Interior lights staying on after side curtain airbag recall

[JB9]

Has anyone else experienced problems with the interior lamp staying on after the side curtain airbag recall was performed?

The interior lights on my XLT ecoboost are staying on with the switch in the middle position ever since the recall was done. It’s as if the switch is stuck in the left position, or one of the doors is ajar, but neither is the case. The only way to turn the lights off is setting the switch to the right position, but then the courtesy lights are alway off, even when the doors are opened.

The service techs at the dealership have been working on it for about a week with little progress. They have been in touch with the engineers (in Detroit?) who have dialed in remotely to pin point the problem.

So far they have replaced a “bad module” that required both key fobs to reprogram it for some reason. That did not solve the problem. I sent them the posts from this forum about pinched wires under the door sill which they’ve apparently checked also.

The engineering response has been slow so I believe the techs are going to try replacing a plug in the lamp assembly on their own as a next step.

The dealership has gone above and beyond in providing me with a loaner and keeping me well informed. No complaints there at all, but just hoping someone else on this forum (hopefully a Ford master service tech) has experienced the same problem and can shed some light on what was done to fix it.

I’m sure the problem will get resolved eventually but I miss my Maverick!

Thanks!

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[MM Mav]

@Senior Master Ford Guy @Vtec87pr1 or @KevCuRaoi any ideas for the OP?

 

[Montana]

I've decided I'm not having the recall work done for this one.

Whole lotta nope here. Unless they want to give me the parts and the guide on how to DIY it. Then I'll do it.

 

[Senior Master Ford Guy]

I'm surprised at this, because this shouldn't be that hard to pinpoint and trace. Section 417-02 of the workshop manual lists circuit testing(pinpoint tests) for codes that may occur in the BCM(Body Control Module-this is probably the module they have replaced that required both your keys) and also a " symptom chart" for problems with no stored codes-for example in your case they should look at test "C" which has you monitor PIDs(paramater identification) for each door latch input. The BCM has to be seeing an input telling it to turn on the lights from a circuit to one of the door ajar switches to turn on the lights and these pids would possibly show which one , this would then be the circuits to focus on. The other possibility is that the switch on the overhead console is damaged and supplying the constant power circuit used when the switch is in the left(manual on) position to the lights at all times except the "off" position.. The way the courtesy lights are wired, each lamp has a direct and constant ground, but power is supplied from the BCM only when it sees a necessity to turn them on when a door is open . If however, these "pids" are reading correctly( showing all doors closed with all doors closed), they need to move on to the next test( "D") as directed from test C and disconnect the connector at the BCM which supplies voltage to the lights. If the lights remain on now, then what has happened is there is a short to power on one of the power supply circuits past the BCM and this would keep the lights on(disconnecting this connector removes both the demand power and the courtesy power to the lamps from the BCM). I would not be surprised if it is the switch itself( I do not see anywhere that you mentioned they have replaced it) because the overhead console clips in place and must be removed to lower the headliner for the recall. If the tech got a little too aggressive reinstalling it and accidentally hit that switch when putting the console back up, it could be damaged and supplying constant power in both illumination positions now instead of just the manual position. * out of curiosity, when you say they stay on, is that just while you are driving the truck, or does that also include when you exit the truck(parked and shut off)?

 

[JB9]

Thank you so much for the very detailed reply @Senior Master Ford Guy ! You obviously know your craft inside and out. I sure wish you were the one doing the surgery on my baby.

I will pass along all of your comments to the dealership immediately and keep everyone posted on progress.

Thanks again for sharing your knowledge!

* out of curiosity, when you say they stay on, is that just while you are driving the truck, or does that also include when you exit the truck(parked and shut off)?

** The lights stay on all the time. Even after I shut off the engine and exit the cab. Apparently, they did eventually go off (not sure how long it took) because the battery was never drained, but I set the switch to manual off (right position) soon after I noticed what was happening.

 

[Senior Master Ford Guy]

Thank you so much for the very detailed reply @Senior Master Ford Guy ! You obviously know your craft inside and out. I sure wish you were the one doing the surgery on my baby.

I will pass along all of your comments to the dealership immediately and keep everyone posted on progress.

Thanks again for sharing your knowledge!



** The lights stay on all the time. Even after I shut off the engine and exit the cab. Apparently, they did eventually go off (not sure how long it took) because the battery was never drained, but I set the switch to manual off (right position) soon after I noticed what was happening.

