One small (set?), itty-bitty, wee dinkum sized little oversight for the manuals... "How to replace the dash-mounted tailgate window switch"

((Maybe there should be a sub-title, "How to hot-wire the dash-mounted tailgate window switch to avoid having to replace that low-life scum suckin pond vermin")) Color me a bit undecided on the engineering design of *this* realm of the Bronco..

It is fair to say that the manual (Chilton's) is a tad weak on the oh-so important details of getting at the instrument panel, instrument cluster and that freakin' switch! ((IMeversoHO of course!!))

Pardon the rant, I'm fairly sure most of ya have, 'Been there, done that' on some aspect of these....

So, the queries...

1) On the '94, is it 'excessive' to pull the instrument panel off to get at the instrument *cluster*?

2) The instrument cluster comes out from the FRONT of the panel, right? (In one piece?)

3) The solo white wire entering the instrument cluster from beneath (runs up on the left side of the column on this unit) disconnects where/how? And .. what the heck is it anyway?

4) The three spring push-clips on the top edge of the instrument cluster face, bezel.. ah.. "upper opening finish panel", the two outer ones popped off flush at the base. Anyone have a fix for those? (looks like maybe a screw and epoxy might do the trick..)

5) In the pocket in which the headlight switch is mounted there is a very fine light green dust / powder. Looks suspiciously like a bit of corrosion or perhaps rheostat material that has been worn (read that as 'ground off') the switch.. or something in that area. Think I'll replace that headlight switch while I'm in there. But have any of ya seen such a thing??

6) In retrospect, walking to the back to use the key in the tailgate isn't so darned bad anyway...

7) FYI, in Chiltons, ( On-line version, Body Trim, Interior, Instrument panel, '92-'96 section, line 19, should read, Remove 4 large (3/8" or 10 mm) bolts.. instead of "3 bolts and one nut".

Fun night here...

Y'all be well, take ye care.

Swit

'94 XLT 5.8 auto

 

That green dust is common. It is oxidized copper etc from the rheostat contacts. Clean it up and replace the switch while you are there.

Don't you just love those clever engineers and their little hidden clips that wear out or break the second time they are removed! What is wrong with screws? At least screws last 5-10 times...

 

Okay,

Regards item #4. Those three upper clips thread onto a molded, threaded (yet hollow) boss. The two that snapped off were a clean shear right at the top of the .. (what I laughingly refer to as).. the boss support flanges.

Two fixes come to mind.
The best: on a lathe turn down the head and shank of a 5/16" NC screw to leave 5/16" or so full thread length with a .150 dia pin - shank, behind it. Epoxy the hollow core, slide pin into core hole leaving threaded section above the panel boss, let cure. When cured, screw the clip back on.

Alternative: Remove threaded plastic piece that remains on the clip. Grind or sand the head of a #8 (max) or #6 screw to clear the female threads of the clip. Epoxy the core hole, sheared surface of the boss (also the piece broken off)..
Slide the screw through the center of the threaded section and insert into the boss core, clocking the broken pieces together for best fit. Let epoxy cure, thread the clip back on.

Also found that one of the bosses for the dash tailgate switch screws had been 'kinda' fixed once before.. right now it is very much a collection of fractured pieces. This one gets a heavier treatment. Damming up a mold (plumber's putty or play dough) around that screw boss, pouring around and into that boss with epoxy. Carefully drill out and 'adjust' the surface of the epoxy when cured for the screw.

And yup.. the headlight switch gets changed while I'm in there!! Same to be said for a couple of instrument dash lights if I can get to them. Looks like a couple of the illumination lights on the instrument cluster are out.

More fun as it comes... still looking for details on that instrument cluster... and that wee pesky wire coming out the bottom..

Swit

 

that pesky wire coming out the bottom might be th cable for the gear position indicator. if so, it should connect to the steering column on the other end.

 

First off, thanks to Crater and Torque. Have to admit there's a bit of 'Doh!' in the questions, but the answers *do* help.. Yeesh, of *course* it's the shift indicator cable! *whaps forehead*

Now the fun part. Wiring.

