Hey all, this is my first time posting on this site. I have found some very solid advice on here and now it is my turn to ask for some because I am desperate!

I bought a 2006 f150 lariat 4x4 supercrew recently that evidently had some water intrusion in its past. Some crazy things have gone wrong with the truck that have stumped some good mechanics.

Here are the symptoms that have happened 3 times in the same order.

1. Starter makes grinding sound 1 out of every 10 starts or so
2. Check engine light comes on and truck starts to run a little rougher especially when revving to higher rpm's
3. Entire dash goes black and AC quits working
4. Truck won't start (like it is out of gas)



Here is what my mechanic found:

1. A fuse kept blowing that was responsible for the dash power, but when the gauge cluster was bypassed, the fuse didn't blow as fast. Fuse seemed to blow when turning off the truck

2. Corrosion on main harness plug located behind driver left side kick panel
3. Corrosion on wiring leading to fuse box on passenger right side kick panel.
4. Fried panel up in the dome light/sliding rear window switch console


Here is what has been done so far:

1. New gauge cluster was installed
2. New Starter installed
3. 2 new complete wiring harnesses (the main one running from front to back and the one that runs through the dash
4. New fuse box complete with all new fuses
5. Dome light wiring harness was unplugged

So after all of the above, I took my truck out of the shop and it ran fine for a day minus the dome lights of course. The AC also didn't work. Then I heard the dreaded starter noise on the third day of driving and now the check engine light has come on and the truck is beginning to run a little rougher.

My mechanic thinks the AC problem is due to a bad PCM since he tested the compressor and when he provided a ground it worked fine. Also the A/C worked fine before the wiring harnesses were replaced until the fuse popped.

I am at a total loss of what else could be causing these issues!!!!!!!!! If anyone has any advice, I'd love to hear it please. I now realize that I probably didn't need the new gauge cluster or starter, and am hesitant to spring for a new PCM without assurance that it could be the problem.

Thanks!

 

Normally we limit your first post to a paragraph..lol I think you still have a corrosion problem causing a short to ground somewhere...was this in a flood ??

 

^ I'm reading this and New Orleans popped into mind... Was this a salvage vehicle?

 

Ha, sorry but I wanted all the info out there in case anyone had some ideas. I bought the truck from dallas. I believe it got stuck in some salt water for a brief while since there was sand under the carpet. It's title and carfax were clean.

 

Not good man. How long have you owned it? LEMON LAW...

With salt water intrusion, the effects can be limitless. Some things will happen right away, and some things will take time to develop. You never know what your gonna run into.

 

When the replacement cluster was installed, was it the same as the old, meaning a Lariat cluster? I did a writeup on how Lariat and King Ranch clusters are unique; they cannot be used in other F150 models without serious AC issues that have to be modded in order for the AC to work. On the flip side, putting in anything other than a Lariat cluster in a Lariat can cause the same issues.

The Lariat uses a climate control AC center; these use a module to automatically control the cabin temps read by the cabin thermometer and what the operator set the inside temps to be. If you have issues with past water invasion, only the Ford Gods could know where to start with this issue.Get out the schematics, a good multimeter and start tracing the electricals.

 

[QUOTE=fend2ride;693972]Not good man. How long have you owned it? LEMON LAW...

I bought it from a dealer and they refunded me some money to take care of the wiring harnesses. I looked into Lemon Law and it won't cover me.

 

Yes it is the same Lariat cluster. The cluster was replaced before the wiring harnesses and the a/c worked before the harnesses were changed.....

 

I hate to state the fact, but you're in for a wonderful wiring troubleshooting time then. Got a decent volt-ohm meter?

I'd also parade Ebay motors (parts and accesories) for a set of factory shop manuals, especially the schematics (wiring) manual.