Signal flasher on a Ford Police Interceptor

The black box you speak of is called an LCM, Lighting Control Module, it controls pretty much every light on the car. They can be troublesome (had one go wacky on a '98 cab I drove, replaced it several times before I could drive at night without all lights turning on and off whenever they felt like it. All Crown Vics (along with many Ford products and most modern cars) have one. Police models get the same one as other models. Headlight switch is different though, and will be marked "police only" since almost all non-police cars had Autolamp.

If your turn signals are acting wierd, the multifunction control lever (fancy name for the turn signal lever) is often to blame. That or the clockspring inside the steering column. Both are a bear to replace. Sometimes wiggling it back and forth will help.

Turn signal flasher IIRC is located on the bottom of the steering column (you have to reomve the driver's side lower dash panel to get to it).

Alan Moore Dallas, TX

Notice: I do not answer the above listed email link. Change ilema to crownvic to get an email address that I check regularly.

I have learned that order is important when installing it (or mine has gone wierd). It emitted a constant tone, until I removed it again, and plugged the two prong (power?) connector, last.

My wife has told me to bite the bullet. As I look up, at the bottom of my steering column, I see nothing that could be mistaken for a flasher unit; unless, it is hidden in the card-deck sized object that looks like a connector. My unconfirmable suspiscion is that it is part of the LCM, and my wand is bad, something I cannot test without pulling my steering wheel. Should I take it to a dealer, or Canadian Tire?

Nope the flasher is there somewhere, it is not part of the LCM. If you lay on your back and look up towards the column the flasher should be behind the plastic panel on the right side of the column tucked up behind the dash panel in a clip.

It turns out that my problem was a burned out fuse. As there was a spare on the fuse block cover, I was not charged for the replacement.

The turn signal flasher actually is in the LCM (or, it is the LCM for my car). When I switch on my turn signals, the clicking comes from the LCM, just like the hazard lights, and the LCM has several relays in it (five that I can clearly identify, as such). One handles the hazard lights, another may handle the turn signals, the rest are unknown.

Thanks, anyways, to all that have answered.

Keep taking your car to the shop, son. If you went thru all this bull$hit of trying to find the flasher, getting on the internet for help & just generally screwing around for a week or so stabbing at your turn signals & didn't check the fuse FIRST then you need to let repairs to the trained. Don't mean to be sarcastic but think about the time you would have spent (2 min. ) if you went there first & how embarrassed you were when after all that & you finally admitted defeat & took it to a shop, the guy told you it was a fuse. Good luck.

What year was this vehicle? I missed that part. '95 and up are in the LCM.

I may have left out the year (not important enough to deja the original article). I have also determined, empirically, that the AC clutch is bad and that it is on the same fuse [no signal lights after testing the AC]. I know enough to see if the short is in the clutch, or its wiring harness, depending on accessibility, I may even be able to localise it.

It turns out that I merely assumed that the technician used the spare fuse, as I could not imagine getting one for free, but the spare was still in place, when I needed it, and I have learned that automotive fuses are very inexpensive.

I am annoyed that the owners' manual for the 1995 Crown Victoria still has the flasher unit in the fuse block. The database for the technicians also seems to be wrong.

I also wish that when I described my car symptoms to the friendly people at Canadian Tire, or my local Ford dealer, that somebody asked if I had checked the fuse.