Hello,
I have a 93 Aerostar, I was driving home and about a block from my place the dash board lights went out. So I parked it when I got home. When I went to start it again I couldn't get it out of PARK. I checked the fuses and found fuse 1 & 4 (15 amp fuses) blown. I replaced them once and could shift again, but after placing it in PARK I could not shift again. Any ideas? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Elmer van Beek.

 

Did you blow one of those fuses again? My bet would be that one of those fuses is wired to the brake light circuit. If the brake lights are not working the shift lock wont release & you cant shift out of park. See if you can blow the fuse by using the turn signals, that will tell you which side to look at. Check the wiring & bulb sockets for shorts.

 

Thanks, the indicators both operate like they should, When I start the car (with good fuses) and shift it, the fuses blow. It's a one shot deal at driving around.
I'll take a look at the wiring, who knows when it can short out. Could a faulty bulb cause it? Do I need to look at anything else?
Thanks,
Elmer.

 

So all it takes to blow the fuses is to step on the brake & put it in gear? What does your owners or Haynes manual say is wired to fuse 1 & 4??
The only common point for all exterior lights is the multifunction switch. The turn signal lever is attached to the multifunction switch. Maybe it's shorted out.

 

Yep, that's all it takes to blow the fuse. Fuse 1 is Turn/Stop/Hazzard lights and Fuse 4 is exterior lamps, instrumentation panel. Fuse 5 (which hasn't blown) is turn/stop/hazzard, ignition control, rear window defrost, shift lock, daytime running lamps (I don't have that), air bag restraint. In the archives I found the Fuse panel layout. The archives are a great source, but I didn't see anything covering what I have.

 

The turn signals & right/left stop lamps use the same wiring from the multifunction switch to the bulbs. So it sounds like there is either a short in the wire to the center stop light, or in the multifunction switch.
I'd remove the connector from the multifunction switch & if the fuse does'nt blow i'd replace the multifunction switch. BTW, I dont have a wiring diagram for a 93 Aerostar, so i'm just guessing at how the circuit works & what might be wrong based on the wiring diagrams for my 2 Fords.

 

72pipnz,

If I understand correctly, with good fuses you start the car, press on the break and can shift out of park and drive normally until you park again. Then when you restart the car and press on the break, you can not shift out of park and fuses 1 and 4 are both blown.

Just a thought..could it be the break switch at the break pedal shorting out or it's associated wiring?

Ron

 

XLT, what is this multi function switch you speak of? I will be looking at the break switch first. If that works great, if not I'll look at the brake wiring. The funny thing is, the turn signals still work even though they are part of the same fuse.
I'm really hoping that it is the break switch. I'll keep you updated.
Elmer.

 

Looked a the brake switch, unfortunately it's good. There is another type of switch that goes to the brake pedal. It almost looks like some kind of a hose attached to it. Any idea what that is? Someone told me there's something in the steering column...any ideas? Also teh multifunction switch. Where is that? Thanks for the help so far.
Elmer.

 

The switch with hose attached removes vacuum from the cruise control when you hit the brakes. If this is wired the way I think it is,the brake light switch is wired to a splice, one wire goes directly to the center brake light, the other goes to the multifunction/MFS switch in the steering column. You might have a short in the MFS or in the wire bundle in the steering column or in the wire to the center brake light. Your Haynes manual will tell you how to remove the plastic steering wheel shroud so you can remove the connector to the MFS switch and see if the fuse still blows.

 

Ok, I'm a bonehead, you guys are awesome. I bought a 25 pack of fuses and went thru a lot of them. I had connectors disconnected everywhere, I had the steering housing apart and I had some really (I mean really) wierd happenings in my circuitry. I checked teh wires of my towing wiring and there were no shorts between the wires of that to my brakes so I looked elsewhere. After hours of searching, I finally found the problem...there was a short in the connector of the towing connector. Such a simple solution with a lot of frustration and checking everywhere (including Ford service dept), and now the lights work, I can shift out of park and now I get the joy of putting everything back together again. Thanks for all of your help, you're awesome.
Elmer.

 

Glad you found it. Short in the towing wiring..well, you learn something new everyday...Sorry you went through so much trouble and have to put so much back together...At least you can be assured that your hard work will someday save another forum reader, who has the same problem, from missing the towing wiring in his/her preliminary system check.

Happy holidays to you and yours.

Ron