was preceded by an engagement of reverse. Same with fixes. I'm hoping the switch inside the tranny isn't messed up, unless I can pop it out from the outside.

Ash

 

[Ponycar]

think I figured out your problem. this morning I started my car and the blower, turn sigs etc were dead. wiggled the ignition switch and it came on!!..I think the relay under the dash is fried out, the radiator fan runs all the time now. going to work last week I heard an electrical frying sound under the dash. I'm gonna replace the relay and ignition switch as well..if you look under the dash, the relay has a flat, yellow connector that plugs in. if you roll your ignition to run--not start-- you should hear it click to engage the above systems, mine clicks and has a cooking sound -sometimes-..check this out before you mess with the trans

 

[Asha'man]

Well, it's not the reverse switch, or if it is it doesn't self-fix anymore. I haven't had turn signals for two days now and it really sucks. Went to Autozone today and pulled codes for the CEL, and here's what I got:

565 - low voltage drop from the signal circuit of the purge control solenoid

522 - clutch switch signal voltage is over 1 volt and the clutch is released (can also be when A/C is on during test, but it wasn't for this one)

629 - problems in the lock-up torque converter clutch override solenoid inside the transmission

And none of them address the turn signal issue. :damnit: WTF is wrong with my car?

Ash

 

[HISSIN50]

asha, you are on the right track. do you always have power at the fuse for these items? or do you lose power to the fuse when they go dead? (sorry if i missed that. im catching this from 5.0 tech). this would tell you if the problem is upstream (i bet it is since you lose all circuits). if so, you could rig some power to the dead side of the fuse from another source till you track it down (use a fuse of the same rating as the original circuit and dont overload the donor circuit). i would remove the fuse and just plug a male spade into the fuse socket so when the original circuit decides to work, you dont have circuit sources intermingling.

arent ignition switches like 10 bucks. they go out frequently, so if you want, swap a new one in. rules one thing out and probably saves you future problems with it goin out. takes 5 mins to do it.

that is it. Jerry (from the other thread) is right. get a cheap DMM (dig multimeter). Harbor freight sells them for 4 bucks on sale. that and a test light should allow you to figure it out. test lights are 1 buck on sale there too.

BTW, if it is not a loss of power issue, it could be grounds. they can be finicky. they like to be intermittant when the connection is poor. you can check them with the ohm setting on a DMM. when you find a ground wire, probe it and check for resistance. should be fairly low.
for some diagram, check out
veryuseful.com. TMoss and others have some awesome diagrams in there. i dont know that any will help you, but worth a shot.
good luck.

 

[Ponycar]

Call a Ford dealership service center with your VIN. They can check and see if the ignition switch has been replaced yet due to a safety recall. It's FREE too!!!..Try this--with the car running gently rock the key switch and see if the turn sigs, blower motor etc works. when you turn the key to start the car, these systems are energized thru the ing switch. this is what I've learned with mine; am taking it in monday for repair. I have found that when I rock the key switch a little, my turn sigs work!!!..go easy or you can shut off the car!!!!!!!!!

 

[Asha'man]

Ignition switch. Twelve dollar fix. Everything works. You guys helped a lot, I had no idea where to even start - thanks.

Ash