Need help with electrical 1999 Exp.

[bedrck46]

Have attached a copy of the print for the heater grid relay It could also be possible the switch for the relay could be bad and causing the relay to be in the on position You should be able to check this by looking at the switch and when you press the switch on you should see the indicator light come on and when you press the switch again it should go off that part of the circuit is controlled by time when you are driving and press the switch on it will time out and shut off power to the rear grid You also cold check it by removing fuse 116 and having the relay installed listen to the relay to see if you hear or feel the relay clicking

 

[ldgee]

Had I known the amp meter had blown a fuse It would have saved a lot of trouble. I did as you instructed and amp meter read 0. Finally watched some videos on how to test amps and realized neither meter I had was working. Must have blown them both first test.

 

[stamp11127]

Another possibility is that the switched side of relay is being grounded by the gem constantly. That would energize the heaters as designed.

Idgee, do you know how to test a relay with a voltmeter? If not there are diagrams on the net that show the numbers used for each connection. One set you are concerned about is 30-87 and 30-87A. Some relays will also have a little diagram on the cover for the locations and numbers. Most will have the number cast in the plastic on the bottom. If I remember correctly you should have continuity on 30-87A and none on 30-87.

 

[ldgee]

Pulled #3 relay and checked continuity. Had continuity on both 30-87a and 30-87. Replaced fuse and no change in amp draw at battery.

 

[bedrck46]

you say you had continuity on 30-87a and 30-87 was that with the relay pulled and when you replaced fuses was the relay in or out of the fuse block

with the relay out check for continuity between 87 and 87a let us know the results

 

[ldgee]

Hey guys, thanks for your help. I would not have made it through this without your help. Tested relay per instructions found on line and found relay to be bad. Replaced relay and amp draw remained low at .41. It appears the expedition is on the road again. Thanks again.

 

[bedrck46]

when you came back and said that you had continuity at both 30-87 and 30-87a I was certain that the relay was bad That was the purpose of my previous post. If you look at the print you will see that 30-87 has a line with an arrow on it That shows the relay in the de-energized position then when it turns on the arrow would switch to 30-87a That relay operates like a light switch off or on but it is operated by an electrical coil
That was why I asked you to check to see if you had continuity between 87 and 87a The relay has shorted out and was always providing power to the heated grid which draws over 20 amps hence your high amp draw

Glad you finally got it working

Good thing Stamp and I don't charge by the hour you would be broke LOL

 

[bedrck46]

in the future you can get a

Ford workshop manual on DVD. Can be obtained from seller "morpheousking" on e-bay. Cost about $10.00 Much better than Clymer, Haynes or Chilton and also includes wiring diagrams

Don't waste your money on a Clymer, Haynes or Chilton Manual.
It is well worth the $10.00 just make sure you get the DVD for your year as the seller has different DVD's for different years

 

[stamp11127]

If you can, open your old relay and post a pic of how the relay failed and provide current on both 87 and 87A. I've never had one fail that way. Usually one side gets welded from overload and won't shut off or the coil burns.

 

[ldgee]

My bad, must have read the meter wrong. continuity on 87 and open on 87a. This it the test I did; I had continuity with and without 86 connected.

Place the relay you need to test close to the Vehicle's Battery (you'll need Battery power and ground for this test).
Using a jumper wire with alligator clips, connect terminal 85 of the Relay to the Battery's Ground Terminal
The photos in the image viewer are an exact representation of what goes where.
If you don't have such a jumper wire (with alligator clips), you can run down to your local Radio Shack (even WalMart) and buy some and make your own jumper wire.
Activate the Relay by connecting male spade terminal 86 to the Battery's Positive Terminal.
It's normal to hear a small clicking from the Relay when this connection is made.
With your Multimeter in Ohms mode: touch terminals 30 and 87 with the Multimeter leads (as seen in the photo).
It doesn't matter which color lead goes where, since the polarity does not matter for this test.
You may need a helper for this operation, unless your Multimeter leads have alligator clips on the end of the leads.
Once the last connection is made, your Multimeter should show continuity. If it doesn't show continuity, recheck all your connections and retest.
Remove and reconnect the jumper wire to terminal 86 several times, as you eye-ball the Multimeter.
When the jumper wire IS NOT connected to power, the Multimeter should show NO CONTINUITY.
When the jumper wire is connected to power, the Multimeter should show continuity.

 

[bedrck46]

No comment

 

[stamp11127]

It is good that you solved the problem.

This is just an FYI:
Read your manual that came with the meter concerning resistance testing. There should be a section that states not to test resistance of circuit that has power applied to it. That test did have power applied on the switch side of the relay. No big deal if your comfortable around this stuff. But if you were to connect up to 85 band 86 with power applied you probably would be getting another meter. At these low voltages it is only a little smoke if any, get up into industrial voltages and we get into loud bangs, flames and possibly death.

To be proper, if your applying power 86, they should have had you apply power to 30. Pins 87 and 87a would be grounded. That way the meter is on voltage the entire time, no chance of frying it.

 

[bedrck46]

Very good advice