[luis84]

Good Evening,

I love the Ford Escape I purchased but it has a few things that are bothering me. I got it at a great price and it's mechanically excellent which makes it worth the little effort I will need to put in.

Right now, the horn and the cruise control switches don't work. I am assuming maybe it's just the fuse. Has anybody else had this happen? Do they share a fuse?

Also, on my intstrument panel, there is a digital box where the miles are displayed and it also displays the "gear". Well it says if its in Drive, Park, etc. I have seen many Ford Escapes where it has a green glowing backlight so you can read it at night.

Mine works fine in the day but at night it has no green backlight. It is nearly impossible to see. I tried turning the dimmer all the way up and the rest of the dash panels lights get brighter, but no effect on that. Is there something else I need to do? Does anybody know what could be the culperate or what my potential solutions are?

Thanks very much! Btw it's a 2001 XLS V6.

 

[hurk]

Howdy. A bulb on the instrument panel probably needs to be replaced.
There might be a cluster removal topic in the How-to: Articles section on the Problems & Solutions page.

There's a horn fuse in the Power Distribution box located in the engine compartment. The PDBox is located on the driver's side next to the fender near the battery & airbox.
FYI: the Owner's Manual has fuse & Power-distribution-box information.

Not sure what to do about the cruise control. A pdf search of the owner's manual for cruise didn't show any results related to the fuse box or pwr-distr-box. It could be that the cruise control cable has become disconnected - on my 2002 2.0L it's a short cable that connects the cruise control motor/module to the throttle pulley/bracket. The cruise control module is on the passenger side of the engine compartment - you can follow the cable to the throttle body or vice versa.

 

[luis84]

Thank you, I will check the fuse today.

Also on the dash cluster. It's a small LED screen that displays which gear the car is in and the miles. I didn't think they used traditional bulbs for backlighting, or do they?

 

[jpark]

2001-2004 Escapes and Tributes do use a small (#37 or #74) bulb to light the LCD panel in the instrument cluster.

And since both your horn and cruise switches are out, I'd say that you need a new clockspring in the steering wheel.

 

[luis84]

Thank you, I will take the instrumental panel out and find a replacement bulb.

In terms of the clock spring.... well actually, I have another potential issue....

With the horn, I am not sure whats going on. It has the horn symbol but its as if the car doesnt have one.

When i pop the good and check the fuse box, i notice there is no fuse where the horn is. But inside the slot, there aren't any metal contacts. As in, those tiny little metal contacts that the fuse pushes into, its not there, its just a hole.

What could that mean? I have no idea...

 

[hurk]

Maybe the XLS model doesn't have the horn fuse in the PDBox.
The Owner's Manual also shows that there's a fuse in the passenger compartment fuse panel (#23 - 15A - Left/Rt Horn)
I like the steering wheel clockspring suggestion.

 

[luis84]

Yep I'm dumb. In the XLS its in the fuse box inside. It's a 20A. It's not blown, i tried a new one.

Looks like it must be the clockspring. I guess I will have to goto a mechanic for that because I have never even heard of the clockspring.

 

[jpark]

The clockspring is a donut-shaped module with connector contacts on a fixed side and on the side that turns with the steering wheel. Inside is a long, flat, flexible circuit "board" wound into a coil, just like a clockspring. It allows permanent, fixed electrical connections to the steering wheel.

Early clocksprings used different plastics for the flexible piece which were prone to cracking.

BTW, your airbag is probably also not connected if the clockspring is broken.

They're not that expensive, if you want to try to replace it yourself.

http://www.newfordparts.com/seccat/esca ... 125/30746/

But you will need to de-power the airbag.

 

[luis84]

Thanks! I saw some youtube videos.

But they most of the time when the clock spring is bad, the airbag light comes on.

My airbag light isn't on, but the horn and cruise don't work. Is that still likely the clockspring ?

 

[Caperj]

Just did my daughters 2008 email me if you need help. [email protected]*

it is easy takes about 1hr. Get new from tasca parts

9S4Z-14A664-A
2008-12
Costs 78 dollars

Need 50 mm torque
steering wheel puller $15 from local shop
phillips #2