Horn & Instrumental Panel Gear Light Not Working

5495 Views 9 Replies 4 Participants Last post by Caperj, Oct 13, 2014

luis84

Discussion Starter · Oct 28, 2010

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.

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luis84

Discussion Starter · #3 · Oct 28, 2010

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?

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luis84

Discussion Starter · #5 · Oct 28, 2010

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...

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luis84

Discussion Starter · #7 · Oct 29, 2010

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.

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luis84

Discussion Starter · #9 · Oct 29, 2010

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 ?

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