Turn signal out!

[bonehead]

Dr Frank I would like to speak to you about headlights. my left side headlight has gone dark on me. the dealer says if it is not a loose wire there is no bulb replacement and I have to purchase the whole assembly for $4,000. is there an alternative?

You've posted in two separate threads about the turn signal. Are you referring to the headlight or the amber signal bulb? If the latter, that is serviceable. If it's the headlight, then, yes, I believe you need to replace the entire unit. Although I'm pretty sure they're significantly more than $4000 now

EDIT: see SaskGT's reply below. When high/low beam becomes nonfunctional, then the entire unit needs to be replaced. Bulb alone is apparently serviceable.

 

[fjpikul]

I think your best bet now is to pull the whole headlight unit. If you have a faint heart, get someone else to do it. Pull the tire and wheel. Better off using a lift to save your back and have better reach. The inner fender liner has to be pulled and that is the pain. Make sure it is warm. Use a hair dryer to warm it up. The BIG worry is bending the aluminum fender. Pop the liner in the middle with you hand and loosen it from the fender lip. After it's loose, rotate it 180 degrees towards the rear. Once it's out, everything else is easy to see and get at. Read the procedure in the shop manual if you can. There is a post here somewhere that someone actually replaced the bulb after cutting the housing. You can adjust headlight for top/bottom from inside the trunk. If you're close to someone who has done this before ask for help.

 

[SaskGT]

The headlight bulb is replaceable without removing the headlight unit. Once the wheel and fender liner are removed it is a simple job to replace the bulb.
The bulb is a fairly common item. The mechanism the moves to change between high and low beam is not easily replaced and can not be purchased separately from the unit. I am sure this has been covered in detail in a previous post. A search should yield the information you need.
As fjpikul stated the inner fender liner removal is a pain and can cause damage if done incorrectly.
Good luck.
Joe

 

[Scooter]

Yes is it the turn signal bulb or the headlight bulb? The connector and the metal wires on the turn signal bulb can get a bit of corrosion on them..clean them up and your all set. I dont know about the head light bulb.

 

[AMB]

Headlight Bulb Replacement

:thumbsup

The replacement bulb for the headlight is: "HID-DS1"!!!
The replacement bulb for the fog light is: "H1"!!!

 

[Scooter]

Sounds like that Ford Dealer needs a little training on the FGT. Good thing you didn't buy a $5k light!

 

[jtmcgoey]

I bought a bulb and the dealer took things apart and tested it but says it is the ballast not the bulb and they can't find a part number. does anyone have a part number for a ballast?

 

[AMB]

jtmcgoey:

There is NO "BALLAST"!!! There is two fuses in the BJB "F1.17,25a for the left headlight" and "F1.18,25a for the right headlight". There is also two headlight relays in the BJB "C1362 & C1363"!!!

 

[Art138]

jtmcgoey:

There is NO "BALLAST"!!! There is two fuses in the BJB "F1.17,25a for the left headlight" and "F1.18,25a for the right headlight". There is also two headlight relays in the BJB "C1362 & C1363"!!!

Two threads on the same issue as was already mentioned.....you say no ballast,then what is this attached at the bottom of headlight fixture:

 

[AMB]

That should be part of the HID-DS1 ???

 

[Fubar]

If you Google or look on eBay you can find the Phillip part mentioned above. Look for "Phillip Xentron XLS 135" I'm not sure if that fixes your problem but the part is available for about $125 online. I have one I pulled out of a cracked headlight assembly. Here is the thing... the turn signal indicator isn't part of the Xentron system. If you look at the power connection for the whole assembly there are 5 wires; black, red, gray, blue & green. The black and red wire goto the Xentron unit but the gray, blue & green wires go directly from the car wiring harness to the turn signal. I have attached a few pictures of the assembly I pulled apart. Honesty, I would pull the turn signal bulb and replace it with an LED bulb, done and done! If you aren't getting power there, it is the main lighting connector or a fault in the system (like a fuse).

edit: green wire goes to the headlight box (presumably the LEDs in the "1") not the turn signal. The turn indicator wires are gray, blue and black.

 

[bonehead]

Pull the bulb out and you will notice that the wire contacts will be dark gray/black. Scrape these contacts gently with the edge of an Exacto knife or razor blade. A fine grain emery cloth would also work to remove the oxidation. After cleaning, put a generous amount of dielectric grease. DON'T skip this step unless you relish removing the fender liner! I've had to do quite a few now, never had to re-do one.

Still no re-do's, Kendall?
I had my passenger side bulb pulled, new one greased and replaced by the guys at M2K several months ago. Kevin said he even adjusted the contacts as it appeared they were too spread apart. Much to my dismay, it still doesn't work. I give it a few good slaps and it will work for a short time, so I know it's not completely dead. Any other ideas? Wish it as easy to switch out as the turn signal on my wife's Expedition. 5 minutes including the time it took me to fish out my Torx bits from the garage.:ack