Lincoln LS Electrical/Lighting

wib64

I have a 33 month old LS V6 with 28,000 miles on it. I have to carry a portable jumper box with me because the battery keeps dying. Been to service 3 times but they can't seem to fix it. Last week the sun roof opened by itself - 2 hours during a snow storm. During my almost three years, car has been in the shop for a variety of electrical problems 8 or 9 times. I am currently looking to Ford to get me out of my lease but they are not interested. I attempted to trade the car in and was offered 13.5. That's some depreciation for a 39,000 car.

Anyway, i'm not asking any questions, but if anyone is reading this, NEVER BUY A LINCOLN!!!! And while it's possible that I just got a bad car, the real problem is that no one at Ford/Lincoln cares, that's the real trouble.
If you're looking for a car, get anything but a Lincoln. :lemon: :lemon:

trey2000

my ls is losing power. i can jump it off. it will run until i turn the radio on, or lights on. then everything goes dim and car cuts off. help

akirby

You need a new battery.

eckhard

Did you ever find the cause of the electrical problem that caused the sunroof to open by itself? Did it ever recur? We had this happen this week during a rainstorm. The doors unlocked, all the windows came down, and the roof opened. Otherwise, it has been a good, reliable car.

brucelinc

We know early LSs were prone to heated seat element failures. I have been knocking on wood and patting myself on the back for having a 4/99 build LS that seemed immune to this issue and the others that have been documented. Well, my luck just ran out. Drivers side was cold as a stone this morning! Passenger side is still toasty. Seven years and 104,000 miles in Minnesota has finally taken it's toll.

Anyone ever tackle the element replacement themselves?

akirby

I think one person did, but since you have seat mounted side airbags it's risky. It's about $300 through the dealer or you can get any upholstery shop that does car seats to do it since most of the work involves removing the seat and the upholstery.

brucelinc

Thanks, Allen. I will do some checking with local shops who add heated seats.

They say problems come in "3s." Let's see....COPs a couple of weeks ago.....heated seats this week.....OH, BOY! I might get to put in new power window regulators next week!!

I still can't complain - except it would have been nice if the seat heater had failed while under warranty like a lot of my fellow LS owner's did.

akirby

Yep - most (including mine) failed within the first 2 years.

If you need regulators you can now get just the regulator by itself for < $30 (check with Bill Jenkins at Team Ford in Las Vegas). You reuse the motor from the old one. First one takes about 2 hours to do but after that it's a 45 minute job.

shyoung

I have a 2000 LS, and am wondering how I change the 3rd brake light bulb? I can't figure out how to get in it! 5 years and 200,000 miles isn't bad!
Steve

gkarg

Steve,

To change the 3rd brake light - I believe all you have to do is push down on the plastic housing and then pull it toward you. If I remember correctly there is a little step in the groove and once that is released, it should slide right off.

aiuto

I got a message stating "check right brake light". The light seems to be working for other functions but not the brake. How in gods name do you get into the compartment w/o taking off the two metal screws to get at the bulb?

Could it be a fuse?

Thx. Just another problem on a car that is worthless for a trade-in.

akirby

The tail light and brake light are separate bulbs. Pull back the carpet on that side and you'll find 3 nuts. Remove the nuts and the taillight will come out and you can remove the bulbs individually.

aiuto

thx for your help.

biningerta

My interior lights stay on while driving. When the car is turned off the lights go off after about 40 minutes. I could not find anything in the manual about this.
Also My airbag light flashes all the time too?
How often do you have to replace the cabin filter? I changed mine after 3 years and now the dealership wants to change it again. It's not cheap!!

akirby

Are you sure you don't have the interior lights turned on? The battery save will turn them off if you accidentally leave them on.

The airbag light is probably the wiring harness under the driver's seat.

You should replace the cabin filter once a year. You can buy the filters yourself from Autozone - it only takes 5 minutes to change it.

biningerta

The interior lights are not turned on. I tried everything I could think of and the book was no help.
It started when I opened my trunk with the remote.
How easy is it to put a cabin filter in?
Thanks,

akirby

You unfasten a few plastic rivet type connectors to remove the trim panel at the base of the windshield on the passenger side. Then you unhook the old filter, pull it out, push in the new one, hook the tabs and reinstall the trim panel. To remove the rivet type connectors, push down on the center pin until they click. To reinstall them, push the center pin up so that it sticks up above the head, put them in and push down on the center pin to lock them.

