General Technical & Electrical General technical and electrical discussion for the Ford Ranger that does not fit in any other sub-forum.

tails no worky

Old Aug 5, 2009
  #1  
nate_g_2003's Avatar
Thread Starter
|
Member
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 976
Likes: 1
From: Deer Park, TX
tails no worky

This past weekend, I put in a new head unit. Problem is now I don't have fogs, instrument lights, and when I turn the headlights on, the tails don't illuminate unless I hit the brakes. Could I have blown a fuse? I tried looking in the manual, but didn't see any fuse for the tails.

I think my problem is that I wired the "Illumination" and "Dimmer" into the "Dimmer" on the wiring harness used to put in the H/U. Could this be where my problem lies?

I had this head unit in my '89 Acclaim, but never had this problem.

Any help is greatly appreciated, because I need to get this fixed QUICK, as I got pulled over tonight because my tails don't work. Luckily, I had a nice sheriff's deputy that let me off completely, even after giving him an expired insurance card (I got lucky due to the new system Texas has to check for insurance, plus I showed him the right one after he told me! Thank you Lord for letting me cash in some "Jesus" points!)
 
Reply
Old Aug 6, 2009
  #2  
nate_g_2003's Avatar
Thread Starter
|
Member
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 976
Likes: 1
From: Deer Park, TX
bump
 
Reply
Old Aug 6, 2009
  #3  
BB2's Avatar
BB2
Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 333
Likes: 0
From: PA
Did you cut and splice all the wires for the head unit or did you buy a connector to simply make the new head unit a plug and play unit with the old wiring already in the truck?
 
Reply
Old Aug 6, 2009
  #4  
nate_g_2003's Avatar
Thread Starter
|
Member
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 976
Likes: 1
From: Deer Park, TX
I got a connector at the local shop when I got the din adapter thing. The head unit itself has a lead for illumination, and a lead for dimmer, but the connector has only dimmer. I wired the two into one. I think that's my problem. Maybe popped a fuse? Couldn't find the fuse for the tails tho.
 
Reply
Old Aug 6, 2009
  #5  
nate_g_2003's Avatar
Thread Starter
|
Member
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 976
Likes: 1
From: Deer Park, TX
anybody??
 
Reply
Old Aug 7, 2009
  #6  
nate_g_2003's Avatar
Thread Starter
|
Member
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 976
Likes: 1
From: Deer Park, TX
Well, I got a hint to where to start on G-E. Possible ground issue due to wiring error. I knew I shouldn't have wired those two together...HASTE MAKES WASTE!
 
Reply
Old Aug 15, 2009
  #7  
Rolldogg's Avatar
Member
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 3,424
Likes: 5
From: Ottawa, Ontario
Did you check your muffler bearings? They have a tenancy to heat up and send mixed signals to the tail light computer. Check your blinker fluid too.
 
Reply
Old Aug 15, 2009
  #8  
Smakes's Avatar
Member
iTrader: (5)
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 235
Likes: 0
From: nowhere
turns out genius over here had an open circuit i think lol
 
Reply
Old Aug 15, 2009
  #9  
ShadowRanger08's Avatar
Member
iTrader: (3)
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,694
Likes: 1
From: Ontario, Canada
my first guess would be a blown fuse, i've never used the illumination wire when wireing up a deck, just hook up the adapter and plug in, even on the one i never got the adapter for. when i didn't get an adapter i had no lights or anything, but it was a fuse, i forget what number it is, but i do know its like the only 30a fuse
 
Reply
Old Aug 15, 2009
  #10  
nate_g_2003's Avatar
Thread Starter
|
Member
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 976
Likes: 1
From: Deer Park, TX
no, i checked all the fuses, and the relay box.

They wanted to charge me 200 bucks to replace the headlight switch, but I told them I had already spent $18 @ O'Reilly's for a new switch, and that didn't fix the problem. I'm figuring a pinched wire, or possibly cut somehow, despite me not touching a single wire behind the dash. It's gonna be about $150, mainly for labor.
 
Reply
Old Aug 15, 2009
  #11  
ShadowRanger08's Avatar
Member
iTrader: (3)
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,694
Likes: 1
From: Ontario, Canada
that sucks man, sorry i can't be more help
 
Reply
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
04_xlt_4.0_4x4
General Technical & Electrical
4
Oct 16, 2012 07:43 PM
ThatGuy
Drivetrain Tech
5
Mar 30, 2012 12:32 PM
04_xlt_4.0_4x4
General Technical & Electrical
3
Jul 30, 2011 05:26 PM
RentonRanger
General Ford Ranger Discussion
26
Dec 4, 2007 09:31 PM
DaneTrain
General Technical & Electrical
29
May 24, 2007 12:13 PM


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:41 AM.