My old lady's 97 explorer with th esohc v6 passenger headlight went out. I replaced the bulb and still nothing. So I hooked up my ohm meter and sure enough no power going to the pigtail but drivers side is fine.

 

I assume that you used a voltmeter - or a multi-function tester set to read DC volts - and not an ohmmeter? Don't mean to nitpick, just want to make sure that you used the correct tool.

First thing to do (if you haven't already) is to check the headlamp fuses - there are three of them. According to the wiring diagram for a '97 Explorer, the high beams of the the two lamps are protected by the same fuse. Do the high beams work on both headlights?

The right and left low beams have individual fuses. Fuse number 4 is for the left-hand (driver's side) light, and number 8 is for the passenger side. Both are 10 amp fuses. Fuse number 33 is for the high beams, and is 15 amps.

If all fuses are OK, it's likely that you have a break in continuity between the fuse block and the headlight connector. Check the connector contacts for corrosion. If there's crud inside the cavities, use some contact cleaner and a small, stiff brush to clean them out. Blow the connector dry with compressed air - the canned stuff works well if you don't have a compressor - and test for 12 volts. Or just install the lamp and see if it works.

If that doesn't fix it, pull out fuse #8 and find the cold terminal (that's the one downstream from the power source). You do this by turning on the headlights and measuring the voltage to ground on each fuse terminal. One should have 12 volts, the other will have zero volts. The one with zero volts is the one you want. Turn off the lights, and now's the time to bust out the ohmmeter. You might need some long leads, but you have to check for continuity between the cold terminal and the low beam contact (it's the one with the dark blue wire with a light green stripe). If you have no continuity between the cold fuse terminal and the connector, then there's your problem. You either have a broken wire or a damaged connector. My guess would be the latter.

Since the driver's side light works OK, the problem is not upstream since the right and left low beam hot terminals are energized from the same source.

Good luck!

 

Good lord Kevin, thats better info than Ford could have given me! Ill check everything this saturday since we work different shifts and report back here. Again THANX!!!

 

Also, if the truck has a lamps out module (LOM) then it might be that. A lot of people here have posted that they loose a headlight and it turns out to be a cracked solder joint inside the LOM. They resolder all of them and it works fine.

-JB

 

You're right, I hadn't thought to ask him if his Ex has a LOM. Matt, if it does have the LOM, my service manual says that with the headlights on, there should be 12 volts between terminal 12 of the LOM connector and ground, and also between terminal 13 and ground. The wire on 12 is dark blue with a light green stripe, and the one on 13 is dark green with an orange stripe.

 

I tested the plug already and theres NO voltage on any of the terminals on the plug.

 

Did you have the headlight switch turned on? Since you said that the driver's side headlight works, then 12 volts should be between pin 1 and ground, and between pin 11 and ground. There's no way, according to the wiring diagram, that the left side headlight can work otherwise. So I'm guessing that you had the headlight switch off. Try checking again with the switch on.

(BTW, if you connect your voltmeter leads to pins 1 and 11 you will read zero volts. That's because a voltmeter reads the difference in voltage between two points. Since pins 1 and 11 both should have 12 volts to ground, they are at the same voltage and the difference is zero.)

Since the driver's side headlight works, everything upstream (toward the battery) of the fuse block is OK. The power to the left and right low beams splits off after the fuse block, as each side has its own fuse. Before that point, there's no difference between right and left. So if the problem were upstream of the fuse block, both lights would be out.

Check it again, and make the checks that I suggested in my first post, and I'm sure you'll find the problem.

Good luck!

 

Yea, no offense but I do know how to check voltage. I had 12 volts on the drivers side and 0 on the passengers.

 

None taken, and none intended. I wanted to make sure that you knew how to use the meter. Lots of folks don't, including some electrical engineers I've known in the past.

Looks like the LOM is your culprit. Pull it out and check the solder joints, as K2 suggested. If it looks OK, I'd suggest hitting up a pull-it-yourself boneyard and getting another one. I shudder to think how much the dealer would charge for one of those!

Alternatively (and this is what I'd do), just jumper the wires on 12 and 13. That'll bypass the LOM, but will keep the separate fusing.

Let us know what happens!
Kevin

 

Wheres the LOM located and do you have any pics of it? I have a clymers manual but that thing aint worth a damn. Can it be any fuses and if so which ones?

 

If your message center includes a lamps out warning indicator then you do have a LOM, & -as mentioned- it does sound like the LOM is the problem.

The pic I have is about as clear as mud on the location of the LOM, but it looks like it's under the center console.

The wiring diagram shows a 13 wire connector plugged into the LOM & as I recall the LOM is about the size of a pack of smokes.

A new LOM is about 80 bucks from Napa, so it's a much better idea to resolder any loose pins on the old one.

 

$80 is a lot less than I thought it would cost. If you're a AAA member, you get a discount on top of that when you present your membership card.

If you've got the display in the center console that tells you how many miles to go until empty, miles per gallon, etc., then you have a LOM. There aren't any other fuses for it than the ones I wrote about in an earlier post, since the LOM is in series with the headlight power circuit.

Matt, when you posted earlier about not having any voltage on the passenger side connector, I thought you were talking about the LOM connector. Is that what you meant, or did you check voltage at the headlight connector? If the headlight connector, refer to my first post for what you need to do to find the problem.

Kevin

 

yes, her car has the message center. I checked the voltage at the wire harness that the headlight plugs into and it had no voltage. Is this a fuse problem or the LOM? What does LOM stand for and is that under the message center?

 

02 XLT 4X4 117K; Every once in awhile when turning off the truck, I hear a buzzing sound the comes from the engine compartment. It sounds like something is slowing down. That is the best I can do to describe the sound. The 4X4 does not work. Never has since I got the truck from dealer. (used) It may happen 1 time in 1.5 to 2 months. Any Ideas?

 

Matt, please go back and read all the responses to your original post. Everything that you need to know is there. Good luck!