1996; 2.3; 4x4; XL; fog lights and power steering...

Hi again...

I was planning on leaving town this weekend and now I may not, anyway...

1a. The fog lights are not coming on, the last time I used them (actually in some really bad fog about a week ago) they worked fine and were switched on and off several times as the fog came and went, but this morning I tried to use them again and the little green back light in the switch isn't even coming on and neither fog light is either, the head lights are set to the LOW beams.

According to the owners manual the # 8 fuse runs the right head light and the fog light system, both head lights are on but I pulled the fuse anyway and it looks fine (yes the right head light went out).

Since the back light in the switch isn't even coming on I think this is more of an electronic problem than an electrical one, does anyone know if this truck has some other thing (other than the brights being on) that would keep these from turning on?

1b. I would like to change the fog lights to where they come on via a toggle switch somewhere in the cab so that in really bad dense fog I can turn the head lights all the way off and still use the fog lights, so my question is does anyone know where where I can get sockets to plug the fog lights into that already have wire pig tails on them?

2. My power steering pump is leaking somewhere, I can't really tell where but the front of it, the front of the bracket, below the bracket, and all the down the engine and onto the truck's frame there is fluid everywhere, the back of the pump is dry and where the low pressure hose connects to the reservoir is dry as well.

I noticed a few months ago that there was some fluid getting into things but it wasn't bad enough to worry about at the time, but now the pump is making that horrid "old school bus" sound and sure enough the reservoir was really low and I refilled it.

The low pressure hose is hard as a rock and the high pressure hose is so old that it looks like its about to rust all the way through.

I'm not sure what is actually holding the pulley on, but it appears to have been pressed on and the mounting bolts for the pump will not come out until the pulley has been removed.

So... my question is... can the pump and both hoses be replaced in like under 3-4 hours in the driveway or should I just consider taking this to the dealer and having them do it?

1a. Answer, yes there is more but not electronic. There is a relay that operates the the power to the fog lights so check this to make sure it is good. (EDIT: usually located in the fuse block under the hood) Since the light on the switch is not coming on there is most likely an issue with power or ground. Don't forget switches can go bad too so be sure to use a multi-meter to check the function of the switch as well.

1b. Answer, hit a junkyard and cut a set off and wire them up to a new relay and switch to operate them independently.

2. Answer, yes they can be done within that time frame. They make power steering pully removing tools, I have one myself, that usually come with the installation components as well. If you need to pull the pully I highly recommend having one of these on hand.

Bgunner said:

1a. Answer, yes there is more but not electronic. There is a relay that operates the the power to the fog lights so check this to make sure it is good. (EDIT: usually located in the fuse block under the hood) Since the light on the switch is not coming on there is most likely an issue with power or ground. Don't forget switches can go bad too so be sure to use a multi-meter to check the function of the switch as well.

1b. Answer, hit a junkyard and cut a set off and wire them up to a new relay and switch to operate them independently.

2. Answer, yes they can be done within that time frame. They make power steering pully removing tools, I have one myself, that usually come with the installation components as well. If you need to pull the pully I highly recommend having one of these on hand.

Click to expand...

Thank you for the replies...

1a - This may actually be related to the power steering problem, there is power steering fluid all over the driver's side of the engine bay and it may have shorted out something.

1b - I'd prefer to find some brand new ones, I'll see what I can find.

2 - Due to the uncertainty of how long this is going to take me, possibly having to buy more tools that will only get used once, the fumes from the power steering fluid burning off of the engine are starting to make me sick, and having to do this in near freezing wet weather has made me decide to have a private shop take care of this.

They are walking distance from where I work and have a company discount with the company that I work for, and are going to fix it while I'm at work so I won't have to take time off of work to get this done.

Total cost is $225 (parts $125 / labor $100) which is under budget from where my cut off was to where I would just try to fix it myself.

The wiring for the fog lights runs along the the left front inner fender wall so power steering fluid being on the the left of the motor would not cause an issue with the fog lights unless it is spraying all over the hood and the driver side inner fender.

I personally try my hardest not to work on my vehicles during cold weather because it is just miserable not having a heated garage at my disposal. As for the tool to remove the power steering pulley I bought mine back on '03 and only used it a hand full of times but friends have borrowed it more times than I have used it. If you don't work on your vehicles a lot then it was a smart move to have someone else do it for you to save the cost of the tool.

Those connectors for the fog lights, the ones on the wiring harness itself, are not made anymore so the chances of finding them new is slim. This is why I recommended a junk yard to get them. Just check them for corrosion before removal and you should be fine.

Two thoughts: Ford offers 'pigtails' for a lot of their connectors. They ain't cheap, but if that's the only source, you go where you have to. There's a PDF on the web of availble connectors.
Second: power steering fluid is oil. Specially formulated, but still oil. Oil is used inside transformers to insulate and carry away heat. I would not worry about power steering fluid causing shorts in fog light wiring. It won't happen. Some electrical connections for solenoids, switches and sensors are bathed in transmission fluid, the same stuff used in power steering systems, so if it is not non-conductive, there are a lot of engineers who should be on the unemployment line instead of working for Dearborn.
You may be able to test your relays by swapping in a 'known good' from another application, such as HVAC inside the power distribution box. They need to have the same part number to be sure they are swappable.
tom

Bgunner said:

The wiring for the fog lights runs along the the left front inner fender wall so power steering fluid being on the the left of the motor would not cause an issue with the fog lights unless it is spraying all over the hood and the driver side inner fender.

I personally try my hardest not to work on my vehicles during cold weather because it is just miserable not having a heated garage at my disposal. As for the tool to remove the power steering pulley I bought mine back on '03 and only used it a hand full of times but friends have borrowed it more times than I have used it. If you don't work on your vehicles a lot then it was a smart move to have someone else do it for you to save the cost of the tool.

Those connectors for the fog lights, the ones on the wiring harness itself, are not made anymore so the chances of finding them new is slim. This is why I recommended a junk yard to get them. Just check them for corrosion before removal and you should be fine.

Click to expand...

Thanks again for the replies...

There is power steering fluid all over everything on the driver's side of the engine compartment, its slowly drying up but I just found out that when the pump was replaced the cap for it (for the reservoir) is considered a separate part so I'm going to have to order one as the old one is loose and is still causing some leakage.

Having someone else do it was mostly just a comfort thing, if it was the middle of summer I would have just done it myself, but laying on the ground in 30-something weather while getting rained on just seemed like a really good way to end up sick again, we do have a shop here but its barely heated and there is currently a 3/4 ton pickup getting worked on in there, and for $100 labor it was worth just having someone else do it.

I just talked to the repair shop again yesterday and found out that the steel lines for the hoses were so rusted that they broke off when they were trying to remove them, they were kind of shocked that they were still holding pressure.

The Fog Lights ended up being (one) a blow fuse and (two) both fog lights are now bad...

I found a bad 15 amp fuse in the engine compartment fuse block, one of the fog lights is cracked open and full of water and what I assumed had blown the fuse but I unplugged both fog lights anyway.

I put a new fuse in and turned the lights on and hit the Fog Light button on the dash and the light inside of the button came on again, figuring that the other fog light was still ok I plugged it back in and the fuse instantly blew.

So... problem solved I just need to buy some new fog lights, whatever brand that was I'm never buying them again.

The fog light re-wiring project is probably going to wait until Spring unless we get some really good weather before then, I'd like to just re-use the push button for it that is already on the dash but I don't know if the electronics will let me do that or not, I should pick up a repair manual for this truck.

Thanks again!