Monday's electrical problems....
 

I have about had it with electrical issues over the past week. So this morning I discovered the real root cause, but need someones help to resolve it.
When I turn off my ignition, it is staying in postion #1 (not physically) which keeps power to the radio and clock. No instrumentation lights on the panel.
The reason I know this is that once I shut the truck off and open the door which is supposed to kill the raido and clock ( delay feature) it is not doing so.
Unless I physically turn off the radio it will stay on. And, when I attempt to hit the manual door lock on the drivers door and attempt to close it, it will unlock before the door actually closes. The manual lock on the passengers door will work, so from what the Owners manual says, this is because the ignition is in the #1 position. Heres the catch, if it has been raining or the truck has been in a wet enviroment, the ignition shuts off as it is supposed to and everything else turns off.
I have taken apart the steering column looking for a loose ground that could be causing this but found nothing... Lets have some input please...

uh-oh.


I think what you need to do is go to a mechanic that charges by the hour, not the job.

Electrical gremlins can take a long time to figure out. If you give the right guy enough time, he will find it and fix it... properly.

Tell us more Marc... any aftermarket electrical devices?
P.I.E., alarm, Radio, remote starter.... etc?

Have you reset the battery and PCM?
Check for feed back on the fuse panel with a multi-meter... this could help isolate the shorted circuit... possibly a relay stuck closed...?

Marc, i would check into the fuse panel a little more. If you had a rusted fuse, you probably got more issues in there some where. I think some trucks had windshield leaks in that area, and might be causing corrosion/rust in or on the fuses, or on the wiring contacts. take it apart and look closely with a bright light and a magnafying glass if needed. Also you might want to check for a rear 3rd brake light for leaks. I had water sitting in my drivers side rear door sill, and the wiring was under water. I would check all the sill plates for water as well, due to the wiring is routed under the carpet in troughs. Another idea is the body control module is located on the rear wall and if you had any leakage from a rear slider or 3rd brake light, that might be it too. Pull all plugs to these items and check for corrosion. Good luck..

Checked all those areas FX4ME2. Thanks
No electrical system add ons f2004F150.
I have reset everything several times, and I even replaced the battery just in case it was getting weak.....I HATE ELECTRICAL PROBLMES WITH A PASSION....:mad:

Wheres Quinton????

Did you try unplugging the radio, maybe it's got a short in it and it's back feeding? these radios have more than one power source..

I'd try swapping the accessory delay relay in the central junction box with another relay and seeing if it acts right, it might be sticking. That or the battery saver relay.

this so ****** wierd.....on my way to bed last night....checking house to make sure everything is closed up.....check garage door...and the damn radio is on in my truck....no key in the ignition....radio went off when I exited the truck getting home from work...

now that I'm thinking about it ....washed truck sunday morning and had a rather large leak on 3'rd brake light....POS gasket had fallen off upper forward lip of light......while drying truck noticed clock going on and off randomly....didn't think about it at the time...as I was drying door sills ect....didn't have the radio on...
PLEASE LMK if you find a solution.....I hate electrical problems as well and to troubleshoot will cost a fortune at a shop I'm sure!!!:mad:

Tried them both Quinton, although the original relay was a little warm, nothing resulted in switching it with another one, Tried the 15A battery saver fuse also, but it was good. Thanks for your input , Guess I will keep looking.

blkscrew sorry to hear you have Gremlins too. I will let you know if I find the cause...

I just called my service guy at the dealer and they haven't seen this problem yet. I would try swapping radios with another truck. It might have a short in it....Just to rule it out...

What about the ignition switch itself? One of your symptoms is the drivers door unlocking when you close it. That to me says that the key-in sense is still sending voltage to the PCM, telling it that your key is still in the ignition. The ignition switch is around $25. Might be worth a try.

If you have a voltmeter, you could run some tests on the switch and plug contacts that would tell you for sure.

Just a thought...

E...

Marc,
a few questions if I may
do you have e-fans and get the switched power from fuse #1?
did this problem start shortly after driving in a rain storm or having washed your truck?

the above are recent happenings to my truck. efans have been installed aprox. 30 days. no problems before I washed truck this time. When I washed my truck sunday the 3'rd brake light ingested a bunch of water. I usually back the truck up and hit the brakes to get the water off the roof, when I did about 2 cups of water ran down the inside of my rear window.

This morning, besides the radio on last night, the white lights on the 3'rd brake light where blinking on and off about once every two seconds. Truck started fine and when I got to work the radio turned off when I opened the door. Still at work so have no idea what it might be doing at the moment. Guess when I get home tonight I'll rip out the rear seat and check conectiosn back there. Not sure what it's called but believe the controller for keyless door pad entry is mounted behind there. PAC, PAL something like that, read it here somewhere before.

what else have you looked at besides the relays and steering column?

sorry if you've alreday answered these questions else where don't have a lot of time @ the moment to dig thru past threads.

Already replaced it yesterday...No help:mad:

I have checked behind the seat and there is, and has been no water there and all connections are tight.
I have checked and rechecked every relay and fuse. I even replaced the battery and the ignition switch....
The only power that remains on is the radio, (which I now must turn off), the clock stays illuminated ( can't take too much power for that), and the illuminated window controls and power door lock pads in the doors stay illuminated. I AM ABOUT TO SET FIRE TO THE THING.... I really don't know where else to look......:mad: :mad: