2002 Ford Taurus anti theft system

Tiny
HELEN BELLAMY
  • MEMBER
  • 2002 FORD TAURUS
  • 3.2L
  • 6 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 120,000 MILES
Grounded well, but the pcm fuse blows each time I replace it, what should I look for next, and where might I find the next place to look?
Saturday, May 2nd, 2015 AT 8:34 AM

1 Reply

Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,916 POSTS
A simple trick to finding a short is to replace the blown fuse with a pair of spade terminals, then use small jumper wires to connect them to a 12 volt light bulb. A brake light bulb works well. When the circuit is live and the short is present, the bulb will be full brightness and hot so be sure it's not laying on the carpet or against a plastic door panel. Now you can unplug electrical connectors and move things around to see what makes the short go away. When it does, the bulb will get dim or go out.

There's multiple fuses related to the Engine Computer. As a general rule, if the fuse blows as soon as you plug it in, even with the ignition switch off, the short is related to something else on the circuit that feeds the computer. If the fuse blows only after you turn on the ignition switch, look at things that are turned on by the computer. A good suspect would be an oxygen sensor heater wire that is grounded due to a wiring harness that fell down onto hot exhaust parts.
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Wednesday, April 3rd, 2019 AT 6:49 PM

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