I posted this in the wrong forum, (1999-2016 Super Duty forum) yesterday I think, as I have had zero replies from any of the normal experts here in the this forum.

As I have had the weekend to reassess the issue(s) I am asking about, the more I think this is just a coincidence that the Wipers and ABS issues appeared at the same time, but I have a few degrees of doubt and hope to get some advice from the experts.

BLUF: Wipers inop, Radio Clock, and ABS light stays on.

UPDATE: 20240422 - 0730 - Noticed this morning, the OEM radio clock is also inop, any ideas?

Details: I replaced all illumination bulbs in my gauge cluster with LEDs easy enough and was feeling good after I got the cluster reinstalled and everything looked perfect; no problem at this point but wanted to mention for transparency. I moved to the next project: wire in my Genex rear view mirror for HomeLink functionality. I like to install things as close to OEM as possible and wanted to run power from the back of the fuse panel vs tapping into an existing wire or fuse with a fused pigtail as the fuse panel cover would not close properly with a fused pigtail installed.

Being VERY old school, I expected that I could jumper (add a wire and not really jumper with one of those wire clamshell type jumpers) off an accessory fuse from the back of the fuse panel. I was surprised to see a closed unit in the back, so I performed these steps (and learned something new):

• I disconnected all power sources and took the time to clean both batteries and added a bit of distilled water to the cells.
  • I left batteries disconnected.
• I reviewed the owners manual an determined which fuse I was going to use for the power.
• I removed the interior drivers side cover to the fuse panel.
• I removed the 4 ea. bolts holding the fuse panel to the lower dash.
• I maneuvered the fuse panel so I could remove the cover over the large wire on the left (looking at the fuse panel from inside the truck) and then unbolted the wire.
• I was able to pull the fuse panel out far enough to see the back of the fuse panel with the 4 ea. multi-wire connectors on the left back side.
  • I unplugged the 4 connectors so I could maneuver the panel a bit to get 'eyes-on' the back of the fuse panel.
• After being educated that the fuse panel did not have direct connection/wires directly behind each fuse, I assessed that I would not be able to complete what I had initially intended to do.
• I made sure that all the plugs I did not remove, were seated well and then reattached the 4 ea. plugs I removed above.
• I reattached the big wire and cover back to the left side of the fuse panel.
• I reinstalled the fuse panel with the 4 ea. bolts.
• I reattached the batteries.
• I started the truck without issue, as normal.
• Upon starting, ABS light was on constantly.
• I shut down for the day with my mind processing what to do about finding a power source for my HomeLink mirror.
• Jumped into the truck in the morning and went to use the wipers to clear the rain off from the overnight rain, and they would not work, yet the turn signals and brights/dims worked without issue.
• I checked fuses for blown fuse for wipers and for ABS, and everything was good.
• I checked power at the fuses for wipers and power was present.
• I disconnected batteries.
• I removed fuse panel as in the above steps and reseated all connectors thinking I may have loosened something inadvertently and everything seemed to be tight.
• I reinstalled fuse panel as in the above steps.
• I reconnected batteries.
• I started truck with same results, ABS light on, and wipers inop.
• I ran FORScan and only ABS came up with DTC's: ABS: B1676 - Battery out of Range, ABS: C1185 - ABS Power Relay Output Circuit Failure, and ABS: C1096 - Pump Motor Open Circuit.
• I reset all DTC's several times with them coming right back.

I do not have a previous log saved for my truck so I do not know if the DTC's were current or they were there for a while and not caused by my actions removing the fuse panel hunting for an acceptable power source for the HomeLink mirror.

I am stumped on both issues, and frankly, the fix for the ABS can be delayed as I drive like an old man and give plenty of distance, but it is the rainy season here in Georgia and I need my wipers.

Any nudge would be appreciated to help me figure out what may have happened.

Also, if anyone can suggest a better alternative, or 'tired and true' methods for adding to a system that works, I would be open to your suggestions. I really want the HomeLink to work so I can ditch the hand-held remote garage door opener.

Thanks.
UPDATE: 20240422 - 1430 - All day I was distracted, really all weekend too, about this issue. I am not an idiot, but sometimes I do make mistakes. And when I make mistakes, I like to figure them out myself most times. This afternoon, I reran my steps, I did everything above but I also fully removed the fuse panel from the truck and inspected what I could inspect without disassembly of the fuse panel. Although my mechanical mind was REALLY pushing me to open it up to see how it was put together, I curtailed that urge with a Snickers and some self-counselling, I already have PTSD, and did not need an excuse to lose my mind by making another mistake (assuming I have made one already).

