Issue after headlight harness install

[ChrisMartinTX]

I installed my headlight harness and its all nice and factory looking , however now my high beam indicator is not working. I cannot really figure this one out. I mean it is all hooked to the same green/black wire. I was looking at the schematic on the Ford CD and seems like the indicator light is line after the DRL jumper/module. So I thought maybe it needed some kind of "load" or something (I don't really knwo anything about that module btw) so I plugged in a light on the unused side... no dice. Any clues? I mean there is the possiblity I shorted something or something happened and I blew my LED that is in the indicator, but just researching other possibilities before I tear into my dash again... sad that I can do it with my eyes closed now.

 

[kwazyca]

PM Martha Stew........I mean Ford_Forgotten. He is the wiring guru here.

If it's Thursday night when you read this you might check the Flashchat room.

Link is above.

 

[Ford_Forgotton]

well, looking at your webpage, and reading your description...

Its possible you popped your indicator light. Although Im not familiar enough with the 97 wiring to be very confident. LEDs are very sensitive to overcurrent/overvoltage.

 

[ChrisMartinTX]

Well I can't really recall grounding anything out or spiking anything, but I'm sure that has to be it... other than going throught he DRL module there is no way it can isolate itself from the rest of the system. In other words really there shouldn't be a way for me to have the hi-beams if some relay or something was not firing somewhere. Oh well I guess I get rip off my bezel again manana.

Kinda sucks blue LED's are so expensive... oh well added cost of having aftermarket gauge faces. Gotta pay to play!

Now I just need to quit being lazy and get my blue LED's for the AIC

 

[ChrisMartinTX]

well couldn't sleep this morning after a fire so i figured i would tear into the dash before the sun came up and it got hot... i just blew the led. guess i did something, oh well.

 

[JohnBoyToo]

Good on you for finding it so quickly !

I was gonna suggest calling where you got the harness from - sure it's not the first time this happened !!!!

 

[Ford_Forgotton]

Well, since he uses an LED (which most people dont), it could be a side effect of the new harness changing current/voltage flow somehow. A regular incandescent bulb would be able to handle it, but an LED may or may not pop.

 

[ChrisMartinTX]

yea if another one lets go anytime soon guess i'll have to put another resistor inline there somewhere.

 

[Ford_Forgotton]

what size are you currently using if you remember?

Blue LEDs want about 3.3 volts and 25ma current. In a 14v charging state, you need to burn off 10.7 volts.

E=I*R
10.7 = .025*R
R= 428, so a 470 ohm resistor should protect you from anything under 14 volts. Spike over that tho, and your on your own.

 

[ChrisMartinTX]

18~22ma... just need to figure out where to put it. i trust the solder but not the resistors around harness that get yanked on. those little bastards on the back are hard to unplug.

sorry daryl... i bet you meant resistor i'll go check it out. two days in a row at the station with no sleep kinda gets to ya.