03-05 Headlight recall 15S39. NEW for April 2017

You didn't hear this from me.
What's different this time is that Ford will install and external relay setup rather than replacing the entire LCM.
Those who had the previous recall ( 14N01 ) performed are not eligible for this new recall.

What about those of us with headlight relay systems installed?
I replaced my flaky LCM myself and added the BH1976 relay harness and my lights work well... better than Ford's stock system.

Frankly, I don't want any change to the system. If I take my car to a dealer for an oil change, are they going to fiddle with my headlight system?

We are supposed to perform all recalls when possible.

But they should ask you if you want the recall done, since it adds to your wait time.

Stickied - thanks for the info!

We will need to see the other pages of the recall.

With most recalls,if that exact part was replaced by the customer and they have a receipt-they would get reimbursed.

With the original LCM program Ford did not trust the aftermarket LCM's and would replace it anyway.

Not sure how they would treat this one with the large amount of time passing. But really worth asking when you get the notice.

Reimbursement info-





Here's what the actual recall letter will look like-

Tech info- (this helps the tech install the part)

So they fixed the original problem for the 06 years?

Great information, I bet this new system will throw more lighting power

No, and they refuse to acknowledge that earlier years had this problem as well.
My first experience with the headlight failure was in my old 2000 almost 10 years ago.

Probably not, most of the voltage drop in in wiring of harness to & from relay(s), that wiring still remains... Defective relay could cause voltage drop but when it does it's soon toast and you have no lights at all...

Hopefully I have no issues. I have the lights on a homemade relay harness, something I do for all my older rides, and they are pretty bright.

I can't speak specifically of the 06 (more like I've forgotten the year breakdown for the lcm's) but for 2007+ the headlights run off of a mosfet or other high power transistor and not off of a relay (one per headlight). While the same relays are still used (two of them + flasher unit) they are used with the lower power items (parking lights, and interior illumination). Cold solder joints still in use however.

2003/2004.
2005 is unique to 2005.
2006+

Heres a pic of a 2008 one I have torn apart; There is a 2nd board as well. Both double sided and crammed with components, and there are about 40 surface mount transistors on the one side of the board in the photo. Way too much bs for the simple task it has of turning lights on or off.
Along the top under that metal spring clip is the power transistors (6). Two smaller relays the same as the ones used in earlier LCM's, and the larger cube is the flasher module.

Alex.

Nope.
Not as long as they continue to feed the headlights with flimsy wiring...
What genius chose to use a 10 amp fuse on an 18 gauge wire to feed the low beam (the most used) headlamp? Or to feed both high beams (and the entire LCM courtesy lamp load) through a 25 amp fuse on a 16 gauge wire?

Because it meets spec. Spec doesn't mean its the best solution. But Spec costs less...

And simply "meeting spec" generates recalls and disgruntled customers. And in the case of failing headlights, physical danger to the vehicle's occupants.

Well, we know how the accounting for that situation works out...

I just checked my vin. Says remedy not available. Will all owners get a recall notice?

Assuming that Ford has your correct address on file then yes. But the notice wont tell you when parts are in stock.

You will need to call your local dealer of choice and have them look into it, they will need to have their parts guy check inventory.

I've been running a $15 junkyard LCM. Way better than letting the dealer get their paws on my car.

Brought mine to Ford a few years back when the first recall came out. Have not had any problems since.

As they say; "good enough for government work."

Actually had this done today. The Car lot I got it from had a hot going from the headlight switch to the fuse box in the car, which I had a toggle on to turn the lights on and off. I unhooked all of that and let them handle it. After Ford installed the Bypass they said the headlights are still inoperative saying its "due to aftermarket lighting". I have LED bulbs and they worked fine before. I am just wondering if it could actually be the switch itself or something else. Any help would do.

So this happened. Got the recall notice for the 04 MGM and dutifully scheduled to get it done. Car went in two weeks ago today. Now keep in mind reading this, that I had just done my quarterly oil change, bumper to bumper check including lights just 4 days earlier. Picked up the car and all seemed well. Noticed Saturday a headlight burned out. Changed it. Turned headlights to manual on. They don't work. Still works on auto. Hi beams work as normal. I had used manual headlight on to check lights when i did maintenance. There were no issues before going to dealer. Back it went today. They tell me that they didn't mess up.It is after all a plug and play harness deal. They want $243 to replace the headlight switch. It's bad they say. Wow. awfully coincidental. I told them to leave it alone. The wife has it or i'd check it out instead of writing this. I will check it tomorrow night. If is bad, I can get a motorcraft switch from Rock Auto for $57. But the big question. Coincidence or a screw job? Opinions welcome. Thx

It's probably not the switch.

You're right, it ain't the switch. Just pulled it and it checked out fine. I see the tech just pierced the headlight wire from the switch to check for circuit. the switch shows continuity at all settings. Funny thing though. When I pilled out the switch from the harness, the parking lights and chime went on. I'm now looking to see if he spliced wrong wire to ground. Thanks to whoever posted the tech pics on the previous page. it's gonna help.

The headlights are supposed to default to on if the switch is unplugged.

