hafcanadian
Member
- Joined
- October 18, 2013
- Messages
- 24
- Reaction score
- 17
- Location
- Oregon
- City, State
- Oregon
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 1997 Ford Explorer Ltd.
The right headlamp on our '97 Explorer Limited is out. Knee jerk reaction was lamp replacement, but that didn't do it. I then checked the filaments in the old halogen lamp and they all looked intact. I checked the 10 amp fuse in the dash side panel for that headlamp and it was fine. I looked in the manual and saw there was another minifuse in the under-hood fuse box, but that 15 amp one was also good. A voltmeter showed voltage at the inside fuse, although I haven't yet checked the sides of the underhood one.
I checked the lamp connector for ground with the ohmeter, and the middle and left spade receivers go to ground; the right one does not. Does that imply the center post is the normal ground, the bright circuit is good, but the low beam line is shorted somewhere? If I recall right, the right bright light worked okay when I kicked it in.
The book shows the fog lights are on the same circuit, and sure enough they don't turn on either. I'm scheduled into the Bend, Oregon, Ford dealer tomorrow to see if they can trace the fault, but that often means hours of labor out of my wallet. It would be great if anyone here has a clue where I can look to fix it myself before then, or at least give their tech some ideas.
As an aside, I have trouble keeping front tires on this rig. It is towed behind a Beaver Coach, then often heads out into the backcountry and rough roads that may knock out the alignment. They wear on the inside. The tires frequently "scrub" when in slow speed tight turns in parking lots and driveways, etc., even right after alignments. No one has ever fixed that, but this same dealer replaced the fronts this week and suggested running up to 36 psi all around when its being towed. They all say I need to do an alignment every few months or after a lot of towing or rough country outings. Fellow Beaver owners with other brands of "toads" don't report such front tire wear problems; Jeeps are common toads, but I'm a Ford man.
After they replaced the fronts by moving the rears up front and new Wranglers on the back, and aligning, the car bounced like a rubber ball on the road. Long story short, after several hours at the dealership, their service advisor finally (at 8:30 pm) figured out the air suspension was overfilling, and somehow by hook or crook we got it to reset and stabilize. Turning the air on and off while on the rack for the tire change and such apparently got it out of whack. I don't think that's somehow causal of the headlight problem, but who knows. I suspect the rough roads recently might have knocked loose a connector somewhere, but any suggestions of where to look beyond fuses and lamps would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Joel
I checked the lamp connector for ground with the ohmeter, and the middle and left spade receivers go to ground; the right one does not. Does that imply the center post is the normal ground, the bright circuit is good, but the low beam line is shorted somewhere? If I recall right, the right bright light worked okay when I kicked it in.
The book shows the fog lights are on the same circuit, and sure enough they don't turn on either. I'm scheduled into the Bend, Oregon, Ford dealer tomorrow to see if they can trace the fault, but that often means hours of labor out of my wallet. It would be great if anyone here has a clue where I can look to fix it myself before then, or at least give their tech some ideas.
As an aside, I have trouble keeping front tires on this rig. It is towed behind a Beaver Coach, then often heads out into the backcountry and rough roads that may knock out the alignment. They wear on the inside. The tires frequently "scrub" when in slow speed tight turns in parking lots and driveways, etc., even right after alignments. No one has ever fixed that, but this same dealer replaced the fronts this week and suggested running up to 36 psi all around when its being towed. They all say I need to do an alignment every few months or after a lot of towing or rough country outings. Fellow Beaver owners with other brands of "toads" don't report such front tire wear problems; Jeeps are common toads, but I'm a Ford man.
After they replaced the fronts by moving the rears up front and new Wranglers on the back, and aligning, the car bounced like a rubber ball on the road. Long story short, after several hours at the dealership, their service advisor finally (at 8:30 pm) figured out the air suspension was overfilling, and somehow by hook or crook we got it to reset and stabilize. Turning the air on and off while on the rack for the tire change and such apparently got it out of whack. I don't think that's somehow causal of the headlight problem, but who knows. I suspect the rough roads recently might have knocked loose a connector somewhere, but any suggestions of where to look beyond fuses and lamps would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Joel
