Hi folks. So I’ve been toiling away with my 2010 Ford F-150’s radio/cd player, trying to get it working again.

I clipped the ground on the wiring harness that plugs into the back of the radio faceplate (had one heck of a time trying to free this plug from its socket) and got a replacement harness at the wreckers, which I then soldered into position.

I reconnected all the wiring and wiring harnesses and not only was the radio-cd player not working, my instrument cluster and my coveted air conditioning were kaput as well!

Being a novice, I thought perhaps my soldering technique was at fault so I snipped it out, stripped the wire, and soldered again. Still nothing worked.

I’ve learned that the wiring harness I replaced
is part of the CAN bus or control/data lines that carry low-current signals between the head unit and the truck’s network. Damage here can explain why my instrument cluster, LED displays, and air conditioning aren’t working.

Assuming my soldering is solid, where am I to go from here? I’m at my wit’s end and I’m afraid I’ll have to bite the bullet and take it to a mechanic (can’t be driving around with no instruments).

Any advise here is very much appreciated!

P.s. fuses are ok.

 

Multiple modules including the ACM and HVAC use the MS CAN network. If the network is broken, all modules on the network may not work properly.

If you have Forscan you can see what is on the different networks. Otherwise you need wiring diagrams and some time to review all of them.

Here is a website with all the wiring diagrams.
I have navigated to the ACM wiring.
https://charm.li/Ford/2010/F%20150%2...ompact%20Disc/

You should watch some YouTube videos on how to measure termination resistance on CAN networks. This will help you determine if the network is intact. You may be able to troubleshoot this without Forscan or other high quality scan tool. If your ACM is bringing the network down then unplugging the ACM may bring things back to life.

What about the ACM was broken?

Of course check all applicable fuses by measuring voltage on the tiny windows on top of the fuse (don't rely on looking for blown fuse elements).

 

The first pic shows the initial issue: severed black wire on wiring harness (ground?). The second shows the somewhat mangled housing it fits into. So I secured a length of this wiring from the auto wreckers and soldered it together. I plugged everything back in and that’s when the instrument cluster and a-c went down.

So what the heck happened? What are the possibilities here?

Having seen the vehicle model I took the “new”
harness from, it’s radio faceplate is slightly different from mine (mine has a usb port).
I wonder if this might have caused the disruption? The wires looked exactly the same though.

Assuming all the wiring is intact and hooked up properly, what else could it be? I checked the pertinent fuses, but I will double check them (perhaps I missed one). I also went back to the wreckers and pulled another wiring harness from an identical model this time (with the usb port), in case I need to rewire. Also, I extracted an identical radio faceplate to see if maybe that was the issue (it wasn’t).

I hope the problem is something glaringly obvious! Thank you for posting the wiring diagram but I’m afraid that’s a little over my head at the present time. I’m hoping something will come to mind when you see this reply.

I’m hopeful I can get this working myself, with a little help from the forum. I’m dreading taking it to the local Ford dealership. I could see them charging me a bundle.

Thanks!

 

Does this have the 8 inch touch screen with navigation? A few more model details might help.

 

No touch screen. Here’s the console and the instrument cluster:

 

The broken wire appears to be on the connector to the FCIM (front control interface module). It is powered by fuse 26 in the smart junction box. Hopefully the fuse is blown.

 

If that connector is unplugged there should be no shorts to the network and the Instrument Cluster and Climate Control should function with that unplugged. I would check all fuses carefully, for the ACM, instrument cluster and climate control. Do a power reset, disconnect battery for 5 minutes. If all fuses are good I would suspect you have an issue with the instrument cluster and or ACM. The IC are known for cold solder joint failure internally. You can pull the instrument panel cover off and wiggle the connectors on top of the cluster and see if things start working again. If the ACM is internally shorted which may have been the problem from the begining you can try pulling it out and unplugging the connector to it and see what happens. Ive seen a lot of these have had coins floating around in them from kids playing jukebox with the cd slot that caused a shorted ACM. Also ACM have a known history of failure and need replaced, usually just wont power on with the type that have just a display at the top of the center stack.

 

CAN networks have 120 ohm terminaion resistors at each end of the network. For vehicles, these resistors can be inside important modules or data link connectors. I don't know where they are located in your truck and the wiring diagrams do not show their location. But any module that is just communicating on the network can be unplugged without bringing down the network as explained in the previous post.

Here is an easy check to see if the network has the two resisitors installed:

Verifying Network Termination Resistance
With power off unplug connector from any device on the network and measure resistance between CAN Hi and CAN Low.
Resistance should be 60 ohms if both termination resistors are present.
If measurement is 120 ohms only one terminating resistor is present, two resistors are required (see note below).
If 40 ohms is measured a third terminating resistor is installed and should be removed.
If less than 40 ohms is measured there could be a short in the harness or a damaged CAN Port of one of the devices connected to the network.

Your repair should have soldered like color wires to each other....correct? If not, you need to verify wires and connecor pin locations using the wiring diagrams.

 

Eureka! It was fuse #26 that was blown! Chat GPT let me down on this one by not including this fuse in its listing of possible causes. When I pulled the fuse and saw that it was blown…I cannot adequately express the joy I felt.

A quick stop into Canadian Tire and I was back in business. Everything was back on line: the ac, the cd player, the radio, and all the instruments. What a relief!

Many thanks to all of you who responded.

-Mike

 

Good job, good advice from Don