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Did I stump you all ? ? ?

Wow - I can't believe I stumped you all on this - have I ? Has no one else had the same problem ? Did I actually stumble onto something new ?

A little more detail in my first post below but in short, when the headlights turn on - the stuff on the interior dash that is suppose to dim doesn't dim (radio, console). AND when the lights are on - the O/D, 4WD and cruise ctrl indicators, in the dash, do not turn on. The problem is re-creatable and happens each time the lights turn on.

Any ideas ???

John

======= Sent Oct 2, 2003 - 11:52a pst ======

Hi All.... I have a 96 Exp XLT. The other night I ran into an interesting interior light problem that I 'think' is a relay problem.

The problem --- When the headlights turn on (& only when they are on) I notice a few things that all started happening at the same time : 1- The radio lights not longer illuminate. The radio display & radio work fine however the knobs do not light up 2- The directional indicator and temperature on the upper console do not dim. I've seen them blink from normal to dim a couple of times however for the most part they are steady on. 3- The dash indicator lights for cruise control, 4WD & O/D off do not work when the headlights are on. If any of these functions are in use, the indicator light turn on as soon as I turn the headlights off.

Everything else seems to work fine - as far as I can tell.....

Have any of you experienced this ??? I believe it is related to a relay however I can not determine which one......I've looked through Chilton's and the owners manual but it is not obvious to me.

As always - THANKS for the help......

Reply to
John B. Parisi
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Hmm... interesting.

I have what sounds like the SAME problem with one of my Exp's.. I have never noticed if the OD off light works when lights are on, (and it's 2wd, so the other light doesn't matter)

The other thing that I notice about it is the radio display is FULL BRIGHTNESS like it is supposed to be when the lights are OFF.

Mine started out by "flickering" occasionally... the radio display would go FULL BRIGHT for a 1/2 second.. it did that for a month or so, and now it's that way all the time.

I've always meant to go hunting, but never get around to it. Maybe I'll break out the wiring diags and try to figger out whuts sup!

(or Jim W could just TELL us what the problem is for cripes sake :) )

Reply to
Chief Wiggum

Chief Wiggun..... My Exp started out with the exact problem as well. The radio display is full on all the time now as is the directional & temp indicator in the upper console.

I've looked in my Hayes manual. It appears the O/D indicator, 4x indicator & cruise control indicator are all on the same instrument cluster circuit. The diagram also shows a 'dimmer relay' in the relay module. I *suspect* this might be the culprit. I can not, however, find the dimmer relay anywhere else in the Hayes manual.

The Ford manual indicates the dimmer relay is part of 'Instrument relay panel module #4'. The manual simply uses a fat pointer to indicate it's location somewhere near the driver side wiper. I've checked the firewall on the engine side & can not find it - although there's a bunch of stuff there.....In order to check the interior, I suspect I'll have to rip up the dash which I would hate to do.....

Does anyone know where the dimmer relay module is located on a 96 Exp ???

Reply to
John B. Parisi

A long shot... Since the lights are all onthe same circuit, there's a possibility that a bad ground could be causing the problem you describe. Like I said, a long shot...

Reply to
bill

Okay, tonight I paid closer attention and you're right, the Cruise, and O/D off lights don't work IF the lights are on !

Hmmmm....

Okay, now I'm even more curious! I didn't worry about it much since we rarely drive at night, and it's my wifes ride, so I forget about the problem !

Reply to
Chief Wiggum

Okay, you were definately on the RIGHT track !

I located the Dimmer relay, and removed it from my working Explorer, and the EXACT same symptons appeared !

but the bad news is, I put THAT relay into my other explorer, and it didn't solve the problem ...

FWIW the relay module is located behind the temp control panel in the center of the dash. If you get on your knees and look under the driver's side, in the center, you'll see a plastic box, with SNAP catches on it. it's about

3" wide, and 4" tall. Pull the top and bottom catch loose, and remove the cover.

The DIMMER relay is the SECOND relay from the top, on the right hand column. I also found that the second relay down on the LEFT side can cause the same symptoms, because they are in series..

But like I said, mine is still a problem. The difference between my 2 explorers is that the one that is BROKE has the auto-headlamps, while the other one is straight manual.

I'm thinking my problem may be in the auto module or something... Still lookin!

Reply to
Chief Wiggum

Thanks - That's great info.....

According to the wiring diagram - the next in line item in the circuit after the dimmer relay is the headlamp switch itself. The switch has 2 lines out of it - (1) going to the instrument illumination & (2) going to the instrument cluster that has all the indicator lights that we are having issue with (4x, CC & O/D). I suppose this may be the next item to try....just a guess though.....

Reply to
John B. Parisi

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