Hi Folks

Here is the deal: '99 F-150 Ext Cab 4X4 Sport w/ 114K miles

Light Probs:

1.
I was out fishing and at the end of my "secret spot" (at least it was, at one point) there is a little bit of a hill off a dyke that I drive down as it puts me close to where I will be fishing. As this little "off ramp" is quite narrow and the trip off could induce a roll, I use 4H for better control. When I put my truck in 4H, the "Low Range" light comes on, but it revs and drives like it is in 4H. I put it in 4L to check the light situation, and the "Low Range" light stays on.

Question: What is up? Electrical? Vacuum lines? Other?

2.
My "Door Ajar" light comes on intermittently, and only goes off after I shut the truck off and restart (usually first or second try). I always double check my doors (4) to ensure that they are locked, and they always are. Also, the interior light comes on as it does when a door is actually open.

Question: (this just came to mind about 10 seconds ago) Could the wee bit of mud that I have went through that partially stuck to the bottom of my door frames be holding the doors that-fraction-of-an-inch-from-closing and causing the pin to not be depressed enough? I am heading outside after posting to clean it up a bit, but am curious as to other possible suspects as the problem is intermittent.

3.
The odometer just started taking its time coming on at startup and the last time it happened I "knew" that it would come on at this particular pothole. Sure enough, it did.

Question: While it seems obvious to me that I have a bad connection somewhere, is there an obvious place that I should look? As I only have the Sport model, there are no skid plates on my truck and I have taken it through places where skid plates would be nice, as well as through places where the water has splashed over (at relatively low speeds) the front of the truck onto the hood. Could this have loosened something? I added this last part as I have no clue as to how the wiring harness is set up.

4.
Rather then sweat the small stuff (knock on wood) on this board, can anyone tell me which manual I should be picking up? Are dealers usually good about letting folks buy one directly from the dealership?

4A.
I will be taking it in to have it scanned tomorrow, but any initial advice would be appreciated (esp since it could save me dealership costs).


Thanks all

Chris

 

Hi Chris and welcome to FTE

The most common problem that I've seen with the 4x4 lights on the dash is a bad "lockout" switch in the transfer case. It is at the front of the transfer case, sort of above the front driveshaft. It is the switch that turns the lights on for either 4H or 4L. Usually when the switch needs replacing it is because there is moisture in it. You should probably replace the switch and change the oil in the transfer case.
The door ajar/dome light problem is very common. If you do a search here you'll find a lot of posts about it. Usually just spraying tons of WD40 (not anything else) into the door latches will clean the junk out of them and the lights will work properly again. The dome light switches are in the door latches, not on the door jamb like they used to be.
Odometer problems like yours are quite often in the instrument cluster itself. It may just be a bad connection but I've seen a few that the cluster needed replacing.
The best manual to have is the genuine Ford one on DVD. You can quite often find them on eBay for not a bad price. These are the same as what we use at the dealership. They cover a range of years and models on 1 DVD and include wiring diagrams, emissions diagnosis etc as well as the normal shop manual type things.

 

Hi Racerguy and thanks for the responses.

I will have a look underneath tomorrow after work for the lockout switch and see if that helps.

The Door Ajar light problem was nothing more then me needing to take the time to clean off the mud from around the door and door frame ..... I was amazed at the buildup once I got down level with the bottom of the door frame.

The instrument cluster, for now I will play it safe and take it in to the dealer. Once I have a shop manual I will be a bit better prepared to venture into new territory without frying anything.

I will send you a separate email in a bit.

Thanks again for the advice .... I sure am glad that I found this forum!

Chris

 

Please help me find a repair shop that does electrical wiring in irmo, south carolina area.


Thanks

Terry