2001 Sport: Rear blinkers/brake lights don't work. Everything else does.

[steventadams]

Okay so I'm in a bit of a pickle.

A few weeks ago my Compass/Dome light went out. My right rear blinker then went out. Then my left rear blinker went out. They all share a common ground according to my Haynes Manual. The front blinkers and indicators on the dash work fine. I did continuity checks on the MFS and it's still good and the rest of the MFS works fine.

The fuses all lit up my test light except a few that didn't light up on either side so I assume those are spares. Does anyone have a fuse box diagram or list? Haynes doesn't have one.

I don't have power to either rear blinker so I've ruled out a bad ground. The Haynes Manual shows the blinkers share a pigtail somewhere upstream of the lights but I have no idea where it is.

Does anyone have any sort of map or wiring diagram that shows physically where junctions and wiring harnesses are in this dang vehicle? I need to get these things working.

Any ideas? Thanks.

Edit: I also did continuity checks on the bulb sockets, they are good. The bulbs themselves are new as well. The high mount brake light works fine also. It's just those two bulbs that don't have power.

 

[swshawaii]

Just to be safe, assume this means from the "B" pillar forward. There are differences with the 2001 ST Job 1 and Job 2 engines.

The 01-03 Sport has EXACTLY the same front end as the 2001-2005 Sport Trac .....NO difference. They are totally different from the regular 4-door Explorer.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2622504&postcount=9

Fuse diagram shown in the owners manual.
https://owner.ford.com/servlet/Cont...oLogin=Owner/Page/OwnerGuidePage&ord=31290510

Repair Manuals & Wiring Diagrams
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3302084&postcount=4

TSB's & Wiring Diagrams
http://www.bbbind.com/free_tsb.html

 

[cwol97401]

This is worth a mention just because I had the same problem om my ford escort:

Note:my escort was a 97 so it may not be the same issue but it is possible.
I am also assuming you have a trailer wiring harness.

After I added a trailer harness to my factory wiring i put too big of a load on my flasher unit under the dash and burnt out the contacts for the rear lights. On mine, there was a flasher box that was twice the size of a relay and had about 10 wires going to and from it (each corner of the car is controlled independently). the flasher box has circuits for each bulb in it and if one burns up it quits working. my flasher was a yellow box fastened way up under the dash.

A second problem area could be the grey connector for the hazard flasher switch, the brake and turn wires run through this plug and switch. on my mountaineer, the switch became brittle and the wires broke free. I replaced the big grey plastic connector and everything worked great again. There are two harness connectors, my issue was with the upper one next to the flasher switch, not the lower one next to the indicator lever.

happy endeavors.

 

[steventadams]

This is worth a mention just because I had the same problem om my ford escort:

Note:my escort was a 97 so it may not be the same issue but it is possible.
I am also assuming you have a trailer wiring harness.

After I added a trailer harness to my factory wiring i put too big of a load on my flasher unit under the dash and burnt out the contacts for the rear lights. On mine, there was a flasher box that was twice the size of a relay and had about 10 wires going to and from it (each corner of the car is controlled independently). the flasher box has circuits for each bulb in it and if one burns up it quits working. my flasher was a yellow box fastened way up under the dash.

A second problem area could be the grey connector for the hazard flasher switch, the brake and turn wires run through this plug and switch. on my mountaineer, the switch became brittle and the wires broke free. I replaced the big grey plastic connector and everything worked great again. There are two harness connectors, my issue was with the upper one next to the flasher switch, not the lower one next to the indicator lever.

happy endeavors.

My wiring diagrams don't show a blinker relay unfortunately and the hazard switch looks to be upstream of the blinker wiring. I never did verify that my front hazards were working. The indication lights up on the dash with the hazards though.

 

[swshawaii]

Just for the heck of it, try tilting the steering column all the way UP. If that helps you have a MFS connector issue. 2001-03 two door Sports are identical to 2001-05 Sport Tracs from the "B" pillar forward. There are differences with 2001 ST Job 1 & 2 engines.

http://www.mysporttrac.com/MySportTrac/projects/Steering_Column_Wiring_Repair_Gen1.pdf

 

[MAS Tequila]

A buddy of mine had the same symptoms with an '03 Sport.

It ended up being the MFS.

MT

 

[steventadams]

A buddy of mine had the same symptoms with an '03 Sport.

It ended up being the MFS.

MT

Maybe I'd be better off just changing it out just to verify. I don't see how it could be the problem though if the other signals light up.

According to the Haynes Manual there is a common blinker output from the MFS that splits into 3 leads, 1 for rear 1 for front 1 for dash. 2 of those 3 light up correctly but the one doesn't.

 

[steventadams]

Just for the heck of it, try tilting the steering column all the way UP. If that helps you have a MFS connector issue. 2001-03 two door Sports are identical to 2001-05 Sport Tracs from the "B" pillar forward. There are differences with 2001 ST Job 1 & 2 engines.

http://www.mysporttrac.com/MySportTrac/projects/Steering_Column_Wiring_Repair_Gen1.pdf

I tried tilting all the way but no luck. The connectors are definitely loose. But the problem persists even when I manually hold them in place.

I've also verified with a test light that I get power to the MFS output wire for each blinker.

 

[steventadams]

Just for the heck of it, try tilting the steering column all the way UP. If that helps you have a MFS connector issue. 2001-03 two door Sports are identical to 2001-05 Sport Tracs from the "B" pillar forward. There are differences with 2001 ST Job 1 & 2 engines.

http://www.mysporttrac.com/MySportTrac/projects/Steering_Column_Wiring_Repair_Gen1.pdf

****. The wiring diagram for the 2001 Sport Track is different from the one in my Haynes Manual. I may have been working off the wrong diagram. This may solve many problems for me.

 

[swshawaii]

Thanks Hayne's..... again. :fire:

 

[cwol97401]

.

 

[cwol97401]

here are the correct wiring diagrams from Auto Repair Reference Center at ebscohost.com in pdf format

2001 Explorer Sport Early Production Exterior Lighting

2001 Explorer Sport Late Production Exterior Lighting

2001 Explorer Generic Exterior Lighting