Ford Escape 11 Headlight Wiring Diagram
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Discussion Starter · #1 ·
I am new to this forum! I own a 2013 Ford Escape SE 2.0 with 61600 miles on it.
I had HID installed and then suddenly they both went out so when I took it to repair the lights, I decided that I was going to put in LED headlights. Well when my mechanic took out the HID's and went to test the LED's the passenger side didn't work. So we put regular halogens in and the passenger side didn't work at all. We checked the fuses that were listed in the owners manual but did not have a blown fuse. These are all the low beams. The high beams and fog lights work as expected.
What could cause that and where can we look to fix this issue so I can get the LED head lights installed?
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If the low beam fused circuit has power, a few things are possible:
1) when hids are installed in halogen lamps, it is common to run both of off one circuit, verify that all of the wiring has been reverted to factory and has continuity from the BCM to each lamp and from each lamp to earth.
2) if the circuits check out, the BCM might have disabled the lamp circuit, pull the codes and reset/clear any DTCs if necessary. This may let the BCM re-enable the circuit.
3) the worst case, each individual headlamp operates off of a separate microswitch in the BCM, the microswitch to the passenger low beam may have failed. If so, it will be necessary to replace the BCM.
I would suggest getting the lamps working with halogen bulbs 1st, to eliminate as many ???s as possible. Run them for a bit before trying the leds.
When the HIDs were put in, was this done with CAN cancellers or resistors? If so, were these removed?
Was the BCM reprogrammed to accept HIDs? If so was it reprogrammed back to factory settings? The BCM monitors voltages on each lamp, if the voltage is out of spec, it will disable the lamp.
Good luck!
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Discussion Starter · #3 ·
The resistors were taken out and everything is back to factory. What does the BCM mean? I know that nothing was reprogrammed at all with regard to the HID's.
Thanks!
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Discussion Starter · #4 ·
How do you reset the BCM and DTS?
2019 Honda Ridgeline RTL-E AWD
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How do you reset the BCM and DTS?
If referring to this suggestion:
....2) if the circuits check out, the BCM might have disabled the lamp circuit, pull the codes and reset/clear any DTCs if necessary. This may let the BCM re-enable the circuit.....
Use an OBDII code reader to look for any DTC's (diagnostic trouble codes) and clear (erase) those codes.
It might be useful to write down the DTC letters/numbers before you clear them so you can look them up (google search or post them here) to see if they are related to lighting functions.
If that doesn't help you might try disconnecting the black negative battery cable
at the jump-start postnear/above the main fuse box under the hood. Leave it off for 15 minutes to allow things to reset. This will cause you to lose all phone pairing and custom configurations on your dashboard/ entertainment/ SYNC settings and you will lose your engine/transmission adaptive learning programs (so the vehicle may behave differently for awhile until it re-learns your driving habits). This procedure is the closest thing to a 'master reset' for all vehicle systems that you can do (but it will not clear DTC's, that must be done separately).
Even if that 'fixes' the problem, check again for the DTC's to see if the have come back. if yes, whatever problem you have is not fixed and your lights may fail again after awhile.
As atlcarl69 mentioned there are no 'fuses' specific to the individual headlights, they are protected by fault-finding logic circuitry in the BCM. Some of those 'protections' work by logging a fault many times before shutting-down a circuit.
How long did you have the HID's before they failed (days, weeks, months, years)? Were they installed to both run or trigger off the (now dead) passenger-side circuit?
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Discussion Starter · #6 ·
HID's were in about 14 months before they failed. There was some issues with the lights, where I was getting "low beam fault" error messages for a little while at the beginning but we got that issue fixed. The lights did flicker from time to time, rarely.
How can you test the headlight socket? I will try to reset the computer to see if that helps.
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Respectfully, your questions and answers suggest you are out of your depth with this trouble-shooting issue, and even with being able to provide detailed and complete info needed to help from afar.
