Hello all,

I have been having electrical issues ever since I got this truck back in Dec of last year, but have not worried too much about it because I did not drive it that much, and most the time during the day. Now, I am driving it several times a week, and an occasional night run. So I figure I will try and get this fixed.

The problems I am having are this:

With the headlights off, everything works correctly, except when I put my foot on the brake, not only do the brake lights work, but all the parking lights come on too.

Now, with the headlights on, the cruise control will not work, the passenger turn signal will not work, the driver side brake light stays on, and I found out after replacing the bulb, that the center brake light stays on. So, I end up driving down the road with 2 of my 3 brake lights on constantly. And no right turn signal. Since this only happens with the lights on, I figured it must be a bad switch. So I bought one at the local Pick-N-Pull.

Pulling a headlight switch from a F-250 with the dash pretty much bare is a simple matter of removing the two bolts holding it on. However, I have looked at my dash, and I see nothing to unscrew to gain access to the light switch. How do I get my instrument panel off (without breaking it of course!) if there is nothing showing to hold it on? Bear in mind, I am partially disabled (right knee only bends 40 degrees) so crawling under the dashboard is not an option. I have to be able to do this either sitting in the driver's seat, or standing outside with the door open.

I do not have a repair manual for this truck as I have been unemployed for the past 26 months, and the extra money has not been there to get one. So I am hoping someone out there has removed their instrument cluster before and can tell me where the hidden screws or bolts are.

Of course I am not even sure this will fix the problem, but I figure what else could it be? I mean with the lights off, everything works right (except the parking lights coming on when braking) And the switch only cost me $12 plus the environmental fee and tax.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Jim

 

There are 2 trim strips on either side of the steering column. they are in line with the trim strip that says XLT of XL on the right side of the dash in front of the passenger. The 2 on the left need to be carefully pried out of their recess. Then you see the 4 5/16" bolts that hold the black bezel that surrounds the gauges. Remove the 4 bolts, and remove the headlight **** by putting a small screwdriver or allen wrench under the **** and pulling slightly. The upper part of the bezel snaps in place, but be careful not to break the tabs. After the bezel is loose, you will need to reach behind it to disconnect the rear window switch, the defrost switch and maybe the 4x4 switch if you have 3electric hubs. After all that is off, the Headlight switch is accessable. Now that I have typed all this, i think it may be your turn signal switch that is at fault. Only thing left to do is romove the lower column cover...

 

Thanks for the info, will have to give it a try tomorrow.

Jim