signal lights/brake lights

[Dewayne Hardwick]

I have seen several post about signal lights / brake lights not working due to the wiring on the tilt steering column. Has anyone approached Ford with a safety recall. How wide spread is this problem. My 2003 ST started doing the same thing yesterday. It started with the rear left signal not working. Today, both rear turn signals quit working as well as the brake lights. Later on today, the left rear turn signal and brake lights started working but the right front turn signal quit working. Does this sound like the same problem with the tilt steering and wiring harness? What is the best way to fix the problem?

 

[Casey B]

The dealer fixed mine under warranty. I'm sure there is a tsb on it. My flasher would blink fast as if a bulb was blown. Only the left rear blinker was affected. It only happened when I tilted the wheel. I think they just pulled the wiring harness to give more slack for tilting. I haven't had any problems since the fix and I tilt the wheel every time I drive.

 

[2]

Dewayne, remove the plastic shroud from the bottom of the steering column. You will see the wire harness and plug. Make sure the 'plug' is plugged together tight and then pull up some slack wire and zip tie it up. If that isn't detailed enough hold on and I am sure someone that did it will post a more detailed description.

 

[Richard L]

It's a very common problem on the Sport Trac. If there is not enough slack in the wiring harness, moving the tilt wheel can pull on the wires and pull one of the connectors (called a multiswitch connector) apart. It can even pull wires out of their anchors in the connector.



It sounds like that is your problem, and the fact that one of the lights does not work indicates that part of the connector is not reconnecting or a wire has been pulled completely out of the connector.



The problem is solved by locating the wiring harness and pulling about an extra inch of slack into the steering column. If wires have been pulled loose you may have to reinstall them, or even buy a new connector.



...Rich