No O/D light? and I cant turn of O/D either?

[dropdtop]

Just brought my first Explorer.. and absolutely love the truck.. its a 2000 Explorer Limited 5.0L AWD

It came with just a few problems,, one is the notorious no light in the radio and the other is the O/D light will not come on and it wont switch out of O/D when I hit the button.

Does the ECM do a bulb check on the O/D light when you turn the key to on?

I will probably get under the dash to check if there is a broken wire from the shifter button. just wanted to get some input on if this is a common problem or where I should be looking.

Thanks,
Brad M

 

[Dan Whitaker]

At what speed are you taking it out of overdrive? Overdrive does not work until 45 mph. If you tried using overdrive at 35 it was not engaged.

If this is the case I suspect a burnt out O/D bulb.

O/D automatically comes on when starting so the O/D light off light will not be lit.

 

[dropdtop]

Tried taking it out at 60mph to see if it would come out and no luck,,, I can tell cause rpms's stayed the same.

guess I will look into the switch (button) being disconnected or bad.

 

[budwich]

But there is a "bulb check" for all bulbs in the instrument cluster so if it doesn't happen then you have at least a bulb issue along with some other "issue" (ie. broken switch / wiring).


oops I am wrong... the bulb check doesn't check that bulb... so then it is likely you have a switch / wiring issue.

 

[dropdtop]

Found the problem today,,, the wires on the top of the column near the shifter were cut??? guess back when the other owner had a alarm installed i guess,,, probably the same guys who installed a new seat warmer and forgot to hook the lumbar support back up!!

two problems fixed at once today! O/D light now comes on! woohoo

 

[weld302]

Are you sure they were cut because i just fixed the same thing on my 97 and it looked like a clean cut but i am pretty sure they became pinched and then broke off over time? I am thinking this is a common problem? but i was sure glad it was an easy fix!

oh by the way to anybody else who has to do this if you remove the panel under the steering wheel you can find where the switch plugs in to the harness so you can unplug it and then remove the shifter so you can do all the work on your bench!

 

[Joe Dirt]

They can get pinched. More than one member has had issues with pinched wires creating electrical gremlins... Chen them out and make sure they're tucked neatly before putting your column covers back on...

 

[dropdtop]

It looked pretty clean,, but it couldve been pulled apart.. I wont know cause I got the truck that way...

to me the clip that secures the wire causes more of a problem cause it only lets a short section flex instead of the whole wire. I got rid of that and watched the wire as I shifted from park to 1st and routed the wire as best I can so it wouldnt pinch or get caught again. I soldered and wrapped with elec tape best I could for such small a wire,, then double wrapped the rest of the cable.

should be good for awhile.