Great!! You are in the diagnostic process yourself, and don't even know it! lol. Since the lights do go out after a while(I am going to guess about 10-15 minutes after vehicle is shut off) that most likely means that the constant power supply for manually turning your lights on(the switch moved to the left/always on position) is supplying power to that switch when it is in the position that they should only come on with a door open. I say this because although I referred to this as a constant power to the switch, it does go through what is called a battery saver relay. This relay will time out after about 10-15 minutes of the vehicle being shut off to save the battery from being drained( as you stated, the battery never went dead on you). So I deduct that 1 of 2 things has happened: 1) they damage the switch as I previously stated and now it does not actually go to the " door only" illumination position internally, or 2) the on demand power wire for manually switching the lights on with doors closed has somehow shorted to the courtesy power wire(door open supply) on the output side of the BCM as I previously mentioned in initial reply. Once again, most likely a damaged switch, it is very rare for a power wire to become bare and short its power to another power/power supply wire which would also have to be bare to transfer the power to that wire. Typically a power wire will short to ground and pop a fuse or melt wiring, not short to another power wire. This would be the case if there were a screw ran through the harness and hitting the wire giving it direct ground.

 

[JB9]

Glad to be of assistance. I will definitely pass this along as well.

You make it sound so easy, but this is a perfect example of how AI (ie the diagnostic check lists) can never really replace human expert intelligence and insight. Wherever you’re working, I hope you bosses understand and appreciate the value you provide and are compensating you accordingly!

 

[Senior Master Ford Guy]

Glad to be of assistance. I will definitely pass this along as well.

You make it sound so easy, but this is a perfect example of how AI (ie the diagnostic check lists) can never really replace human expert intelligence and insight. Wherever you’re working, I hope you bosses understand and appreciate the value you provide and are compensating you accordingly!

Thanks! Let us know what they find, and if they don't figure it out, I'm only about 4 and a half hours away from you in Peoria Illinois lol.

 

[50s4ever]

Have them look at connector C212, it’s behind the passenger a-pillar trim panel, they probably pinched this harness when installing the new airbag lower tether bolt, I’ve had to fix other techs hack work after recall 22C20 has been done, found that harness smashed behind the tether twice now

 

[JB9]

Ahh… thank you for the sketch @50s4ever! They did say something about replacing a connector next so hopefully C212 is the one. I will check and find out.

I truly appreciate everyone’s expert advice here. Nice to know Ford is backed up by such great service experts!

 

[JB9]

Well, I got my truck back yesterday with all the interior lights working correctly again. I was given the service information second hand, but it looks like @Senior Master Ford Guy and @50s4ever get to split the prize.

From what I was told, “the connection was bad in the back of the map light itself”. I assume they are referring to connector C928 in 50s4ever’s sketch.

Not sure which side of that connector is male, but they said “the pins were loose” and that the “new connector” has everything fitting properly and the switch functions as it should. I’m guessing it was the C928 connector in the harness itself that they replaced.

In any case, thanks again to both of you for taking the time to respond and pointing them in the right direction. After driving around for 1 & 1/2 weeks in a ‘22 Code Orange F-150 Raptor beast (loaner), I’m just delighted to have my little Mav back!

 

[50s4ever]

Good to hear it’s resolved and great loaner they gave you for the inconvenience

 

[Senior Master Ford Guy]

Well, I got my truck back yesterday with all the interior lights working correctly again. I was given the service information second hand, but it looks like @Senior Master Ford Guy and @50s4ever get to split the prize.

From what I was told, “the connection was bad in the back of the map light itself”. I assume they are referring to connector C928 in 50s4ever’s sketch.

Not sure which side of that connector is male, but they said “the pins were loose” and that the “new connector” has everything fitting properly and the switch functions as it should. I’m guessing it was the C928 connector in the harness itself that they replaced.

In any case, thanks again to both of you for taking the time to respond and pointing them in the right direction. After driving around for 1 & 1/2 weeks in a ‘22 Code Orange F-150 Raptor beast (loaner), I’m just delighted to have my little Mav back!

Great news!! Sorry it took them so long to figure it out, but my rule of thumb I tell my techs is " if it worked before you touched it, check everything you had apart and see what got messed up" lol

 

[JB9]

Problem Resolved:

Got a copy of the official service report with this additional information.

“Found that while testing pin fitment, pin 3 of connector C928 for circuit VLN33 was not being properly secured in connector allowing overhead console module to push pin out of connector. Replaced connector. Test overhead console. All ok at this time.”

 

[Wessss]

After my air bag recall
my interior lights didn’t work
ended up being the pins were bent
going into the wiring harness
that was plugging into the light

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