I could not find ANY issues with skinned or broken wires or connectors. I am nearly 100% sure my work last week was not the cause of the Wipers Failure and the ABS DTC's, but I am NOT 100%, just nearly.
So I am going to order a new turn signal/wiper switch and see if that cures my Wiper issue, I am confident, well >85% confident, the switch is bad as the turn signals and high beams work fine. Of course, it could be my wiper/washer assembly, but lets just go with the easy route first.

The ABS DTC's, I am totally clueless on how to address, and if anyone has ideas, please help a dude out with some advice.

Thanks again in advance, I hope to hear from someone soon as this is killing my sleep cycle!

UPDATE: 20240423 - I ordered a Dorman wiper switch/turn signal switch yesterday under the thought of the wiper switch actually being bad. I will know sometime today if that fixes the wiper issue.

 

Problems:
- Wipers inoperative
- OEM Radio Clock Inoperative
- ABS light stays on.

Modifications immediately preceding / precipitating problems:
- Removed, disassembled, reassembled electrical center to add wires for aftermarket rearview mirror homelink
- Replaced all illumination bulbs in the smart gauge cluster (a node on the vehicle LAN network) with LEDs

DTC's Pulled (via FORScan):
- ABS: B1676 - Battery out of Range,
- ABS: C1185 - ABS Power Relay Output Circuit Failure
- ABS: C1096 - Pump Motor Open Circuit.


Is the foregoing summary accurate?

 

Thanks for the Reply, the following corrections need to be made. Otherwise, all else is accurate.


- OEM Radio Clock Inoperative - I did not do anything to rectify this but in the afternoon, I noticed the clock started working and continues to work.
- Removed, disassembled, reassembled electrical center to add wires for aftermarket rearview mirror homelink. After seeing only connectors to the back of the fuse panel, I decided to not to add the HomeLink power until I was more educated on the wiring system.

- Also note that yesterday, trying to trouble-shoot both issues, I removed, inspected and reinstalled the fuse panel, with nothing visual found that I could contribute to the present issues.

Perhaps it is coincidence, but to try and resolve the wiper issue, I did order a Dorman wiper/signal switch assembly that will be here sometime today.

 

Does anyone have a step-by-step diagnosis process for the ABS issue, similar to this one for an F150?

 

As you might expect, the step by step diagnostic procedures for the ABS codes that you retrieved are found in the 2003 Workshop Manual (Volume 1 of 2) for the F-Super Duty and Excursion.

Also, a bi-directional scan tool for carrying out the On Demand Self Test of the ABS system is key diagnostic tool not to be overlooked when encountering chassis codes ("C" codes are "chassis" codes, as they are unrelated to emissions, and therefore not mandated by law to follow an open source protocol that all OBDII scanners can read, like "P" codes, which are "powertrain" codes.)

Since there are different "levels" of FORScan (a free version, a paid version, a higher paid version, a mobile version, a Windows computer version)... where some versions used in combination with some devices and enhanced by some licenses may allow more functionality than other versions... simply saying that one has "FORScan" is not enough for me to know whether or not whatever version, license, and device you have is capable of conducting an On Demand Self Test of the ABS braking system in your 2003 Super Duty.

Running the On Demand Self Test will verify if the fault codes that you are encountering are persistent. Since you messed around with the instrument cluster and the fuse box, the fault codes may simply be temporary errors.

If you do not have the functionality in your FORScan set up to run an On Demand Self Test, you can still poke around and do something similar to what the fellow did in the video you linked on his F-150.

For your truck, follow the Ford factory Workshop manual diagnostic routine K1 for DTC C1185 and J1 for DTC C1096, which are diagnostic subroutines published in Section 206-09.

These subroutines involve doing the same thing that the fellow did in the video... disconnecting the harness to the ABS HCU (Connector C146), and measuring voltage between pins 9 and 25 and ground, and also measuring the resistance between pins 8 and 24. However, it is best to follow your model and year, because Ford changes wiring as well as brake component suppliers from time to time.

Some FTE members here have digital copies of the Workshop Manual, and might be able to post images of the relevant subroutines cited above to help you, if you are not able to obtain your own copy of a service manual (recommended).

 

For DTC C1185, refer to pinpoint test K in the attached PDF.

 

Thanks for the details and for sharing your deep knowledge around these trucks.
I am using the Extended License of FORScan on my computer, connecting via a FORScan recommended reader via USB on my laptop.
I really need to pickup a copy of the Workshop manual, any suggestions on where to pickup an economical digital copy would be appreciated.
The C and P codes now make sense to me!
I am trying to be detailed on what I do, being very careful when I touch anything, understanding I do not know what I do not yet know. Everything I do, I make sure I can logically undo, which has served me very well over the years.

Thanks again.

 

Thanks Sous, you have always been a fountain of great information.
I have been researching as best as I can and as Y2KW57 mentioned the Shop manuals, I am going to hunt those down as I am not having as much luck with my AllDataDIY subscription as I had hoped for testing processes.