I appreciate the info. I'm doing the trace now. I'm pretty sure there's either an open or the lcm itself. worked fine before going into the shop.

I would take it right back up there and tell them to fix their screw up. Same thing happened to me but nothing worked on mine except blinkers and brake lights. They told me the techs get "overzealous" on recalls. Needless to say, (on my end) the tech didnt check the LCM, so I also got a new LCM. All for free.

Recalls don't pay well, so any tech that gets one is likely to rush through it.
Take it back and speak to the manager.

Found it. Open in the headlight signal splice. Not worth taking it back to the dealer. I don't have the time or patience for them anymore. Thanks for all the advice and support!

Maybe you don't have the time or inclination to deal with the hassle from the bastards in the service department, but maybe a well-written letter to the dealership's general manager outlining the problem, and how you solved it yourself would produce some action from the owners. Maybe a free oil change or something... at least it would let you vent your spleen and get it out of your system. And perhaps some schnook will get a well-deserved ass-chewing.

And if there is a problem with the recall parts it will save the next customer a big headache.

I have a 2003 Crown Vic with DRL. I always operated it with all lights on all the time. Now when I first start it I have high and low beam and high beam flasher working. After a short time the high beams no longer work, although I still have high beam flasher. There is an audible click from under the dash when I lose high beams. Is this a recall item or is it the LCM I need ???

Sounds like the recall would apply to you. The recall is installing the external relay and removing/bypassing the internal one on the LCM. So if your headlights go out, but you still have the hi beam flash to pass, then yes, take it in.

Thanks for the quick reply. Have car booked in to have it checked out. P.S. I had a 2003 XC70 AWD. Loved that car for comfort and a real drivers car, but at 250,000 miles got a little nervous so I sold it.

If it was the non-turbo version that's just getting broken in, like the Crown Vic.

The clicking under the dash is the relay kicking on and off, btw. I had a 2005 model with a bad LCM and did the external relay myself, there was a group of us who had done them, Ford finally listened 5 years later lol

Since PhotoSucket is down I'll re-share the pics again.

Man that looks like a hack job, when I did mine it was much neater.

Should have read this thread before taking mine to the dealer for the recall today!!!
Naively assuming that they would just pull the LCM out and replace it, I made a 3pm appointment this Friday. The "service advisor" advised that they may need to keep the car till the end of the day. "What?" I wondered, "3 hours to replace a box under the dash that's held by a couple screws?" She waved a pile of paper in front of me, and said: "I have the procedure; Ford allows 1.3 hours to do it". Sitting in the waiting area I got curious and googled for the procedure. That's how I found the strange hack job that they are doing with splicing a dozen wires and hanging an external box. Should have never gone to do this, I thought, but it was too late. After sitting there for better than an hour, the lady comes and says: "We cannot finish the job today, you will get a rental" "And what has been done so far?" I ask. "The tech is still studying the diagrams," she responds. Obviously it's the first time he is going to do this job. If he manages not to mix the wires and not to leave anything open, it's going to be a miracle.
A guy shows up and drives us to the rental place. We wait, then are subjected to the usual rental business practice to push all manner of unnecessary insurance. They also put a $100 hold on my credit card, "just as a precaution". They also inform me that Ford authorized only a 24-hour rental. "What happens if they are not done with my car by then, I ask." "You will have to pay and deal with Ford for reimbursement". Then comes the inspection of the rental clunker for dents and scratches and arguing whether what I see should or should not be marked on the form.
Hopefully that's where the punishment for not reading this thread before going to the dealer ends, but we'll see. Story to be continued...

The dealer will NOT see my car for any of the LCM shenanigans.
Nope!
Uh-Uh!
Ain't gonna happen!
Noway!

The hackery so far does not inspire confidence. A dealer tech piercing wires? Unacceptable. Back probe, do it properly. Piercing wires long term is detrimental to wiring. Of course, many techs also feel that once a car is old people get rid of it, and they don't give a crap, just lipstick on a pig. Make the cover look pretty, who cares how its done behind.

This is one of the most ludicrous hacks I've ever seen...I can't even...

Brand new LCMs sell to the public for $157 at tascaparts. Obviously Ford pays way less than that. Is it really cheaper to pay a tech to install this abortion than to slide a new unit in?

Just proof that the cars that this applies to have a poorly designed LCM and Ford has opted to use a piggy-back box to address the issue, hopefully permanently.

Alex.

Lucky resolution!
Called the dealer about an hour before the free rental ends. As I expected, the tech was still studying the nonsense instruction for the recall. Told them to stop and give my car back. The "service advisor" had trouble understanding why I don't want it done, but just told her it's my car and I decide what to do with it. I can now proudly display the Ford form with "Customer declined recall at this time".
As has been mentioned, it beats me how Ford is saving money by having a tech lying on his back under the dash and cutting and splicing these wires for 1.3 hours rather than replacing the thing. Where I live labor is around $90/hour. Not to mention that the tech in my dealership spent three hours studying this nonsense and still hasn't even started the job -- or the cost of the rental they gave me.
I may take a look inside the LCM, but chances are there is nothing wrong with it, because my lights are on an external relay and don't load the LCM at all.