My gut tells me your problem originates with something relating to the original HID installation but it would take an orderly approach to looking at the entire lighting system circuits and DTC's to figure that out or prove that incorrect. An unorganized hit-or-miss approach is likely to not provide a solid, long-term 'fix', IMHO.
Continuing IMHO ... you need to rely on the mechanic that's gotten you this far or find another with better organized trouble-shooting skills and knowledge of the FE's systems. If your mechanic can't show you that he has access to the '13+ Ford Escape wiring diagrams & workshop manual (which includes detailed trouble-shooting guidance relating to all of the FE's specific lighting system DTC's), I'd find another who does.
I'd like to help further but I don't think I can other than to point back to this good suggestion and shared sentiment:
...I would suggest getting the lamps working with halogen bulbs 1st, to eliminate as many ???s as possible. Run them for a bit before trying the leds....
Good luck!
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Discussion Starter · #8 ·
I'm only getting 7v to the headlight and as soon as you connect the bulb, it does down to 0. Seems like a bad fuse to me. What fuses can I check?
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I'm only getting 7v to the headlight and as soon as you connect the bulb, it does down to 0. Seems like a bad fuse to me. What fuses can I check?
Like I earlier said, all of the headlights (high and low) beams work from a single fuse (#74), the rest of the power distribution is controlled and switched by the Body Control Module. If ANY of the headlight bulbs are working, it cannot be a fuse (at least not one installed by Ford).
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Discussion Starter · #10 ·
Like I earlier said, all of the headlights (high and low) beams work from a single fuse (#74), the rest of the power distribution is controlled and switched by the Body Control Module. If ANY of the headlight bulbs are working, it cannot be a fuse (at least not one installed by Ford).
I would imagine it's the Body Control Module underneath the dash then.
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Either that or somewhere in the wiring between it and the headlamp, and the BCM is protecting the circuit by depowering it. That your getting only 7 volts (initially?) sounds like there is resistance in the positive side, possibly due to a bad splice. I would check the voltage before any cut or splice (for the headlamp circuit, the splice should be soldered, not just butted or twisted) that was made when installing/removing the HIDs. If it is 12v there, keep going down the circuit until you find the drop. I would also do Ohm readings from any splice to the connector at the headlamp (power off), this should read 0. Also, try the same tests with the driver's side unplugged, if any of the readings are different, it is possible the circuits were crossed or improperly connected in series. Also, you should note if there are any messages on your instrument panel when doing this (car has to be on/running, some messages will not show if you just run the light switch when the car is off. I learned this the hard way), they can be more helpful than you might realize.
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Discussion Starter · #12 ·
If you have to replace the Body Control Module, can I buy one on ebay and then install it? Seems like there has to be more to it then that.
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That would be something best left to a dealer. It is MUCH more than just swapping the hardware.
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Discussion Starter · #14 ·
That would be something best left to a dealer. It is MUCH more than just swapping the hardware.
I spoke to the Ford dealer that I bought the car off of. I will keep you guys posted as to the progress.
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Unless you're getting the BCM from the Escape that has the exact same options as yours, it needs to be reprogramed. For a new unit, it comes without any programming, so, the dealer will need to restore your original configuration (as-build). I hope it doesn't come to that, as the BCM is really expensive.
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Discussion Starter · #16 ·
I am hoping it doesn't either.
Once I get this issue fixed, is it OK to go with LED head light bulbs? I really would like them but I don't want to mess up the wiring, especially after it hopefully gets fixed tomorrow.
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Discussion Starter · #17 ·
I just got home from the dealer with the car and it cost me $200 to get the car fixed. They said it was a corrosion on one of the wires/connectors going into the BCM that was causing the disruption. Anyway, the issue is now fixed.
Source: https://www.fordescape.org/threads/2013-ford-escape-se-passenger-headlight-issue.53306/
Posted by: kareembarbee.blogspot.com
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