I just installed a PIAA light system into my 06 F150. The lights work great, the only problem is that the truck doesnt start. Everything else in the truck works fine, moonroof, stereo, power sliding window, horn stereo PIAA lights, head lights, etc. When you turn the key you just hear a clicking from the passenger side where the fuse box is. I checked the fuel cut of just in case it somehow got engaged.

The engine does not even crank. When wiring the Power(white) went to the battery + terminal, the black ground went to the battery ground, and the white switch wire was wired under the dash to a Blue/Green cable that was switched power using the supplied T connector. I removed the T connector thinking that could be the problem but no change.

Any one have any ideas?

 

sounds like a bad connection at the battery. the starter has a lot of current draw and needs a really good connection.
Its best to put auxiliary wires on the starter relay. the main cable on the battery goes to this.

 

I dount this is the problem as we have tightened the battery terminals with and without any leads connected and its the same problem. Even took the battery to a local checker where it checked out. There is no corrosion or anything on the battery as this is an 06 which just rolled off of the delivery truck about a month ago.

 

One question, and maybe a suggestion.

Is the noise from the stater area, or from the selonoid on the Firewall ( if the newer bodystyle is still up there ). On my 2001 the selonoid is on the pass side firewall, kind of below and more towards the pass side, of the pass wiper piviot area.

If the noise is from up here, did you check that both the leads on it are tight. Don't know if it could have gotten knocked loose or not. From the post, you said you put the wire directly to the battery, so I don't know how this could have happened. I know if you use the wrong side of the selonoid on the 01, it would do the same thing that you are talking about.

Let us know

 

Just my position on these matters.
I don't like just picking a fuse location for aux use unless you know what that fuse is feeding.
A couple reasons. One, if your using x fuse location to operate a relay, that relay causes a spike back into the fuse circuit when the switch is turned to off.
If some electronics is in that circuit, the spike can damage it.
Two, a possible theft detection has taken place by hooking this light circuit up to it?
Let us know what you find.

 

we use ARC arresters on equipment at work for that reason.

 

As of right now, the truck is at the dealer. They think it might be a solenoid, though not sure yet. Hope I get it back within a day. We had to tow it in with my friends Chevy! Boy was that a sight for the bow tie boys, hehe.

Now, PIAA lights come with a complete circuit. The only thing you have to do other they route wires neatly is hook up the power and ground to the bettery as explained in the instructions. These have metal loops on the end for the battery, and then there is one wire that you are supposed to splice into a switch power source for the button that turns the lights off and on.

Now, I was thinking of just running this to the battery as well, despite the instructions of using switched power, but stuck with the instructions do they turn off with the key as well. We tested for a line with switched power with a volt meter, and found a thicker gauge blue cable with a green stripe under the steering wheel column, and hooked up a t connector to it. This powered the switch, and the light kit worked fine.

Now, I do not know what this cable is for, but it still sends the same amount of volts before and after, and I also tried to disconnect it, thinking that it might be the problem, and even without it, the truck still doesn’t work. Some type of anti-theft mode sounds very likely now. The noise is NOT coming from the starter, and the battery is perfectly OK.

So I have two good questions, what is the blue and green cable, and what do people normally tap into for switched power on a 04+ F150?

 

I'm not exactly sure what that wire you tapped into is, but here's how I do it when I'm adding something. First, I make sure I'm not adding something that draws a ton of power (amps) directly to any circuit. If something does have a heavy draw - like driving lights - I use a relay (like you did) powered off the battery and triggered off of an appropriate circuit.

So what's an "appropriate" circuit? I check the Owner's Manual and separate the circuits into "switched" and "un-switched" categories. If I'm looking for a switched circuit, I then look for stuff that's not "mission critical" so I'm not messing with anything important. For instance, I never mess with airbag, ECM, major lighting circuits, etc. On the other hand, cigarette lighters fall into the non mission critical category (for me). Basically though, I always want to know exactly what circuit I'm adding load to. It sounds like you found a switched hot wire, but didn't know what it was to.

Finally, I always use an "Add a Circuit" tap to tap directly into the fuse box. This little gizmo makes sure you retain the fuse for the original curcuit, plus add a fuse for your new toy. (I probably would have used that instead of your T-connector.) Besides, this is a pretty much non-destructive and fully removable item.

