QuestionThanks for your response,
95' F150xl
I would like to re-ask the question as I did not find any burnt fuse links.
I hooked up trailer lites, they worked. At some point signal and brake lites stopped working. Now the ABS lite blinks and it won't come out of park. All fuses are good. I get power to the turn signal fuse (which I asume is also the brake lite fuse as there is no fuse labled 'Brake Lites') If I'm getting power to the lite system, the problem must be after that.
Is it possible that I hurt the computer (hence, the link between the ABS and lites)?
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Followup To
Question -
Hi.
Thanks for the response. I think your suggestion will fix my problem. I diagnosed it wrong. There are NO brake lites or turn signals.
2 questions...
when looking for the fusable links, can they be in a wrapped section of the harness?
The under hood fuse box has 4 pluggable fuse sections, will i hurt it to pop 1 out to see the wires underneath?
Thanks again
Todd
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Followup To
Question -
i was wiring my f150 for trailer lites and must have shorted something. now the abs light blinks and it won't come out of park. all the fuses are good but 2 under the hood and 1 under the dash don't have power. checked with motor running. all the tail lights work.
any ideas?
Answer -
Hi,
Your truck has "fusable" links under the hood. They are usually in the wiring run from the battery and alternator to the fuse box under the hood. The fusable links are short sections of wire - often tiewrapped near the fuse box. If you shorted one, it would have burnt through the wire cutting off the power and that sounds like what you may have done. Check power to every fuse at the fuse box. If any fuses don't have power, trace the wire from that fuse and within 6 inches, you may notice the wire has an overcoat of shrink tubing. That's a fusable link. It can't be repaired - it's meant to be a weak link in the wiring. To replace it, you cut it out and crimp a new one in place of it. Don't bypass it - you could end up on the side of the road on fire for doing so. Those links are a Ford only item I believe but I'm not positive. These fusable links are in addition to the fuses you see in the fuse boxes.
Dennis
Answer -
I don't have the shop manual for an F150 truck so all I can tell you is where they have to be - and that is in between the alternator and battery (both) and the fuse box. Some vehicles have those fuses in the box and they can be unplugged, but most - like my 2005 Explorer have them right next to it. I think they ran wires to the fuse box, crimpled the fusable link to that wire, then crimped the other end of the link to the fuse connection under the fuse box. You don't have to remove the entire link - the part that blows is 1/4" long. You just need to find it and cut it out and put a new one in. Mine look like the wires to the fuse box were too long - so they bunched them up right next to where they connect to the fuse box and then ty-wrapped each one separately. It's unlikely they would be bundled in a harness with other wires because they get extremely hot when they blow and can burn the insulation of the other wires.
Here's a test: run a 12 gauge wire from the battery positive side to one of the locations of the largest dead fuse and touch one end to the spade terminal - if nothing happens, try the other one. If you get power to the circuit that went dead, you found the wire that you need to trace. The wire will spark a little - lights use a lot of power. I hope this helps - it's as close as I can help without seeing the wiring.
Dennis
AnswerHi,
You won't see burnt links - when they blow, they usually show not sign of going out. You have to use a voltmeter to test the wiring.
Keep this in mind - all wires that supply lights comes from the battery to the fuse then to the switch and on to the lights. Your problem has to be between the battery and the engine compartment fuse box. If you aren't able to trace the wires, you may have to see a dealer. Most of the time, they find these types of problems within an hour (or less) and it's not as expensive as you are expecting it to be.
Dennis
