Help Needed Burnt wires in harness for brake lights...

[95bamastroked]

Help! I have had a fun time with this truck. Now I have another chapter in my list of problems.

Monday morning, I noticed the ABS light flashing on the dash. Didn't think anything major was wrong but wanted to find out what it was. Called my cousin for his opinion and he asked me if I had brake lights. I was able to check it out that afternoon and I didn't have any brake lights. Checked a little further and found #13 fuse in the dash blown. Replaced it and it lasted about 25 miles and went again. Once I got it home, I replaced it again and tried it....blew another fuse. I started taking things apart and found that the previous owner had cobbled the brake lights and turn signals together and I also found out why. There is a harness plug-in next to the brake light switch on the brake pedal. There is a green wire that is the same color on both sides of this plug-in. This green wire has been melted all the way back to the fuse panel on the dash. However, at the fuse panel it is a red with white striped wire. I am pulling my hair out trying to get info on whether or not this is just a color change due to a separate manufacturer of the fuse panel versus the ford factory wiring harness, or if there is a "T" splice in this connection and it also powers something else.

I do know that this fuse is also for the hazard lamps, ABS, speed control, auto transmission shift interlock, and stop sense for electronic engine control. I am trying to determine if I replace the burnt wire with a new one and by-pass the melted wire and straight wire the brake lights, if I am going to eliminate the rest of what is on that circuit. I am in need of any help offered in decoding the wiring harness on my truck. Once again, I am down and out of work until I can get this beast fixed! I think my truck has a grudge against me.

Any help, suggestions or links to diagrams would be greatly appreciated!

I don't post very many helpful suggestions, but I do research this board for info about my truck anytime I need a question answered and this board is by far, the best resource for repairs, tricks, and all around general knowledge when it comes to the powerstroke!

Thanks in advance guys!

Oh yeah, this is on my '97 psd, cc, drw, bone stock

Daniel

 

[JLDickmon]

I gotta look at a wiring diagram...
get back with you tonight

 

[95bamastroked]

I appreciate it. My Dad has shop manuals for 95-96 and he was able to decipher the color codes and I think I may just have to suck it up and rewire the 3rd brake light. That is where the direct short is coming from. The bulb burnt out (probably years ago) and was never replaced. So it was just sitting there trying to draw power and eventually burned the wire most of the way back to the fuse panel.

All this from a $1.50 bulb not being replaced. I just had posted this because I was hoping that someone may have ran across this same problem and might have had a quick fix. Haha yeah right.....if I didn't have bad luck I wouldn't have any at all. Let me know what you find out though...from what we can tell in his shop manuals, the 3rd brake light wire is physically spidered into the harness for the overdrive function to the tranny. It also runs the brake lights and turn signals as I found this out by eliminating the burnt wire and running a direct wire to the brake lights. I have brake lights now, but no turn signals or hazards.

Well, I am headed out to trace the wire inside the cab so I can see about rewiring it and hopefully fixing all of this headache.

Thanks, Daniel

 

[DaveBen]

A burnt out bulb will NOT draw power. But keep looking.

Dave

 

[95bamastroked]

Well, I found the short. Someone in the past had caved in a spot on the roof just above the 3rd brake light and pinched the 3 wires going to it. The green one was the one that had melted in the harness so I had to trace it up to that light. Needless to say, I have had a fun time today re-wiring that light and fishing new wire up the left corner (rear) of the cab to that light and routing the new wire along the harness to get it under the dash. My interior now looks like it exploded too!

Tomorrow I have to figure out why the right side brake light isn't coming on now that its almost all put back together. The turn signal works on the right, as well as the parking light. Kinda like chasing my tail around the drive way!


Daniel