Hey fellas,

I changed out my front control arms/shocks, and my cruise control buttons today. Now, when I try to crank the car over, everything completely dies. Everything. And it won't come back on until I pull a terminal off the battery.

I'm a bit clueless here. I wouldn't think steering wheel cruise control buttons could cause something like that...

The only thing I can think of is that there were a lot of steel lines I had to push out of the way (but not bend) to get the driver's side control arm out, as well as a big chunk of wires down by the alternator...but nothing came unplugged or got cut...

As of now, the car won't start. It's my backup, so it's not critical, but I'd certainly prefer to have it running. It should also be noted that when changing the cruise buttons, the horn got stuck so I pulled the relay, and now the "speed cont" light blinks.

If anyone has any ideas, let me know!

 

Does it crank? Do you get any warning lights on the dashboard (other than the speed control light)?.

I suspect that your new buttons have a lot to do with your problems. The steering wheel controls are read by the PCM as an electrical resistance whose value depends on what buttons you pressed - you probably noticed that you don't have one slip ring / spring for each button plus one for ground / common. You said that the horn got stuck while you were replacing the buttons. Well, the honk relay (as any inductive load, for that matter) puts out a high voltage (self-induction voltage) when the previously-energized circuit gets cut. Any relay acts like a small induction coli. It may be a long shot, but I think you had a shortcircuit among the wires (honk plus cruse control) that sent a high voltage to the PCM's cruise control inputs (which, again, only expected to see a resistor, not an outside voltage applied to them). I hope I'm wrong, but you may have toasted the PCM, and this would explain why your engine won't start. Long shot, but worth exploring.

Please let us know if you get spark during cranking. Also, connect a scanner to the diagnostic port and see if there's anything reported by the PCM. Oh, and check the relay and / or fuse that powers the PCM - if there's no power coming to the PCM, then the engine will never run, even if it cranks - the starter is not controlled by the PCM.

HTH ... Good luck!

Cheers,
cougar_fan

 

I wonder if Ford deliberately prevents the engine from running if the cruise control system is malfunctioning ... which I think is happening in your case since you get that blinking light on the dash. I can imagine a remake of the Toyota sudden acceleration nighmare driven by a messed up cruise control ... if you think of it, this system has the ability to overrule you. Add a malfunctioning BOO (brake on off) switch to the mix and there's no stopping to the car ... God forbid.

Another long shot, hopefully folks with a lot more experience than myself can comment on this ...