I have 2006 crown Victoria police interceptor. I have been having instrument cluster problems where it would power cycle And then eventuAlly it died. So temporarily I bought another cluster from another crown Vic lx model and installed it on my car. It lights up and operAtes just fine, but I have no power steering now. Can power steering be affected by cluster? Or can this be a completely different problem?
For the life of me, I just can’t see how replacing the instrument panel could affect the power steering. You’d have to look at the cluster connection schematics I suppose, maybe there is a link to the power steering somehow, but I think this is just a coincidence. Still undecided? You could put the old cluster back in and see if the power steering returns.
Just noticed the airbag light is on. Could that be a possibility? I don’t have any writing diagrams either
Without wiring diagrams you are sort of flying blind here. Jiggling wires and connectors might work. No harm done anyway. I’m thinking though it might be worth it for a trip to your local public library, see if they have the wiring diagrams. Most public libraries around here anyway have the Motor manuals which have wiring diagrams for almost every car. Some libraries have the all-data computer service, which has wiring diagrams too. No luck? Your Ford dealer may let you look at a set in their office. And Ford may have a website service where you pay a small daily fee and get access to the info on the internet. I think an ordinary person can get all-data at home on their internet too, for a small fee. The air bag indicator may requires specialized knowledge to get that working and the indicator turned off.
Your vehicle has Variable Assist Power Steering. This is controlled thru the VAPS module. This module gets it’s information thru the Controller Area Network. The Body Control Module is the gatekeeper for the CAN so computers/modules are able to communicate with each other.
If the instrument cluster acted up,the power steering isn’t working, and there’s an air bag light on, it’s time to hook a scanner up with CAN diagnostic capablilties to find out what’s going on.
Because you could try to hunt this down and never find it.
Tester
I’m pretty sure you can’t change instrument clusters between a Crown Vic Police and LX, as Tester says above. The Variable Power Steering system communicates through several modules, and I’m sure the instrument cluster is one of them. I’d have the system diagnosed and repaired properly. It will probably be easier and cheaper in the long run.
You could go over to http://www.crownvic.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.phpcrownvic.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php where the true believers congregate…Lots of P71 interest there…Take your time exploring the many different forums…
hmmm … interesting comments above. It sounds like this car has a sort of computer network installed. “CAN” means “controller area network” I think. Like “LAN” means "Local Area Network. LAN is used for a group of desktop computers in a business office, they are all connected together in a big loop, each computer forming a node. “CAN” must be if the equivalent for hooking all the car’s computer’s together. So if one node is missing, it breaks the loop, and the other’s can’t talk to each other. That would explain how there could be an interaction between a problematic console display and the power steering.
Actually with the torque app I have it did come up with a couple of codes that when I searched them it said something along the lines of can and possibilities of cluster I beleive. I will scan it again in the morning and post the codes.
Also I have noticed that with my oe cluster (I am fixing) and this temp replacement when I turn the key to the on position, also if I turn the car of from running but leave it in the odometer display will stop doing numbers and do this ----------. Kind of odd. Story for so many questions but thanks for helping
Only code that shows us u1900. Dashh lights lit air bag and fire suppression no abs or brake light
Here’s what the DTC means.
Unless you find a problem with the twisted wires for the ABS, It’s going to require a Ford or equivalent type scanner to track the problem down.
Tester
oh ok thanks, this is all probably due to having this temp cluster in. Hopefully it will all go away when I get my original cluster back. Thanks for your help!
Hi CVP106,
Did you ever get this problem solved? I have more or less the exact same set of symptoms on my 2006 Crown Vic which was a police car as well. Here’s what’s going on with mine, described below. I’d appreciate learning what you did to solve the problems in your car; chances are my car will have the same fix. Thanks!
Symptoms/conditions on my 2006 Crown Victoria (former police car). Mileage: 117k. When I bought it, it said in crayon on windshield “Bad PCM”. Written in marker on top of PCM which I just replaced with used PCM was: “122-617 throttle codes”. Symptoms are same having replaced the PCM: rough power steering at standstill and first few feet of rolling; instrument cluster goes flat; odometer numbers disappear and are replaced with all hyphens; while not on, mileage isn’t logged when odometer comes back on (i.e. I can drive 10 miles with odometer disappeared, and when it comes back on, odometer is at the same mileage as when its display disappeared). Even when instrument cluster works, check engine light is always on, and only went off once briefly when driving car up hills with load. When I connect my OBDII scanner, there is no light on whatsoever. However, the scanner works just fine and lights up right away when I connect it to my other Crown Vic, which is an '05. Back to the '06 description: On smog check, the '06 passed all points except these two: “PBDII; AND OBD Bulb Check”. I checked all fuses related to the PCM after installing the replacement PCM. There are two diodes. I replaced the smaller one, and all problems persist. I have not tested or replaced the larger diode.
This is what you need to do
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If you do, it will go to the email address which is associated with his cartalk account
Good luck 