Anyone have any dash or wheel lighting problems yet?

[kennycoulter]

I had my car worked on at the bodyshop (hit by a frack truck).  I got the car back and the side mirror didn't work correctly.  The car went back and forth to the shop over the course of 2 months.  

 

I finally got it back feb. 2nd and had a whole mess of problems with the car:
My speedometer seems like the lighting is separate from the rest of the dash and is not very bright anymore, and looks different between headlights on or off (dash lights dim when headlights turn on).
ALSO, my steering wheel switches have multiple lights that are out, and a week ago, more went out.

The shop told me that the mirrors that kept coming in from ford were way different and that my vin didn't match with the options..........   mentioned not wanting to cut into the wiring to splice anything.    I can't really imagine that they would have had to.


THESE are the only issues that I am highlighting in this post, but I had a whole slew of problems that very strangely coincidentally showed up only after they had worked on the car.


Can these issues be related at all?  

The shop sales guy went absolutely crazy when I brought up the issues (not just the lighting), and threatened to call the police to get me off of the property.  They said that they would deal with the NEW marks on the body, but that they weren't responsible nor the cause for any of the other problems that showed up.

[bbf2530]

7 hours ago, kennycoulter said:

I had my car worked on at the bodyshop (hit by a frack truck).  I got the car back and the side mirror didn't work correctly.  The car went back and forth to the shop over the course of 2 months.  

 

I finally got it back feb. 2nd and had a whole mess of problems with the car:
My speedometer seems like the lighting is separate from the rest of the dash and is not very bright anymore, and looks different between headlights on or off (dash lights dim when headlights turn on).
ALSO, my steering wheel switches have multiple lights that are out, and a week ago, more went out.

The shop told me that the mirrors that kept coming in from ford were way different and that my vin didn't match with the options..........   mentioned not wanting to cut into the wiring to splice anything.    I can't really imagine that they would have had to.


THESE are the only issues that I am highlighting in this post, but I had a whole slew of problems that very strangely coincidentally showed up only after they had worked on the car.


Can these issues be related at all?  

The shop sales guy went absolutely crazy when I brought up the issues (not just the lighting), and threatened to call the police to get me off of the property.  They said that they would deal with the NEW marks on the body, but that they weren't responsible nor the cause for any of the other problems that showed up.

 

 Hi Kenny. How much damage was there from the accident? Where were you hit by the truck and what work was performed on your car? Was it hit in the area of the malfunctioning mirror?

Dealing with one of your concerns: Your instrument panel lighting is supposed to dim when the headlights are turned on. You just never noticed before the accident. Almost all cars do that. Are you saying some instrumentation dims and some doesn't?

You state that the speedometer lighting looks dimmer than before the accident.  Does the dimmer switch still work and can you adjust the lighting? Which lights get brighter and dimmer (and which don't) when you use the dimmer switch?

Concerning the steering wheel switch illumination: Perhaps there is a short in the system caused by the accident or work.  I would start by checking the fuses. You can find the fuse diagram in your Owners Manual.  Look in the Index under "Fuses" for the fuse diagram listing the proper fuse and fuse box location to check.

The dash instrumentation dimming when the headlights are turned on is normal. However, as far as the rest of your concerns, I can not be sure about the cause of those issues or why the body shop had problems getting the correct parts. Try so speak to them calmly about what is not working correctly, keep us updated and good luck.

Edited April 27, 2018 by bbf2530

[kennycoulter]

On ‎4‎/‎27‎/‎2018 at 10:46 AM, bbf2530 said:

 

 Hi Kenny. How much damage was there from the accident? Where were you hit by the truck and what work was performed on your car? Was it hit in the area of the malfunctioning mirror?

Dealing with one of your concerns: Your instrument panel lighting is supposed to dim when the headlights are turned on. You just never noticed before the accident. Almost all cars do that. Are you saying some instrumentation dims and some doesn't?

You state that the speedometer lighting looks dimmer than before the accident.  Does the dimmer switch still work and can you adjust the lighting? Which lights get brighter and dimmer (and which don't) when you use the dimmer switch?

Concerning the steering wheel switch illumination: Perhaps there is a short in the system caused by the accident or work.  I would start by checking the fuses. You can find the fuse diagram in your Owners Manual.  Look in the Index under "Fuses" for the fuse diagram listing the proper fuse and fuse box location to check.

The dash instrumentation dimming when the headlights are turned on is normal. However, as far as the rest of your concerns, I can not be sure about the cause of those issues or why the body shop had problems getting the correct parts. Try so speak to them calmly about what is not working correctly, keep us updated and good luck.