Hope that helps!

 

1. If I am looking at the correct one, in the 06 wiring diagram, the Dark Blue with a Light Green stripe is called a : Voltage supplied in start and run positions ( overload protected ). It is marked as a 12 AWG wire, so that matches your description. It is circuit 964. This is from the Ign switch itself, connector C250, pin # 1.

2. I would have used the circuit 297, a 16 AWG Black with a light green stripe, pin #6. This is only hot in the Run or Accessory positions, so the driving lamps could not be on, when starting the truck. I used a similar circuit on my '01 for the controller for the E-Fans, so they would not run when starting the truck. The other option is just to use the parking lamps, to power the switch power for the relay. This way the drivng lamps could be on when ever the parkign lamps were on, no matter what the position of the switch ( I did this with mine ). Driving the coil on the relay is a 250 mA type load, so no big deal on running these on the same circuit.

Good luck, hope all turns out well with your truck.

 

Where did you get a 06 wiring diagram? Also, where exactly can I find 297, a 16 AWG Black? Being that it is overload protected, and something to do with the ignition, I think it put the car into some type of anti theft mode so it won't start anymore, even with the light switch disconnected it. This is for sure thel ast time I tap into any power wire before knowing exactly what it is. I also like to use cig lighter lines when I know where they are. The fuse box tap is not a bad idea either.

 

No call from the dealer yet, I might have to call them with some 411.

 

OK, dealer said to come pick it up. It was a bad PCM module or relay. I wonder if I should redo that tap location now anyway, just in case. What you all think?

 

1. I got mine from www.helminc.com. You can get the paper copies, or the DVD, else take a look on eBay for the outdated DVDs that someone is selling. I got one of them 2 months back, and they are the real mccoy that someone is gleeming from a dealership and selling. You just need to set the date back on your computer, and you get everything, aside from the on line items.

2. The circuit 297 is in the same run as the one you pulled from. Those are to the Ign switch. It is Black WITH a light green stripe on it. Should be able to look up under the steering column and see it close to the same place you tapped the 12 AWG wire.

3. overload protected = Fused connection. The PATS taking over is a crank no start, and the AntiTheift light on the dash will blink. Yours was a no crank, click like a dead battery. Unless they changed what the PATS does, it is not the same. If you have a Mobile Speed pass, hold it real close to the key when you get it back. Mine some times would emulate this, if I did not hold the speed pass away from the PATS key. The other if you want to try it, is get a door key cut for your truck, and try starting it with it, or have another PATS key not for your truck on the ring at the same time. Just read through the section in the manual on Anti-Theift on how to recover ( wait 5 min, and try with a PATS key programmed for the truck, if memory serves me correctly ).

4. Cig lighter I think is hot all the time ? or is that just the 12 V power, and the cig light is switched now. A SCrew is a bit different then SCabs and Std cabs.

5. Fuse box add a circuits are not too bad, NAPA has them. Just get the Mini ones, and read through the listings, to find one that is hot in the run position only, and you could add it this way as well.

Try sticking with the parking lamp wire from the headlamp switch, for a down and dirty way to do it. The relay is a very low AMP draw item, so no worry of overload.

 

Ok, so I just picked the truck up. They said originally they thought the PCM went blank, as this has happened before. But instead it was the PCM module that needed to be replaced. Said they hadn’t seen this before. So I drive it back, and no issues. I do NOT however touch the PIAA button, as I think this is what may have cause it in the first place, despite my friend wanting me to try it, don’t want to be without the truck for the rest of the week.

So now that it is home, I want to redo the switched power, my thinking the blue-green wire is not safe. What would you all do, what have others used for running lights for the switch? The lighter is too far away, and likely always on. I would like to use something near the switch itself, under the steering column. Do you think this first tap was the cause? It didn't seem to be a anti-theft related thing afterall.

 

297, a 16 AWG Black better, as I'm already right there, or the parking lamp. I don't have a diagram, so I would know exactly which one that is. The reason we went with the blue green is because it is a thicker gauge wire, I didn't want to damage the smaller ones, like the 16 AWG you recommended. There are two large bundles of wires under the steering column. The first one (closest to you) is where the blue-green stripe cable was from.