Symptoms: One or more turn signals don't function, but all bulbs are good. The symptoms may vary depending on the position of the tilt of the steering wheel. Emergency flashers don't function properly as well.

I'm not sure how common this problem is, but it happened on both my '99 at home and the '03 I drive at work. I have the habit of tilting the wheel fully down when I get in to drive, and fully up when I get out. I strongly suspect this is the cause of the problem.

The problem is caused by the wiring harness pulling out of the back of the connector at the Multi Function Switch on the steering column. In this repair, the wires will be glued back into the connector so they make contact with the pins on the switch.

References: Ford 1999 F-150 Workshop Manual, Vol. 1 and Ford 1999 F-150 Wiring Diagram Manual

1. Disconnect neg. cable at battery. Pic so you don't forget ...




2. Remove the steering column opening cover.

• Move shift lever to 1
• Pull up clips from bottom of cover first

3. Remove steering wheel tilt lever




4. Remove ignition switch lock cylinder

• Turn the ignition to RUN position
• Insert a thin punch into hole in bottom of steering column cover to push the release pin.
• Pull out the ignition switch lock cylinder while pushing in the release pin

5. Remove 3 screws (Philips) and remove the upper and lower steering column covers.
Note: This pic is from my shift boot replacement how to and shows the lower instrument panel cover removed to give access to the OD plug. You do NOT have to remove this cover for the blinker repair.




6. Remove 2 screws (Torx) and remove the Multi Function Switch




7. Remove the upper connector (C258 turn/hazard lights) and lower connector (C259 wipers). Note the wires which have pulled out of the back of the upper connector, causing the blinker problem.




8. Push the loose wires back into the connector until they stop, and glue them in place. I used some Hondabond silicone, just to add some rice to my truck (and because that's all I had handy). I've read of people using hot glue ... I'm open to suggestions as to what the best glue to use is. If, for some reason, you lose track of which wire goes where, refer to connector C258 pin diagram below






Good Luck!

 

Fixed mine today, the hardest part was getting the cross threaded steering wheel tilt lever off. The wires had not pulled out, it was one side of the connector had pulled away. I used a bit of 5 min. epoxy on the connector sides, just enough to be able to get it off again if I need to.

 

Funny you'd say that ...

I did this repair about 6 months ago and did most of the write up then. When I was finishing it up the other day I got to the 'remove tilt lever' part and suddenly remembered what a pain getting that lever out was.

 

Great writeup once again fairlaner, - glad to see you still have the truck! Is that Hondabond pre-mixed or is there 2 parts? Does it become brittle when it hardens ? Perhaps not with the silicon. Was the rice on the side?

Yea, right, -that hot glue works great for that as well. I use that stuff quite a bit on circuit boards, but I've noticed there's other types on the market, white and grey in color; can't remember the name of it tho.

Take care