At wits end

[Ronjm]

I have a 1996 Explorer 4.0L sohc and I have no cruise or o/d lights on the dash after pushing all the buttons. Any ideas.

 

[Mbrooks420]

There was no SOHC in 96. Do they light when you first turn on the key?

 

[koda2000]

I have a 1996 Explorer 4.0L sohc and I have no cruise or o/d lights on the dash after pushing all the buttons. Any ideas.

Assuming you've checked all your fuses, Cruise Control disengage switch on master cylinder may be shorted out and/or even leaking. Was the CC recall ever done by Ford? I had a CC switch which leaked and the same symptoms.

And there was no SOHC 4.0L until 1997. You have the 4.0L OHV engine, not that makes any difference as far as CC.

 

[swshawaii]

Call your dealer and have your VIN available.
RECALL - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

BBB Industries- Premium Alternators, Starters, Power Steering Products | TSB's & Wiring Diagrams

 

[Ronjm]

Build date 10/96 yes sohc . I don't know about recall I've have not had the car long and as for lights nothing when ing turned on

 

[koda2000]

Build date 10/96 yes sohc . I don't know about recall I've have not had the car long and as for lights nothing when ing turned on

10/96 was a late production '96. '97 was the first official year for the SOHC engine. Again, doesn't matter, though I'm not a fan of the SOHC engine CC is all the same. You do need to verify whether you truck has ever had the CC recall done to it. It was a fire hazard. Some owner's were known to just unplug the deactivation switch and never had the recall performed. There may also be a missing fuse that accomplished the same thing. As of several years ago Ford was still performing the recall (which added a fused jumper wire to the CC harness at the MC) at no charge.

 

[Ronjm]

Thanks can't find anything regarding recall but I am in Australia so I would say no. What about o/d no light or anything there either.

 

[koda2000]

Does the "O/D OFF" light work during the bulb check? (key in run position, engine off).

To be clear, is it just the "SPEED CONT" light on the instrument cluster that doesn't light up, or do the cruise control not work at all?

 

[Ronjm]

No neither of the lights work at all and yes the cruise does not work either.

 

[donalds]

Does the "O/D OFF" light work during the bulb check? (key in run position, engine off).

Out of curiosity I just did key on engine off and it does not check that bulb, so I started it up and pushed that O/D button and the light then turns on, so I'm not sure if it works with the key on engine off test.

 

[Ronjm]

Yes my o/d does not come on with engine running and I can't even do a self test on cruise because of no lights. And I must mention they are all new switches too.

 

[1998Exp]

Most likely, the C/C and O/D are two separate issues. You told us that cruise control doesn't work, but how about the O/D? Perhaps that O/D indicator problem is just a burned bulb - have you checked if pressing the O/D button eliminates the overdrive gear? All it takes is to be cruising on a level road at say 50mph (80km/h for you down under...), press that button (once) and see if the RPMs jump up about 20%.
[Corrected to read "eliminates the overdrive gear" instead of "direct gear"]

 

[Ronjm]

Yep will do ASAP but CC would it be the PCM as I recently installed a new VSS to fix the problem.

 

[Ronjm]

Well went for a drive and seems to go into 4th gear press od button & nothing but in saying that my transmission is changing really hard like a long time between changes

 

[koda2000]

Out of curiosity I just did key on engine off and it does not check that bulb, so I started it up and pushed that O/D button and the light then turns on, so I'm not sure if it works with the key on engine off test.

Yeah, I wasn't sure if the "bulb check" lit those bulbs. I meant to go and check but forget. It could be the O/D OFF bulb is burnt out, but It might also be a fuse is burnt out or missing. I had this happen to me on a '00 Mountaineer and it turned out someone had removed fuse #27 IIRC, which also controlled auto-lock feature, reverse lights and the rear window defroster. Looking for a missing fuse is different than looking for a burnt out fuse and the owner's manual was no help. The OD OFF switch and wiring might also need to be checked.

As far as the CC, that might be a different issue. As I said earlier, when I had this happen to me it was my CC disengagement switch.

As far as burnt out bulbs, I had a CEL bulb that burnt out and I had to remove the cluster to get to it. I found that Ford populates all the indicator bulb sockets in the cluster (even for options your truck doesn't have) so I swapped an unused bulb to the CEL position so I didn't have to hunt down one of these tiny bulbs. If you do end up pulling the cluster be sure to replace the 6 instrument illumination bulbs while you're at it.

 

[donalds]

If you do end up pulling the cluster be sure to replace the 6 instrument illumination bulbs while you're at it.

I went ahead and replaced all the bulbs
My abs bulb was out and one if the illumination bulbs

 

[Mbrooks420]

The reverse lights are on the same circuit as the OD switch. If those work the circuit is at least partially powered.

Isn’t a build date of 10/96 a 97?

 

[koda2000]

The reverse lights are on the same circuit as the OD switch. If those work the circuit is at least partially powered.

Isn’t a build date of 10/96 a 97?

IDK my late production '01 ST is titled as an '01, but has the Job II engine. I'm sure at some point in time they're titled with the newer year. It used to be that the new model year introduction was an event, nowadays it seems like the manufactures just decide when they officially introduce the new model year. The VIN will tell you the year for sure.