The damage was very light considering that it was a tractor trailer.  the step got my rear door, small section of quarter panel at the dogleg, the mirror turn signal.

the most work done, or at least what was said to be done was the replacement of the mirror itself.  I was told that the mirror is sold as a full unit, and not in individual pieces.   The rest of my mirror was FINE, but the turn signal was broken. 

The dash lights are definitely different than before.  I had always noticed the dimming effect when the lights would come on.   The only light inside the dash that is dimming more than the rest is the speedometer.  I have tried to take pictures and video of the change, but it is hard to see the difference when not in person.
The first thing that I assumed was that while they cleaned the car for returning to me, that they might have bumped the dimmer.   It didn't change anything, and I believe I filmed that full action from full dim to full light.

The MIRROR doesn't work  to return back to position using the 3 memory buttons.   I am not sure how to check the actual non-functioning auto dim (seems to work but very weak), or the defrost.

concerning the wheel switch illumination, I can't imagine that different lights on the steering wheel would have different fuses.   I would imagine that the whole wheel is on the same switch.  I figured that each small illuminated arrow or word had fiber optics or something, but it seems really fishy that NONE were out before taking it to the shop, then all of the sudden, more than half (plus the other problems) of the symbols went dark.

 

 

 

I stayed calm the whole time while talking to the shop.   The guy got real weird.   I started to record without his knowledge, as it was really weird and unbelievable.    My friend recommended that he go and get a quote, and I pull up and see if the guy goes crazy again while a witness would be present.

 

I hope that this was easy enough to follow, I sort of bounced around while writing it.


Thank you.

[Oracle_Ed]

If the driver's airbag deployed, that would probably have damaged the clockspring which may be the cause of the button illumination issue.

[kennycoulter]

It was not deployed.

I am really baffled by this, and over more time, more lights have gone out.

[FusionDiffusion]

Sounds like some kind of strange wiring issue. I would try to find a shop that does electrical diagnosis. It's possible that you have a have a smashed wiring harness somewhere that is shorting out or has partially cut wires. That may be causing things to not operate properly. Perhaps you have a bad SJB which is the wiring module under the dash that controls all the lighting. A competent shop should be able to run diagnostics on it to see what problems there are, if any.

[kennycoulter]

I had my horn button off yesterday, and did not see any fault in that location.....
it still could have been coincidental.  I saw some rust in the area from moisture, so I wonder if SOME contacts actually got corroded.


I think I just figured out WHY this happened, along with the timing of the bodyshop having the vehicle.

I know that they spray down the interior when they detail the car before returning to the customer.
the time of year in which the car was worked on was VERY cold.  I had heavy rust form on my brakes and lugnuts in the time that they had the vehicle (sat for a month waiting on the correct mirror).  the moisture from cleaning needed to evaporate and stuck to the bare metal interior pieces and probably corroded some contacts, which I hope that the whole display panel doesn't go bad fast...

Another bodyshop that I had talked to had mentioned that the aftermarket mirrors ARE NOT correct, and DO NOT work, and that this original bodyshop was telling the truth that the connectors are not the same as ford's.   if anyone needs to have a bodyshop replace a mirror, elect to have a genuine ford side mirror, and NOT aftermarket.
 

[kennycoulter]

Last night, I noticed that more lights on the buttons were out......   30 minutes later, I noticed them flickering when turning the wheel.

Obviously some sort of connection issue?

[bbf2530]

6 hours ago, kennycoulter said:

Last night, I noticed that more lights on the buttons were out......   30 minutes later, I noticed them flickering when turning the wheel.

Obviously some sort of connection issue?

 

Hi Kenny.  You may be correct about the corrosion. Sounds like a good possibility. Also, I would think the fact you get flickering when you turn the wheel may still mean a possible clock spring issue. Hopefully one of our tech members will jump in again here.

 

Keep us updated and good luck.

Edited October 26, 2018 by bbf2530

[eGuru]

6 hours ago, bbf2530 said:

 

Hi Kenny.  You may be correct about the corrosion. Sounds like a good possibility. Also, I would think the fact you get flickering when you turn the wheel may still mean a possible clock spring issue. Hopefully one of our tech members will jump in again here.

 

Keep us updated and good luck.

I agree with bbf2530, the flickering when turning the wheel is likely a clock spring issue. 

Oracle_ed also mentioned this several posts back. Even if the airbag never deployed, the clock spring may still be worn out or damaged.

 

btw - How do you know the airbag was never deployed - did you buy the car new? 

[kennycoulter]

I am just seeing this post.....

the airbags did not deploy at this accident, but I can't say that they have NEVER been deployed.   I bought the car used, and it WAS  rearended.  I plan to take things back apart and check them again within the next couple of weeks.