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2002 Grand Marquis LS lighting issues


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frustrated1
Novice

Feb 24, 2011, 7:12 PM

Post #1 of 15 (11871 views)
2002 Grand Marquis LS lighting issues Sign In

Before I begin, name's Jake. I try my best to keep my vehicles in great shape, but this problem I have is far beyond my capabilities. This may take awhile, so thank you for your patience in advance.

I own a 2002 Mercury Grand Marquis LS Ultimate (VIN handy if needed I suppose) with a 4.6L SOHC V8-281. Mileage 115k.

Problem started after snowfall in December, when the roads were wet for the first time since I bought the car. I was using my wipers when the driver-side headlight went out for no reason, but everything else worked fine. After stopping the car and shutting it off I noticed everything turned off like it's supposed to, except for the driver-side headlight which flickered on and off in exact sync with the "check fuel cap" light on the instrument panel/cluster. At the same time this was all going on I could hear a clicking AND drilling (think dentist drill) noise coming from under the driver-side rear wheel. This would happen every time I drove my car and would always cease after it's been shut off for about 10 minutes. About 2-3 days after all of this started, the driver-side headlight stopped working completely, except under high beam operation, and the horn blared in full glory. Disconnected wire to the horn and took it home. Very next day I took it to my dealership where they, after having it for 2 days, tell me it has to go to a Ford dealership. I take it to Carriage Ford and they had it for over a month.

1) Carriage Ford said for the lights they performed an all module test and found no communication with the LCM. They replaced and reprogrammed the LCM and replaced both headlights and park bulbs...cost $810.88.
2) For the horn they checked the horn power and grounds and replaced a shorted clockspring...$118.50.
3) For the "check fuel cap" warning light and the clicking/drilling sound they found no PCM vapor codes and say the problem is in the cluster. They gave me a code ABS CODE 1175. Said they replaced the speed sensor but needs a new module. I declined the module (est. additional $500). Cost for this fix cost $152.38. All together Carriage Ford charged me $770.16 for parts, $5 for service materials, $0.25 for service history adm (whatever that is), $316 for lab-mechanical, for a grand total of $1,145.32. I almost did a #2 in my pants. Plus now the instrument panel is showing "traction control", "brake" and "abs" warning lights...they WILL not go off. Dealership knows this and says it's the cluster. Plus it still needs a module. The technician told me if it was his car he wouldn't worry about it unless I want to replace my "dealer-only" part...otherwise it shouldn't affect anything.

Well I had the car for a week, angrily staring at my cluster everyday and even went so far as to put a picture over the "brake" and "abs" warning lights. This morning it rained, I had to use my wipers. When I shut off my car for work I noticed that no matter what I did the headlights would NOT turn off. I tried starting the car with the headlight switch in the off position, EVERYTHING off radio incl., but they would not turn off. I hoped after 10 minutes they would shut off, but they didn't. I disconnected the headlights and clocked in for work. After 8hrs of work I connected the headlights and the car wouldn't start...dead battery. Friendly coworker gave me a jump and I made it home no problem, still raining. When I got home I noticed the headlights still wouldn't turn off. I had no choice but to disconnect both terminals on the battery to get them to turn off. I went back outside after about a half hour and reconnected the battery, and the headlights immediately turned on. Car was off, completely dead, and the headlight switch in the off position. I disconnected the battery again for fear of it draining...and I have to get to work tomorrow lol. I guess for the meantime I'll have to repeat this procedure anytime I wish to drive until this gets fixed.

Any advice? Really, thank you SO much to whomever chooses to advise me on this. I understand how complicated it all sounds, and I'm very sorry this reads like a short novel I just hope you understand I wanted to give every detail I could.