By the way: the Dodge that the rental place gave me had one of those little message centers in the middle of the instrument panel. Playing with it a bit, I found that it displayed coolant temp, trans fluid temp, engine oil temp, engine oil pressure, and total engine hours (in addition to the usual fuel economy, etc.) Very nice!!!

So it took their tech almost a full day to "study the instructions"? I'm not sure I would want him doing anything more complex than changing a light-bulb then...

Just get the guaranteed Ebay rebuild that no one has had problems with.

I put a junkyard unit in my car and haven't had problems since.

I think that the fact that they want to splice this crazyness in proves that their off-the-shelf replacements have the same problems as the original.

My God a car over 24 hours in service and was never touched. That's bad and wrong.

People, please be advised, for all civilian vics and the rest of the Panthers... I've read in other places that once this hack job is installed the autoheadlights on wipers feature stops working...
For the people that don't know what this is, it's a feature that when you select auto lights on the light switch, and then you turn on the wipers after 20 second of wipers operating the headlights turn on automatically. Well there's that, people who are getting this hack job seem to be losing this awesome feature.

Just sharing FYI

Aw, Crap! Never noticed. Thx for the info. Time to undo and get a new LCM.

Oh no! Can you confirm this? Have you tried it?

I love that "wiper-lights" feature... I just leave my headlight switch at "Auto" and they illuminate whenever it gets dark enough to require them for safety, if not to see where you're going; and the lights illuminate when the wipers are activated. "Lights on when wipers are on" is a law here in Illinois... but I don't know if it's a primary offense.

A couple days ago, I was driving at about dusk, when some douche was driving behind me in a Dodge Charger sedan with only his DRL's illuminated... the Dodge uses the high beam lamp at "less than full" brilliance... but it was bright enough to annoy me into pulling over and letting the SOB pass me. Since he was driving with DRL's, he had no tail lights either, of course.

I think a full-time "Auto-lamps" feature would be infinitely better than the DRL system currently in vogue in several areas.

My Marauder and my 2000 GMQ have this feature (obviously) and so did my 2001 GMC Safari work van. I really got to like not having to turn the headlights on and off manually no matter which vehicle I was in. Screw DRLs.

It's been confirmed that 3 people on mercurymarauder.net who have had this hack done have lost the headlights-on-with-wipers feature.

My LCM burned out my tail lights and marker lights on my 04 MM recently, it had a musclemmerc external headlight relay soldered to the board, so only the headlights were working. I had a spare LCM modified already so I put it in and was going to get the recall assuming a upgraded LCM was the fix... Thank god I checked here first NO THANKS. I will stick with the repaired LCM. And FYI if you loose your tail lights, it is probably the LCM, replacing it fixed my problem.

I dropped my car at the dealer to have this recall done tomorrow. I was hesitant, but I dont have the auto-on/wiper feature and dont have the downtime to get my LCM fixed.

Here's a video of it being performed, its not very complicated. I'd rather do it myself if given the parts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUEJwmigHmQ

I'll take some pictures of the quality of work when I get it back.

My 03 GM has auto lamps that just seem to stay on all the time no matter how bright it is outside. They do go off when switched to off and seem to work normally otherwise--but it seems like the light sensor isn't working right.

Two questions.
1-Is this a side effect of this particular issue? It definitely seems to be an auto lamp issue but it's acting a little differently than most descriptions I've seen so far.
2-I just got the car and I don't know if this recall was ever performed. How can I check if it was?

Doesn't seem like it, in the case of the recall it is due to a faulty solder joint preventing a connection to the headlights. Flickering or intermittent lights could indicate a faulty connection, but lights that always work should surely have a good connection lol.

I think your ambient light sensor might have failed. When the sensor fails and you have the switch set to "Auto," it is a safety feature to keep the lights on as a failsafe.

Here is the replacement part: https://smile.amazon.com/Yf1z13a018aa-Sun-Load-Sensor-Ford/dp/B0042HJ9UE?sa-no-redirect=1

I had the recall performed back in 2017.

Yesterday I installed LED headlights, switch back LED bulbs and LED side marker lights in the front of my 03 CV LX. I decided to use the documentation provided with the instructions on the recall to also bypass the LCM internal turn signal relay. I added a three prong relay socket and plastic wire tied it to the LCM. I put an LED flasher module (CF14JL-02 flasher for LED 12V 0.02A-20A) in the socket.

I unplugged the three wire harnesses from the LCM. The largest of the wire harness plugs has a light blue wire which I cut and connected to the LED relay L(load) connection, a white with a red stripe wire which is cut and connected to the B+ relay connection. I added a ground wire to the relay B- connection to a chassis ground on the dash. I then plugged the three harnesses back into the LCM. I eliminated hyper flash and one more relay in the LCM.

Hello all,

I just want to share a link to where if anyone is interested in buying a new LCM motorcraft for so cheap. I've never seen them this cheap, they are even more cheap than the aftermarket. So yo anyone with plans of keeping their panther for a big while having an OEM LCM is a good idea.
The price is like 180 bucks if you return the old core.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/mercury,2003,grand+marquis,4.6l+v8,1410837,electrical,lighting+control+module+(lcm),10462