Electrical gremlin (washer fluid pump and fog lights)

[D Perry]

I've recently started to encounter some electrical gremlins and I know they can be difficult to nail down so as usual, I'm wondering if someone on here can help so that I can give my mechanic a better chance of nailing it down or better yet be able to correctly tell him where the problem most likely is.



The first issue was with my fog lights. They would both come on as normal but then after a few minutes they'd go out and wouldn't come back on until the next time I started the vehicle. Then the problem would just repeat itself. It's like a wire overheated causing it to trip a fuse but the fuse is still good. Now they won't come on at all.



The second issue is the windshield washer sprayer. When I push on the end of the turn signal arm to wash the windshield the wipers will do their sequence but no fluid comes out of the sprayers. I thought that the washer fluid pump might have gone bad and bought a new one but it didn't pump fluid through the lines either which tells me that it's not getting an electrical current. I've had someone at work test the pump outside of the vehicle to confirm that it works and also confirm that when installed in the truck the voltage to it is extremely low when I try to use it.



My questions are...Is it possible that those two components (fog lights and wiper fluid motor) are tied into the same harness or is it pure coincidence that they failed one right after the other?



Also, can anyone suggest where to start looking or perhaps have a good idea as to where the most likely point of failure is in the electrical "bowl of spaghetti" might be so that I can either fix it myself or at the very least save my mechanic some time in trying to pinpoint the weak spot(s)?



(cue broken record) Thanks in advance (again).



Drew

 

[Jim parnell]

for the fog lights, you may have a wire grounding out (short) whether intermittent or all the time now.Look for frayed/chaffed wiring, worn insulation where possible. For the washer, you may have a plugged/clogged water line from the pump to the spray nozzles, or the spray nozzels themselves are clogged with wax, dirt, tree sap, etc. You can try replacing both of the fuses as just because a fuse still looks good, they can be bad.

 

[EddieS'04]

AS jimp said, check all connections. Also have you battery load tested. Our tracs have electric gremlins. Even when the battery seems good.

 

[Bill Koonce]

If the fog lights have their own relay, I'd check that relay first. It might be as simple as pulling the relay out, cleaning the contacts and re-seating it. Worth a shot...



Aside from that I know nothing about Gen1s.

 

[David Ponder]

The fog light switch is intermittent on mine... I can slightly move the switch and they will come back on... I just need to replace the switch.

 

[Richard L]

Early model Sport Tracs had a problem with the wiring harness going up the steering column. In many cases they did not put enough slack into the wireing harness and when the wheel was tilted, would pull on a multi-function connector. This can pull the connector apart or even pull wires loose or completely out.



That will often effect a lot of different things that you may not think should be in the steering column. The wiper/washer is in that wiring harness as well as the Fog Lights. The Fog lights are controlled by the dimmer switch so that they only come on with your low beam head lights, so one of the wires may be powering the relay that switches the fog lights on an off.



If you remove the covers off your lower steering column you will see the wiring harness and connector. Then move the tilt wheel to the highest and lowest positions to see if you it is pulling on the wiring harness. If so, simply pull up a little more slack into the steering column and then check that the connector is fully connected and that there are not broken or loose wires.



...Rich