Alright, so I'm in need of some help. I was working on my car last night adding some circuits to my AVIC-Z1 and must have done something stupid, because when I put everything back together the stereo wasn't working. I checked the in-line fuse, and the kick-panel fuse both of which seemed ok. So I decided since it was late I could put up with not having a stereo for a day. Little did I know the demons I had unleashed.

This morning I stepped into my car to find that my A/C was not working (well, at least the fan wasn't blowing, maybe the A/C was running in the background). "Not a problem", I thought to myself, just crack a window. The power windows weren't working. So I start trying everything electrical, no wipers too.

The strange things is that my power mirrors work, interior/dash lights all work (including lights on the A/C *****, and center console area. Did I blow several fuses all at once? Is there one fuse that controls all of these features? What the hell did I do?

I may have to resort going back to the dealer for assistance (I hate admitting defeat). Any ideas?

 

Sounds like you may have shorted out the Smart Box Computer. Not cheap and Ford will most likley not cover it do to you hacking into the wiring. First thing i would do is check all fuses



Richard

 

Ok, update. So I went and took a closer look at my fuse box under the passenger kick panel. In the still of night last night, I misplaced the fuse for the windshield wipers. Returning that to it's proper location resulted in gaining my wipers back. Then, I took apart the console and unplugged the fan control and replugged it in. Voila! A/C restored (not sure how or why, but who am I to question).

So, on the list of non-working items I have my car stereo and power windows. The stereo could be a number of things, but I can't for the life of me figure out why the power windows wouldn't work. I'm especially confused because when you open the door, the window drops briefly to accomodate. Well, that feature still works, so clearly the windows are receiving power (no blown fuse), but the buttons do nothing to raise or lower.

Any ideas as to why this would be?

 

Have you checked all the fuses in the fuse box under the hood

 

I've checked all of the ones under the hood that seem to pertain to the power windows. They're intact. I spoke with a technician at Ford and while he had no idea what fuse would be connected to the power windows (real reassuring), he is 100% positive that the "window-drop upon door opening" will occur regardless of a broken fuse or not.

I think the next step will be doing a continuity test on ALL of the fuses under the kick panel, and if this doesn't pan out, testing the ones under the hood (minus the ones that explicitly say "do not probe").

The technician told me that the fuses aren't necessarily labeled in depth. According to him, even though a fuse may say "Wipers" it could actually be "wipers and door locks". While I'm not having trouble with anything else (aside from the stereo), there are several fuses that could go without my noticing any difference in drive or apparent function. I think a one by one test will be on the only way to go..... unless anyone has another suggestion?

 

I say open up the manual and follow the procedure to "recalibrate" your power windows. If they move when the door is opened and closed, it might be a case that you killed the power to them and they have "forgotten" their travel setting. I read the manual when I first received my car and noticed the pages that pertained to "recalibrating the power windows" . I want to believe it even mentioned power loss (battery removal) could cause this condition. Of course I could be mistaken.

 

Ok, so the problem has been solved completely. I went through the fuse box and tested every fuse. Turns out there was one that was burned out that hadn't appeared burned out. Swapped that fuse out and the windows AND stereo started working again. THANK GOD! I rewired the circuits I was trying to install and now everything works perfectly.

The only unsolved mystery is where the VSS wire is on an 06 Mustang. On the 2005 the wire was included in the stereo harness. In the 2006, the wire disappeared. I think it's part of the CAN bus system? but I have no idea. I might need an adapter to read the signal? I've heard of people tapping into the speed sensor on the PCM, but I think they all had 2005 stangs. I'll figure it out later, and when I do, I'll be sure to post the solution. Thanks for everyone's help.

As a side note for 06GT4RAD, I appreciated your help, but I noticed that on at least 2 other electrical questions posts you immediately jumped to the conclusion that the Smart Junction Box was fried. Both times you were wrong. I know it proved to be the case for you, but you may want to try and not freak people out.