 

@Sous

If you don't mind, can you please also give Scott a copy of pinpoint sequence J, for diagnosing DTC C1096?

 

Pinpoint test J is included in the PDF attachment in post #6.

 

Thanks Sous, I am going to tackle that tomorrow along with testing of the wiper motor before I install this new Dorman wiper switch. This week has been full of learning opportunities indeed.

As an additional question, if you were me, where would you try to connect to for accessory power for various add-ons? A relay may be called for depending on the add-on, but from where would you obtain the power to run the relay? From the back of the fuse panel or elsewhere?

Thanks for the patience.

 

Well, the equipment and parts required depend on how many accessories you are running, going to run, planning to run and not planning to run, but will anyway. @F0rdc0wb0y did a great job at documenting his fuse block project in the link below.

Link: Auxiliary Interior Fuse Block

Shamefully, I took the "I'm only adding this, so I'll tap into this" route. I have cleaned things up a bit, but I should have gone with the fuse block.

Lastly and if you cannot follow the guidance from F0rdc0wb0y, you need to identify a fuse position that is accessory 12v with a test light or multimeter. Hopefully one that is not being used, but if not, one that is a circuit that is not critical to the operation and safety of the truck. I have a 2000 and the fuse diagrams are different. I can pull the diagrams if you need them though.

 

It depends upon what you mean when you say "accessory".

Do you mean accessories like a ham radio, a winch, worklights, inverter, etc?

Or do you mean the accessory position of the ignition switch, where you only want power to your add on accessories with the key in the ignition and turned to the accessory setting (Key On Engine Off)?

If the latter, then obviously your accessories will not work without the key in the ignition. This could be helpful to avoid inadvertent battery drain, and at the same time, inconvenient if wanting to run an accessory briefly, like a CB radio, without having the key in the ignition.

If the former, then the best place to obtain power is directly from the battery, since our trucks do not have any battery management strategy in the PCM.

If you do decide to obtain power directly from the battery, you can buy an aftermarket fuse panel, with enough slots for fuses to power the accessories you intend to add. The aftermarket fuse panel can be fed by one larger diameter wire from either battery.

Be sure to fuse that feed wire as well.

Where you might choose to locate your auxiliary fuse panel will dictate how long the feed wire you add should be. Likewise, the length of the feed wire, in combination of the total load of all circuits you intend to add and fuse individually, will determine the diameter of the feed wire that you add from the battery to the auxiliary fuse panel.

Below are a couple of photos of an example aftermarket fuse panel that I added to support a handful of accessories, in my case twin electric fans close coupled to the transmission cooler and I forget what else (good thing I labeled the fuses... highly recommended if old enough for the AARP to hunt you down for membership).


























Since I don't have ESOF, I mounted the auxiliary fuse box where the ESOF vacuum relay would otherwise be fitted, on the passenger side front fender. I added some OEM speed nuts that were not previously there to enable the installation.

I wanted an insulated mounting plate for the auxiliary fuse box, since the fender is grounded and all the circuit leads are positive. I also wanted a drip shield to deflect water landing on the fender mounting flange from running into the side of the auxiliary fuse panel.

Therefore, the mounting plate needed to be both plastic as well as multi dimensional, or at least have two perpendicular planes... one to mount the fuse panel, and the other to deflect any drips from above.

I cannibalized an old OEM airbox, which was both plastic and 3 dimensional, and after making a 3 D template out of foil, and several mounting plane templates out of cardboard, I dremeled out the desired shape from the discarded airbox.






Any added on accessory circuits powered by an auxiliary fuse box fed directly from the battery... can still be triggered, via relays, from a hot in run circuit, and therefore would only turn on when the key is in the ignition in the accessory or run position, averting inadvertent battery depletion.

 

I am old enough for AARP by a little stretch, so labels are my friends too. I like the added fuse box that @Sous and you mentioned as I REALLY hate taps on anything. I like to try to keep things as original as I can, or to where I can remove my mods if so desired later, without having to rework anything I may have tweaked.

I want to tie into the Key On option and won't need to be running anything without the key on. I try to be methodical about my excursions into the unknown, so this may get done later rather than sooner. Analysis paralysis tends to work for me most times, except for when it doesn't, I.E. gauge cluster bulb replacement.

Thanks for the reply, the pictures did not load for me that you said posted, so not sure if it is just me or others cannot see either. I will do my best to document what I do so someone can learn from my efforts. I will probably add to my build thread I started a few years ago.

 

If your need is more a trigger and not a big amp draw the old school tap off the headlight switch is caveman easy. My temporary gauge install is about 10 years old and working fine.

Blue wire with red stripe.