'03 Ranger blower fuse blows when put into drive.

[snapbean]

I thought I had a bad blower motor, as it would occasionally blow a fuse with no rhyme or reason, until recently it's gotten worse then I noticed I could actually hear the fuse blow and it was when I put the automatic transmission in "Drive" (a/c blower off). I then noticed that the fuse also controls something with the transmission, but that's all I've figured out. Is there a relay or something that could be bad? Why is the transmission fused?

Also, I'm not sure if this is related, but the air bag light is on. This fuse also has something to do with the passenger side airbag cut off.

Thanks in advance for any ideas anyone may have.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! I've moved your thread to the Ranger section. Your transmission is electronic, so check the wiring harness for shorted wiring.

 

[snapbean]

A quick update - I switched the blower motor relay with one of the others and drove around and tried to recreate the problem. It seems to now be working, although I only drove it around for 15 - 20 minutes, but I shifted it in and out of drive numerous times. It's really weird, but it was definitely blowing the fuse when I put it in Drive. Other than that there were no problems noted with the transmission, so I tried the relay. I just hope this works, cause it's starting to get hot down here. Oh, one other thing - the air bag light is no longer lit. I'll try it for a few days and then go get a new relay to replace the one acting up.

 

[BrianDye]

Fords fuses are great,

same one that powers your brake lights powers your stereo
same one that powers your ac blower powers your rear wiper

...LOL

 

[rwenzing]

Fuse #2 in the dash fuse panel powers:

• Blower relay by way of the HVAC panel
• Transmission Range Sensor on the trans
• Transmission Control Switch (O/D Cancel) on the shifter stalk
• Restraints Control Module (airbags)
• PAD switch (airbags)

If the symptoms return when shifting, you should check the two wires to the TCS on the shifter stalk. At higher miles, the wires may chafe and/or break on the top of the steering column where they make a right angle bend coming out of the hollow shifter. This can cause a momentary short to ground when moving the lever. Access for inspection by removing the upper column trim.

 

[snapbean]

Bob,
Thanks for the tip - I'll check it out today. It's still intermittently blowing the fuse when I shift into Drive only. I'll post back with my results. Thanks again.

 

[snapbean]

Hey Bob,
You nailed it on the head. It was just as you mentioned. You don't know how much I appreciate the help.
Thanks again,
Barre

 

[rwenzing]

You're welcome - glad you got it fixed!

 

[old timer]

Can the chafed wires be fixed or do they have to be replaced? My ranger has the same problems but I am not handy at fixing things, do you know if this is pricey to fix?
Thanks

 

[snapbean]

The fix in my case was really easy and obvious. Once you take the plastic trim off the top of the steering column, just look for the wires coming out of the shifter stalk. These wires are from the button that turns the overdrive off and on at the end of the shifter. It's been over a year but I think I put som heat shrink tubing on the wires and taped over them good with electrical tape. The insulation was rubbed off and causing the blower fuse to blow - it had gotten to a point where I would blow several in one day. It took me a while to realize that the fuse was blowing when i shifted into gear.

Good luck with this, but it should be a really easy quick fix - hope I didn't put the mouth on you!

 

[old timer]

Snapbean,
Thanks for the info I made the fix just as you had described and everything is working fine.

 

[snapbean]

I'm glad it worked - wish they were all that easy! I thought whatever was causing the problem was going to cost big bucks, so I was happy with the fix as I'm sure you were.