1995 Lighting and air suspension lines

[CountrySedan]

I bought my 1995 Mark VIII about 8 months ago and drove it home.

I’d been reading about them for a few years, however.


It has most of the common problems: Air suspension (drops down in the front after a few hours… but not always), Blend door (bangs once a second….but not always), radio amplifier (fixed with replacement amp)

I drove it to cruise night last week and found a few more problems that I haven’t expected. Rear lighting, first of all.



The following lights Do Work: Headlight (low and high beam), right cornering light. High Brake light. dash lights
Edit: Today tail lights were working.

The following do NOT work: Rear tail lights, rear brake lights, all 4 front and rear turn signals, 4 way flashers, left cornering light.





I don’t have a service manual and am unfamiliar with cars newer than about 1975.



Of course, the left cornering light is the least of my problems. So I had to start there.

I took the assembly out and saw one wire was broken. Perhaps chewed. There was a rats nest in there. I noticed two thick black plastic tubes running in the driver side fender. One was broken or chewed off at the front and rear. A 5 foot long section was hanging and came out.

I’m guessing these lines are the air lines for the left side of the car and the chewed one was for the front.

The thing is, the front will inflate after I start the car and doesn’t leak out immediately after I park it. It takes hours.

If that broken line was to the left front air bag wouldn’t it leak out immediately?

I put the car on jack stands on the front last month and the front held air.

First time it did that. But after I got home from cruise night it leaked out again.

It leaks too slow to hear it leak.



So, what can you tell me about those lines?

And where do I look for the lighting and flasher problems?

Is the flasher a load sensitive (thermal) one or is it transistorized (fixed flash rate)? Can I upgrade to an electronic one (fixed flash rate)? They will flash the bulbs that work even if some of the others are burnt out.
Where are the flasher or flashers (if there are two) located?



There is a 96 Mark VIII in a local junkyard. I would like to know if I should get the head light lenses out of it. Is it a direct bolt in for a 95? The low beams in my car work but, of course, aren’t bright enough. My purpose would be to try a LED low beam.

 

[BILLBOATS]

I bought my 1995 Mark VIII about 8 months ago and drove it home.

I’d been reading about them for a few years, however.


It has most of the common problems: Air suspension (drops down in the front after a few hours… but not always), Blend door (bangs once a second….but not always), radio amplifier (fixed with replacement amp)

I drove it to cruise night last week and found a few more problems that I haven’t expected. Rear lighting, first of all.



The following lights Do Work: Headlight (low and high beam), right cornering light. High Brake light. dash lights
Edit: Today tail lights were working.

The following do NOT work: Rear tail lights, rear brake lights, all 4 front and rear turn signals, 4 way flashers, left cornering light.





I don’t have a service manual and am unfamiliar with cars newer than about 1975.



Of course, the left cornering light is the least of my problems. So I had to start there.

I took the assembly out and saw one wire was broken. Perhaps chewed. There was a rats nest in there. I noticed two thick black plastic tubes running in the driver side fender. One was broken or chewed off at the front and rear. A 5 foot long section was hanging and came out.

I’m guessing these lines are the air lines for the left side of the car and the chewed one was for the front.

The thing is, the front will inflate after I start the car and doesn’t leak out immediately after I park it. It takes hours.

If that broken line was to the left front air bag wouldn’t it leak out immediately?

I put the car on jack stands on the front last month and the front held air.

First time it did that. But after I got home from cruise night it leaked out again.

It leaks too slow to hear it leak.



So, what can you tell me about those lines?

And where do I look for the lighting and flasher problems?

Is the flasher a load sensitive (thermal) one or is it transistorized (fixed flash rate)? Can I upgrade to an electronic one (fixed flash rate)? They will flash the bulbs that work even if some of the others are burnt out.
Where are the flasher or flashers (if there are two) located?



There is a 96 Mark VIII in a local junkyard. I would like to know if I should get the head light lenses out of it. Is it a direct bolt in for a 95? The low beams in my car work but, of course, aren’t bright enough. My purpose would be to try a LED low beam.

 

[BILLBOATS]

Y&es, run as quick because the lights are specials quickly bought up . write back

 

[CountrySedan]

Thanks for your reply
Well, the 1996 lights may be gone already.
Do you know if 96 Lights fit a 95? I mean the housings onto the front of the grill.
I'd guess the wiring would have to be patched together.
Will any regular old 9005 bulb fit?
Will a LED work better in the 1996 housing than the 1995 I have now.

Also, I found what I'm pretty sure it the flasher hanging from wires next to the back of the fuse box.
I just got the skinny Service Manual for wiring and it indicates it should be behind the radio near the glove box.
I'm suspecting that something changed mid model year 1995 and wasn't reflected in the service manual.

I have a fat Service Manual coming so I hope to have more information in a week or so. But before that, do you know how many air lines run in the driver side fender?


Also, my radio won't turn off. Can you tell me how the off button works?
Does it have to stay low to be off. I can push it in and turn it off but it pops up when I take my finger off it and turns on again, making the antenna go back up.
I suspect there is a plastic catch on the button that holds it in place that breaks off on all the Fords of that era.

 

[CountrySedan]

Ok an update. At the junkyard, the 96 lights were the same as the 95. They just used normal 9005 bulbs. No "HID". And they were more faded than mine. I should have got the driver side anyway because mine must have some broken mount since it wiggles left to right.
I had a fancy 9005 bulb in my bulbs drawer and installed it passenger side.
It is noticeably better than the the other side. It is almost "OK". On that side anyway.
I wish I knew the brand. It was a junkyard purchase. It had a blue dot in the center.
Oh, I polished the lenses with Meguires Plastix.
Which worked well on some Taurus and Sable lenses on my relatives cars in the past.
It lools better and clearer.
So my trunk light doesn't work, nor do any of the marker lights on the trunk lid.
I switched out the flasher, but my turn signals and emergency flasher still don't work.
Tail lights work but not brake lights.
I'm wondering if it is the Multi Function switch.
I bought a service manual.

I don't know if anyone reads these posts....

 

[Tbird]

It's probably not the multi function switch which is for turning lights, wipers, high low beam and windshield washer.
You have to look in to the service manual for the electrical diagrams.

 

[CountrySedan]

Well, I studied the service manual and familiarized myself with what each wire in the trunk wiring harness does. Today, I saw that 7 out of the 8 wires were broken off on the trunk side of the connector, including the black ground wire. Probably it got caught on some luggage when the previous owner was emptying the trunk. Some of the wires are broken right at the connector, leaving no wire to solder onto. I'm considering trying to find the connector with several inches of wire at the junkyard.
This still doesn't explain why I have no brake lights, no turn signal lights, and no 4 way flashers. It may still be the multi function switch.

 

[billcu]

I had trouble with my multifunction switch, no brake or turn lights. I was out of town with no tools, I disconnected the battery and sprayed some silicone spray down into the flasher switch and then cycled the switch a bunch of times. I reconnected the battery and the lights worked again.