Early 1999 Ford F-250 7.3L 4x4 Crew Cab Long Bed. 160+ miles.

Please read carefully:

Tonight my friend had left a restruant and was driving and noticed that NONE of his gauges were working. They were all lit up but not functioning,he also noticed is ABS was on. This was when he was on his way to meet up with me anyway. When we met up he went to roll down his window and the windows do not work. Opens his door and the dome/cargo lights don't work. his map lights DO work. Truck starts fine. and the ABS and WTS light come on as they should when the ignition is turned on. ALL other lights work properly (headlights, tail lights, back up lights, ect.) As we are standing there with his door open the dome/cargo lights flick on then off one time. When he turns the ignition to the on position the cargo/dome lights turn on then off one time. With the ingintion in the on position we are playing with his window switch's. As we put any two of them down at the same time the cargo/dome lights start flicking on and off untill you let go. They also do this if the ignition is off if you are holding down two window switch's at the same time. We checked ALL possible fuses under dash and all possible fusses and Maxi-Fuses under the hood. All are OK. We chacked all the batterey terminals and they are all tight.

I am sure I left something out but either way I am lost on this one any help is always appreciated!

 

I'd clean the battery terminals, and check any ground connection on the truck(including the ones under the dash.).

 

Check for signs of water leakage near the fusebox. IIRC it was the early 99's that had the issue with water leaking by the windsheild some of the symptoms seem like classic GEM problems and that is located on the back of the fuse box.

 

I had strange electrical problems due to a leaking windshield right after I bought my truck. Woke me up in the middle of the night with the horn blowing and I could not shut it off, so I disconnected the batteries. In the morning, I connected the batteries and had clickings, lights and all kinds of activity when I made the connection. Put it on charge for the day and took my wife's van to work. When I reconnected the batteries when I got home, the engine started cranking when I connected the second battery, no key in the ignition. I quickly disconnected and couldn't find any reason, except for water marks where the windshield leaked everywhere. Had a windshield repair outfit come and put in a new windshield and the next day had it towed to an electrical specialist (so I was told). They looked at it and everything worked fine, and has ever since.

 

I had that same problem last month,to make a long story short,a solenoid which is located in the engine valley was burnt.(looks like the same kind the old ford use to use as a starter solenoid)It didn't complete the charging circuit so it killed my batteries and fried my alternator.Try checking voltage with engine off and running to see if the alternator is charging.

 

Well he didn't try doing anything to it yet. I am still thinking a bad ground or battery connection. But he is a mechanic and can be stubborn.

 

It seems like a mechanic's car is always breaking down. I know to many and they drive some of the most unreliable cars. You'd think the other way they'd be good but no.

 

I had the exact same problem because i like to put my foot on the drivers kick panel when i back up.There is a ground back there that i broke. Easyfix hardto figure out.

 

blown 10a fuse under dash towards the bottom of the panel. happend to me a while ago

 

We checked all the fuyses when it first happened they are all ok.

 

Water leak from windshield causing corrosion on GEM behind fuse panel is what I would think. Look for green stuff growing back there.

 

behind the fuse panel under the dash?

 

You got it buddy!!! A small red ground wire in some plastic black wire covering. I seen it and pulled on it and sure enough it was attached to anything, just a pinched off wire hanging out. Found the other end of it bolted to something inside the kicker panel closest to the door. Put it to a piece of metal and everything started working again!

Thanks! I don't know that i have seen you post before. So Welcome to FTE from me. Whats your first name?

 

That's cool. Glad it is fixed and it was easy because these shorts and grounds can be a bear. Who is this friend Nolan? Not a member? For shame.

 

Its actually his dad's truck. I have attempted to get him on here, maybe now he will listen when i tell him these people know everything about these trucks... The funny thing is he is an amazing mechanic when it comes to most vehicles. But thanks to FTE i can run circles around him when it comes to PSD's. He was convinced that the problem was something more major. When i met up with him tonight i jumped in his truck and pulled off his fuse box access panel and the kicker panel. And there i found it. This dump little wire that has no reason to be grounded there. We relocated it.