But thank you again, any help is realllllllly appreciated.


zmame
Veteran / Moderator
zmame profile image

Feb 24, 2011, 7:37 PM

Post #2 of 15 (11861 views)
Re: 2002 Grand Marquis LS lighting issues Sign In

Hard to say your daytime running lights, autolamps, high, low, flash to pass is controlled by LCM and so is a lot of your cluster lights. looks like abs light isn't though by looking through my diagrams. Possible could be faulty switch. I would pull switch out and disconnect it and see if your lights go out. If you highbeam light is on in the cluster you might want to do same procedure to your high/low/flash2pass switch. If that doesn't stop it I would be looking towards LCM issues.. There might be other issues causing LCM to have issues.


frustrated1
Novice

Feb 24, 2011, 8:05 PM

Post #3 of 15 (11857 views)
Re: 2002 Grand Marquis LS lighting issues Sign In

Thank you for your reply, much appreciated.

Do I have to remove the dash to remove the switch? If so, is there a protocol to follow so I don't deploy my passenger airbag somehow? The high beam indicator isn't illuminated on the cluster until I engage it, but it engages and disengages as it should.


zmame
Veteran / Moderator
zmame profile image

Feb 24, 2011, 8:12 PM

Post #4 of 15 (11856 views)
Re: 2002 Grand Marquis LS lighting issues Sign In

no you don't have to worry about disabling the airbag. All you have to do is pry the switch bezel out its held in by clips and unhook the harness on the switch.


frustrated1
Novice

Feb 25, 2011, 6:22 PM

Post #5 of 15 (11841 views)
Re: 2002 Grand Marquis LS lighting issues Sign In

Okay, after work today I removed the headlight switch...it was pretty easy with a flat head. Disconnected both connectors (the one behind the round dial and the one behind the dimmer switch), reconnected them, disconnected them one at a time, all the while messing with the dial and trying different settings...nothing. Headlights still remain illuminated. I did notice that when I turn the dial switch from "off" to "autolamp" or "on" they get dimmer or brighter. Bright happens during "autolamp" and "on", and they dim slightly when switched to "off."


zmame
Veteran / Moderator
zmame profile image

Feb 26, 2011, 7:54 AM

Post #6 of 15 (11832 views)
Re: 2002 Grand Marquis LS lighting issues Sign In

I suspect could be DRL (Daytime running light module). you can unplug DRL module. This won't affect your headlamps or autolamps. OR Pull fuse 6(20A) from fuse panel under the hood and also pull fuse 16(15A) from fuse panel from inside the car.

I recommend unplugging the DRL so you know its the DRL for sure.

How to unplug DRL module:

Its location is between the two headlamps on rad support up top.



Removal
  1. Remove the battery ground cable.
  1. Remove the sight shield.
    • Twist the clips.




Remove the daytime running lamps (DRL) module.
  1. Disconnect the electrical connector.
  1. Remove the bolt.
  1. Remove the DRL module





After you have done that verify that the problem is gone. If so tape up connector so it doesn't by chance short to ground and replace with new DRL module


(This post was edited by zmame on Feb 26, 2011, 11:21 AM)


frustrated1
Novice

Feb 27, 2011, 11:58 AM

Post #7 of 15 (11823 views)
Re: 2002 Grand Marquis LS lighting issues Sign In

Thanks again for all of your help :)

I didn't even know my model had daytime running lights...I've never noticed and I even looked for them awhile ago and concluded I didn't have that feature. But I followed your advice and did indeed find a module between the headlamps to the right of the hood latch. Makes sense if I never noticed the DRLs then this module could have been bad the whole time. I disconnected it, pretty difficult as the bolts were hard to turn, and went through my headlight test. Found when I started the car the lights didn't come on, which was GREAT since they're supposed to be off. Turned on my parking lamps then turned them off, they worked. Turned my headlights on and off...they didn't turn off.

I removed fuse 16 from the panel under my dash, and tried to pull fuse 6 from under the hood but there wasn't a fuse in that slot. All that's on that row are fuses 1, 2, 3, and 5...4 and 6 are empty.


frustrated1
Novice

Feb 27, 2011, 12:10 PM

Post #8 of 15 (11818 views)
Re: 2002 Grand Marquis LS lighting issues Sign In

Upon further inspection I believe this module may be my air bag sensor. The part number on it is 1W1A-14B006-AE. I looked it up on the Ford parts website, and it says 14B006 is an Air Bag Sensor. I replaced it immediately and looked for another module. There isn't one. I thought it was the daytime running lights module seeing as to how both headlights are wired to it.


Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Hammer Time profile image

Feb 27, 2011, 12:22 PM

Post #9 of 15 (11814 views)
Re: 2002 Grand Marquis LS lighting issues Sign In

The lighting control module is under the dash on the driver's side, above the steering column.






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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.



frustrated1
Novice

Feb 27, 2011, 2:18 PM

Post #10 of 15 (11809 views)
Re: 2002 Grand Marquis LS lighting issues Sign In

Hammer Time, thanks for the reply.

The LCM has been replaced with a brand new unit, are you suggesting it could be bad? I know where the LCM is under the dash, zmame is suggesting the problem could be the daytime running lights module. I searched for, and couldn't find, a module of that sort and I believe my model isn't even equipped with daytime running lights. Could it be my autolamp sensor is bad? How can I check it? Would it even prevent me from turning my headlights off even after the vehicle is shut off though?


Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Hammer Time profile image

Feb 27, 2011, 2:23 PM

Post #11 of 15 (11805 views)
Re: 2002 Grand Marquis LS lighting issues Sign In





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.



zmame
Veteran / Moderator
zmame profile image

Feb 27, 2011, 3:41 PM

Post #12 of 15 (11797 views)
Re: 2002 Grand Marquis LS lighting issues Sign In

Yes it will more then likely be issue with LCM.. Forgive me I forgot that Daytime running lights are not mandatory in USA. They are in mandatory in Canada. some cars from USA have them some don't. I would think might be issue with LCM if so should be under warranty. All ford parts are 1 year or 20,000KM .


(This post was edited by zmame on Feb 27, 2011, 3:43 PM)


frustrated1
Novice

Mar 9, 2011, 5:28 PM

Post #13 of 15 (11765 views)
Re: 2002 Grand Marquis LS lighting issues Sign In

First of all, thank you for the suggestions. I'm kind of upset about the situation still but you guys are trying so therefor no hard feelings. Now...

It's NOT THE LCM. I had to spend ANOTHER $549.71 for a new LCM, put it in myself, and STILL the same issues. Now I proudly own TWO LCM units, both of which are good, and my problem is still the same. The headlights will NOT turn off unless I disconnect the battery. When I reconnect the battery the damn headlights shine on like someone just turned them on...even after the battery has been disconnected overnight and everything in the car is turned off. This is really starting to piss me off, nobody can tell me ANYTHING, and the damn Ford "experts" are shaking their heads because they've run out of expensive stuff for me to spend money on replacing. What a racket.

I wish I could afford to light this car on fire but as it is I owe money on it :(

Anywho just an update. I guess I'll get a multimeter or whatever and trace every damn wire in the car. Drink some beer, invite some friends over, and make a party of it. I just want to be done with it lol. Sigh.


zmame
Veteran / Moderator
zmame profile image

Mar 9, 2011, 6:00 PM

Post #14 of 15 (11752 views)
Re: 2002 Grand Marquis LS lighting issues Sign In

Try pulling fuse 6 (20A) in fuse panel under the hood and tell me if they go out.


zmame
Veteran / Moderator
zmame profile image

Mar 9, 2011, 6:30 PM

Post #15 of 15 (11751 views)
Re: 2002 Grand Marquis LS lighting issues Sign In

Try above first ^^^^

if that fails try this...

ok been doing some looking at wiring diagrams for last hour. If you where getting power from LCM you should be able to cycle high low with lights off. Since your high beams indicator light is not on in cluster I would suspect issue is on low beam side.. I would unplug your high/low switch since the power has to pass through it to get to your headlights if lights are still on unplug fuse 26(10A) and 24(10A) from fuse panel in the car. let me know the results.






 
 
 






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