Windshield wipers/odometer/radio not working

[HarryM]

Hey Guys, thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

Periodically, and it seems to be happening more often now, when I start my expy up, the odometer won't come on, the radio won't come on, and the windshield wipers won't work. There may be more, but this is all I notice. So when this happens, I shut it off and start it back up, and usually everything then works. And lately now, it seems I have to start it three or four times before everything works.

When this happens, the radio and the odometer will eventually come on in around 15-20 seconds, but the wipers will not start working.

I have no clue what to start checking to fix this. If it helps, I replaced the radio a couple of months ago, and I don't recall this ever happening before. And it only started this a week or so ago.

Oh, I guess I should say that it just recently came out of the shop after getting a 4wd actuator replaced. Maybe something didn't get reconnected correctly? But that would seem odd.

2006 Eddie Bauer with the 5.4 engine.

Harry

 

[Bain64]

When swapping the radio, did you use a wire harness or are wires individually spliced together? Have you re-checked the wiring? If you pull the radio partially out and jiggle the radio wires a bit does the dash light up?

 

[HarryM]

Hi Bain, thanks for the help.

I bought the radio and a pre-made harness from Crutchfield. All I had to do was plug it in to the expy's existing harness and to the back of the radio. All the connections are crimped together, except for one that I had to make. For it I used two wire nuts and a bunch of electrical tape. That was on the bass connection so it wouldn't make the thump. I'll pull it out tomorrow and check all the wiring and make sure that it is all good and solid, and no bare wires anywhere.

Harry

 

[Bain64]

No error lights on the dash when it's working? Have a scan tool or can you stop into an auto-parts store for a free scan?

Another thought, remove the fuse to the radio or radio hot itself to test if the instrument cluster and wipers come back online permanently.

 

[HarryM]

I pulled the dash out and inspected the radio. All the wiring looked good, all still connected solidly. I checked each wire for where the insulation may have been rubbed off, but they all looked good. I even took the time to relocate my ground wire. Put it back together and I still have the same thing going on.

I pulled out my cheapo fault reader and didn't get anything from it.

I haven't pulled the fuse to the radio yet, but that's my next test.

Harry

 

[HarryM]

Sorry, but which fuse should I pull? My owners guide says that fuse 7 is radio (start signal) and fuse 22 (and relay R02) is for Radio (delayed accessory feed).

 

[Bedrck47]

You may want to check ground connections behind the drivers and passenger kick panels

 

[HarryM]

Hah, I figured it out. Of all things, it was my ignition switch. When things weren't working, my switch was sticking in the "start" position. When it would spring back to the "run" position, everything worked. A little lubrication, and it should be fine.

Thanks for the help, I sure appreciated it.

Harry