The whole reason for the dash pull was to get the dash tailgate switch replaced.

Tailgate window works fine with the switch in the tailgate.
Dash switch lost function in an intermittant fashion sometime back.. kinda sorta worked, I had to re-cycle the switch to get the window up or down.. and then it finally quit responding all in either direction. Near as I can tell from the multi-tester, I *should* have window 'up' at the dash switch.... but don't.

Checking the wiring aft, I had a valid test on the 'up' leg from the tail lamp (left) loom to as far forward under the driver's seat that I could reach the wiring loom. The 'down' leg is a bit spotty, I'm going to check both again while the connectors aren't.. but I'm suspicious of the down leg at least.

Checking the wiring in the dash - to - firewall connector, both the up and down legs check good from the switch plug to the firewall connector. Ohmeter pegs out nicely.

BUT, on the Ground Side, both the two dash switch grounds connect with the firewall plug at a Light Green / Ornge striped wire on the firewall plug (dash side). Ohmeter is reading about half the resistance as it was on the hot leads.. (HHHmmmmMmm)

As far as I can tell by the schematic so far, the only Green/Orange running aft is for the left side park/turn lamp to Ground. (which I've heard mentioned before)

I'm suspecting a bad connection on those grounds or a bad wire in the dash loom at this point, but have more checking to do too.

Anyone have any information on the details of *where* those grounds join, I'm ALL ears..

TIA!!

Swit

 

That ground circuit is MASSIVE and all the wires are plain black (except a short Bk/Y on the instrument cluster), but it ultimately goes to the large green screw in the driver's kick (which may be behind the large aluminum e-brake pedal bracket). If the ground were the problem, most of your dash would be down, so I doubt that's it. In fact, the t/g key switch still uses THAT ground, so that proves you have no ground problem.

That dash switch is much better than the older ones, but they can still go bad. You can open it up pretty easily and look at it, but they're cheap from Jeff's or probably even Ford.

You don't need to pull the instrument cluster to get to that switch, though, but it does come out of the dash - you just have to pull the shift lever out of the way and tilt the column down.

 

Thought a bit of 'good news feedback' wouldn't hurt.

The new tailgate window dash switch is in, as is the new headlamp switch and the replacement instrument cluster illumination lamps. Also got the old *really dark* tint off the driver's and passenger's door glass and the tailgate.

I *did* have the dash unmounted completely (before Steve83 mentioned it wasn't req'd) but got that back into place and fixed a few previously fractured screw bosses and such in the varmit. All went back together and might I add, it all worked...

... and only two screws left over!!

One other spot to check though on the tailgate window wiring, that connector plug under the bumper, left side. This one had a *bit* of crud in there built up but seemed to clear up well after. Good 'break point' for easy continuity checks.

So, just a couple little bits to deal with and she's pretty sweet, passenger side window switch (Up side is out) and then figure out how to get a connector tab back on the tailgate window defroster grid... .. and then some other form of mayhem. Kinda like the looks of that remote window control.. Hmm..

Oh, and for removing the tint film adhesive, I tried some general purpose household orange cleaner (Trader Joe's here in Seattle) which worked well.. with a *damp* paper towel. The towel lost effectiveness when it got absolutely sodden... so...

Shifted to a *VERY* light touch with a constant bath of the cleaner.. and a scotchbrite pad. Again, very good results, but keept the surface well wetted, flooded (it is acting as a lubricant) with that VERY light touch.. small circular motions and patience. I did mention a VERY light touch, right? And keep it REALLY wet?? I don't think I had an hour into the vents & windows on the driver AND passenger side.. total. Smells better than ammonia too!

Thanks to all for the help n patience..

Swit

 

Tint glue is water-based, so that's all it takes to remove it. I'd recommend only using paper or cloth in the future - Scotch-Brite will etch the glass & fog it.

 

Scotchbrite *might* etch the glass.. hence the suggestion for a LOT of the liquid and a VERY light touch. A nice coarse fabric like a burlap bag would probably do well too. Like I said, the paper towels were working, to a point.

Others results may vary... etc. Eh?

Swit