2003 explorer xlt blown fuse problem

[ghsr]

Hi. I have the # 17, 15 amp fuse in my central junction box blown. It feeds power to the accessory delay relay, which is good. The relay sends power to the power windows and the microprocessor for the instrument cluster. Like I said, the fuse is blown, the relay is good, but my power windows and radio do not work. When I bypass the relay and send power straight to the main power wire on the window switch at the door ( the LT BLUE/BLACK ) wire, my windows work and my radio works. Why does the radio work when I give my windows power? Can it back feed through the relay to power the radio in another circuit? Everything else works in the instrument panel. If I try to put a new 15 amp fuse in to give the relay power it blows instantly. Any ideas will be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[BigRondo]

Welcome aboard!!

I have moved your thread to the 3rd Gen Sub Forum.

Having said that:

I had similar electrical issues with my '02 XLT. The dome lights would stay on until the battery saver feature turned them off, the accessory delay wasn't working, the driver side puddle light didn't work, the keypad on the door would set off the alarm when I pressed it, the door ajar light would flash and beep at highway speeds, the radio would shut off as soon as I turned the key off, the alarm would beep twice when I armed it. Recently all 4 windows stopped working. Most recently the driver door lock actuator stopped working.

A lot of electrical issues can be traced back to broken/damaged wire(s) in the boot between the body and the driver's door. I found 3 broken wires and repaired them. The thin black ground wire was broken and after repairing it all was back to normal. When the windows stopped working, I repaired the thick black ground wire and the windows now work like a champ. I had to repair the pink/black wire to fix the driver door lock actuator.

Here is the thread for removing the door panel: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums//showthread.php?t=303524

Here is a great thread for checking for broken/damaged wires, thanks to synyster for this awesome write-up: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums//showthread.php?t=270081

Unfortunately the pictures are no longer available in the above thread. IIRC, I believe I unwrapped the wires enough to gain access. When I have gone searching in there I had an idea of what wire I was looking for. I located the the wire I was looking for and gently tugged on that wire on the door side. The wire was pulled toward me and out of the harness. I then went inside the vehicle and gently tugged on the the wire I was looking for and was able to pull it inside the vehicle. I then spliced a length of wire to the 2 ends, completing the circuit. I then gently pulled the excess into the door.

Be sure to take your time when looking for broken/damaged wire(s). Check all the wires for breaks/damage. When you think you're done looking, look again, and again, and again. A bright flashlight can be very helpful.

Good luck getting it sorted.

Please keep us posted as feedback helps others reading this post looking for a fix to the same or similar issue!

 

[ghsr]

Thanks for the info. Wire was broken inside the boot between the door and the vehicle. So far everything is good. Ordered wiring book and fuses when this happened but don't need it now. Probably will later though. Ha ha!

 

[BigRondo]

Thanks for the info. Wire was broken inside the boot between the door and the vehicle. So far everything is good. Ordered wiring book and fuses when this happened but don't need it now. Probably will later though. Ha ha!

Nice job getting it sorted and thanks for the update! :biggthump