06 F350 Lariat with an intermittent electrical issue and I'm not sure where to start.
Every so often (maybe 1 x every other month) I fire up the truck to go to work and I have no AC. The whole AC/heater panel is out, no lights no controls nothing, its just dead. After a few min. it just comes back on like nothing was ever wrong.
Once it starts working again I really can't do much except jiggle some wires and see if it goes out again but so far i cannot reproduce the problem. It just comes and goes when it wants. Sometimes I will get the same effect with the stock radio. every once in a while no power at all to the radio, after 5-10min bam it just turns on.
This last time the radio was working the truck was running and no lights "power" to the console so no AC. Bad timing as it was 119 in PHX. Turned the truck off and back on again, no luck. Tried a 3rd time and bam all was fine. Could I be looking at an ignition switch failure or clock spring, wiring harness?

 

Do you have the climate control automated system like in the diagram below?

 

There is a perfectly logical explanation, that begins with a simple question: What do both the radio and HVAC controls share?

On my 97 Expedition, they share a common ground in the kick panel, close to the carpet. It won't hurt to clean it up and replace the bolt with a stainless steel one.