New owner, please help, electrical issues

[mikef85]

Hello, my name is Mike and this is my first post on the forum. I purchased a 95 Ford Explorer, 4.0L Eddy Bauer edition a couple of months ago and have been having several electrical issues with it.

#1. The main issue is that my rear tail lights that should illuminate when my headlamps are on do not come on (front running lights, brake lights and license plate light work fine). This is an intermittent issue where they work maby 10% of the time or less. The odd thing about it is that when the tail lights are actually working, I will get a display on the message center saying "check tail lamps" even though they are working fine.. When the tail lights are dead, ironically, the message center has nothing to say. Bulbs and fuse seem fine which makes sense since they sometimes will come on.

#2. My second issue is I just recently started getting a high pitch, constant ringing tone coming from behind the dash above the driver side foot well at all times, regardless of whether the vehicle is on, off, or has the keys in it. It literally makes this high pitch ring 24/7 no matter what. At first I thought maby it was something going crazy with the door chime, but the noise is a different tone then the door chime, slightly quieter, and you can hear the door chime over top of it so I don't think they are related. Any ideas what this could be?

Thank you so much for your help, I really appreciate it

 

[G-96XLT]

Why don't you disconnect the connector to the daytime running lights module to eliminate that as a possible problem for your lights issue. The DRM is under the bumber around the front of the vehicle on the drivers side, they often crap out.

 

[mikef85]

I'm not sure i understand.. I don't have daytime running lights on my model, the only time my tail lights illuminate is if the headlights are turned on. If your advice still pertains to me, by unplugging the module, what would I check for to see if the module was the culprit?

 

[97 EB Mike]

One possible place to check is your LOM (Lamp Outage Module). It's a printed circuit board under your center console that helps feed your message center. They are notorious for burning out, although its more common to have healight issues. There are some pretty helpful threads here pertaining to the LOM. I just replaced mine not long ago, and it literally took me longer to find where it was mounted than it did to see that it was burnt and replace it. Good Luck!

 

[gijoecam]

Ditto on the LOM for problem #1. Though it appears to be 'detecting' the problem, it actually is the source of the problem in all likelihood.

For #2, does the airbag light come on during the lamp test at startup? If not, I'd start there... could be the lamp is burnt out and an SRS trouble code is stored.

The other thing that comes to mind is something squealing in the HVAC system, specifically the blower motor... With the HVAC system set to OFF, does the noise persist?

 

[mikef85]

Ditto on the LOM for problem #1. Though it appears to be 'detecting' the problem, it actually is the source of the problem in all likelihood.

For #2, does the airbag light come on during the lamp test at startup? If not, I'd start there... could be the lamp is burnt out and an SRS trouble code is stored.

The other thing that comes to mind is something squealing in the HVAC system, specifically the blower motor... With the HVAC system set to OFF, does the noise persist?

For #1 I will look into replacing \ bypassing the LOM and will let you know what happens.

For #2. The high pitch squeal noise goes off 100% of the time, whether the vehicle is on, off, keys in the ignition, keys out of the ignition... at 4 am when I am in bed sleeping and the truck is in the driveway, its making the noise. I've turned all the electronics on and off in the car and nothing has any affect on the noise whatsoever.

Thanks again for your replies so far.

 

[jeffpcell]

abs pump / controller ?????

The abs pump / controller are on the drivers side of the truck under the hood. The abs controller is gonna be on the instide of the fender I think. The pump will be on the inside of the frame rail, just follow the rear brake line from the master cylynder. How are the brakes working? Does your abs light come on when you turn the key and go out shortly after? Try pulling the ABS fuse to see if the noise stops