Police Interceptors Ford Crown Victoria

I have a 2003 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor. The headlights recently started turning off by themselves. A relay box under the dash is making a clicking noise when this happens. Where can I get a new relay box and does anyone know if this is supplied by Ford or aftermarket?

It might be a good idea to consider the possibility that the relay is only the result of a problem and not the cause of it.

Are you running stock bulbs? Is it possible that the wiring for the headlights was butchered a bit when the wig wag unit was removed, and there is now an intermittent short circuit?

Instead of wildly throwing parts at it, why not take it to Mr. Good Bench? If you could fix this, you would start with the wiring diagram of the headlights and a voltmeter. Do you want to do this? Answer, “Yes”, if you do, and we’ll help you. Deal?

Not trying to hijack your thread…

But saw on my drive to work today…a new NH state interceptor car. It was a Dodge Charger.

Those started to appear in NJ, with some local police departments, about a year ago. If you think that there was no leg room in the back of a Crown Victoria after the security barrier was put into place, you should look at the setup in the back of one of those Chargers!

I rented one once on a business trip. I wasn’t impressed at all with them at all. They look nice though.

I need to find a good electronics man locally. Thanks.

I have considered that. Thanks.

To the local electronic Mr. Wizard I shall go.

Going to a pro is a good idea. Electrical gremlins can be daunting for the DIYer to track down. The lighting control module could be bad. With so many of these vehicles out there, it should be available from a salvage yard. Good thing because they’re kind of pricey purchased new:http://www.teamfordparts.com/partlocator/index.cfm?action=getJointLocator&siteid=214270&chapter=&sectionids=3,2413&groupid=10009&subgroupid=20071&componentid=62355&make=10&model=Crown%20victoria&year=2003&catalogid=1&displayCatalogid=0

I had a car that did this once in a while. There was a circuit breaker built into the headlight switch, and it was a little weak after about 14 years. After a while on high beams the lights would flash as the breaker clicked off and on. May or may not be your problem. You may have a short or a headlamp that’s drawing too much current, or a weak breaker like I did. Something to consider. Or it may just be a failing headlight relay.

Post this question at www.crownvic.net. There was a year or two ca. 2003 where the LCMs (lighting control modules) had poor headlight relays in them. Rather than replace the whole $400 LCM, some have replaced the relays with more robust ones. It takes some circuit board soldering skills. There are extensive information and pictures posted there.