First: Door jamb wiring/ power window issue.. NOW: No dash cluster, radio, AC!?!?

[sullen]

Hello everyone....

New owner here.
I just got a 2004 EB Explorer.
It’s a 4.0L, 4x4, has the electronic heat/ac.

It was having the power window issue that I’ve read is common to these trucks inside the flex connector of the drivers door. It looked to have been previously done, but poorly.

I reconnected the wires that came apart, and the ones that were half assed.

Closed everything back up, turned the truck on, and now the whole dash cluster , radio, and the heater/ac unit is not working.

The only thing in the cluster that works is the turn signals. The airbag light signals on when the truck starts too. Other than that nothing at all.

I checked the delayed accessory fuse (fuse #17 I think it was?) wiggles the wires I made connections with, no sign of life in the cluster.
Right now in the door, the power locks and the power mirrors are working but nothing else...

Any ideas what could have happened?
Thanks in advance...

 

[Donystoy]

That is a tough one! If you only repaired the harness at the door jamb it certainly should not be effecting anything else. The only thing that I can think of is that you might have inadvertently pulled on a wire somewhere under the dash and disconnected it. It almost has to be something that was disturbed while doing the work. I haven't had to do this repair myself but I have seen ground wires under trim screws that were left off during re-assembly causing issues.

 

[sullen]

I checked for any wires that could’ve been disturbed.

Tried a new cluster and still no luck.
I guess there is a 0.00001% chance I bought a broken cluster, but got it from an auto parts seller on eBay with 100% feedback and a very high rating.

About at my wits end with this!!

 

[sullen]

A buddy with a 2005 said he had a bad alternator and his cluster/windows/radio went out .
Checked the alternator and it’s working fine.

Bad ecm maybe?

There is no gem module in the third gens, right?
I’m reading conflicting info on the presence of one....

 

[Donystoy]

Did you have the battery disconnected before you started the repair to the wiring for the power windows? My guess is that there is nothing wrong with either of the clusters that you have. Very difficult to help here without seeing it but these vehicles certainly do strange things when there is an issue with the battery voltage. How did you check the alternator? Have you put a volt meter across the battery posts to check the voltage when the engine is running? Should be around 14.5 v or slightly less. Just hard to imagine that another component would fail at the very time you did the wiring repair. Have you plugged in a code reader to check for any codes?
If you can get to any of the power feeds for the radio or heater systems that are not operating you could put a temporary 12 volt accessory source to it and see if all the items that are not working come to life. Might help in the trouble shooting. Hopefully you can do this without removing the dash bezels. A wiring diagram would also help in trying to find these wires by the color coding. I know how congested it is under these dashes. Also checking for voltage at the respective fuses would help.

 

[sullen]

Did you have the battery disconnected before you started the repair to the wiring for the power windows? My guess is that there is nothing wrong with either of the clusters that you have. Very difficult to help here without seeing it but these vehicles certainly do strange things when there is an issue with the battery voltage. How did you check the alternator? Have you put a volt meter across the battery posts to check the voltage when the engine is running? Should be around 14.5 v or slightly less. Just hard to imagine that another component would fail at the very time you did the wiring repair. Have you plugged in a code reader to check for any codes?
If you can get to any of the power feeds for the radio or heater systems that are not operating you could put a temporary 12 volt accessory source to it and see if all the items that are not working come to life. Might help in the trouble shooting. Hopefully you can do this without removing the dash bezels. A wiring diagram would also help in trying to find these wires by the color coding. I know how congested it is under these dashes. Also checking for voltage at the respective fuses would help.

Thanks for the reply!
I don’t remember if I unhooked the battery, I think I did, but I’m not 100% sure.
I thought this was just going to be simple routine wire splicing, so I was paying anything much mind.

Yes I tested it with the volt meter on the battery.

It’s showing zero codes, I do have the most basic scanner out there (think the cheapest one at harbor freight bought ten+ years ago) not sure if I picked up a much needed upgrade that if it would give me any more insight.

I looked over any wires I could have disturbed again, with a fine tooth comb this time.

I’m about ready to bring it to a shop and have them diagnose it, really at my wits end here.

 

[boominXplorer]

Check every fuse, it's possible you blew one you haven't checked.