Seriously - 5 minutes. 2 minutes if you've done it before.

jazzy4

I think if you press and hold the unlock button on your key remote, your windows will come down and your sunroof will open. It's in the manual and it happened to me once.

jodar96

Our LS has 103K miles. Yesterday, the airbag light came on. After some stop and restart, I noticed that the light is blinking with this pattern; It flashes 3 times, followed by a pause, and then 2 flashes. It does this five (5) times before the light stays on constantly.

Does anyone know what this code means?

Thanks,
Joe

akirby

Not sure about the code but it's typically the wiring harness under the front seat. Don't remember any other details.

heyjewel

I concur. Same or similar thing happened with my light. But at about 51,000 miles. Dealer fixed it by repairing or replacing the harness under the driver seat.

acalar

Car overheats when in traffic jams. Checked everything. Needs Hydraulic fan Solenoid on Hyd pump. Will not allow fan to kick into hi speed when hot. How hard or expensive is it to convert to electric? What EXACT parts do I use to do this? Is it hard to change the hyd sol?
Thanks for any help.
Larry

akirby

Just remember that the whole reason they went with the hydraulic fan in 2000 was that there wasn't enough juice in the electrical system to reliably support an electric fan. They fixed that in 2003. All you need for an electric fan is a power source and a thermostat - usually comes as a kit. Not sure how you'd disable the old one though.

donnat1

The dealer is quoting me $1,350 to replace the passenger side side airbag. Anybody have an idea if this is an acceptable price?

akirby

Sounds high, but the only way to know is call around and get more quotes.

jingles2

need to replace reserve radiator tank, seems easy. does anyone know different?

akirby

It's not hard, just remove the cover to access it. You may have to drain the coolant first.

lincoln072

How do I access the brake bulb for my 02 Lincoln LS?
I see that the trunk has a felt type cover with plugs.
How to remove the plugs without breaking them?
Once inside the trunk cover which are the brake lights and
how to get them out?
What a stupid design!!!

lobsenza

It is actually fairly easy. You inscrew the wing nuts in the trunk and the lens coes out easily. It should take under 5 minutes to remove (2 minutes once you have done it once).

amilf

What kind the tool require to remove the interior door trim panel?

sweetpea4

My 05 Lincoln LS wont turn on! I tried to turn on my car today and the gages all went up & down and it made a weird sound. Tried again and NO RESPONSE! HELP PLEASE! What can I do? Do i try to jump start or what? By the way...dont know if this is related but it also started blowing VERY HOT air when I tried to turn on the A/C couple days ago! :confuse:

akirby

Isn't it still under warranty? Just call the dealer and let them deal with it. But yes - it's probably a dead battery and could be jump started but you need to find out why it died. The hot air is probably unrelated.

ghfun

Can anyone tell me how to reset the air bag light on 2002 LS without a scan too? email ghfun@aol.com thanks

P.S. I have no scan tool

akirby

Other than fixing the problem and hoping it resets itself - no.

w7zbstom

I bought a 2005 LS with 25000 miles. Battery replaced
3 times now! Anyone else have that problem? My dealer
say's he has 5 more LS's with the same Problem!

Nothing left on overnight....Just DEAD the Next Day !

Tom Custer W7ZBS

akirby

Check the driver's door keypad. It can leak and cause a short. Also check for damage inside the door.

w7zbstom

I will check. However, this is Arizona....No, or little
rain out here. Have not washed the car since I owned it.
Thank You,
W7ZBS - Tom
Tucson , AZ

hk_rogers

This is gonna sound stupid, but I had the same problem and the geniuses at the dealership couldn't figure it out. Turns out the plunger on the trunk lid switch had broken, so the light in the trunk stayed on all the time. After the car sat for a while without starting the battery would die. Dealer replaced the batter 2x before I figured this out on my own.

w7zbstom

No,....Its Not Stupid answer....The Dealer
already checked That......However, I Have turned OFF the
AUTO Lights switch to OFF.....And have had no problems So Far.....

Thanks to everyone for all your help...
The Love My 2005 LS V8...It Rides & Drives like a Dream..
I am 80 years OLD and have had many CARS in Time, BUT
This IS The Nicest CAR I Have Ever HAD....And Its USED !!

Tom W7ZBS HAM Radio

ebrown1

i had a crow bar in my trunk and while driving i hit a bump on the interstate and my crow bar hit my battery and my car completely shut off and locked up. Now i got a charged battery my electrical dosent work... My lights dont cut off so i have to pull the fuse to turn them off, my passenger window works when it wants to, my alarm goes off at random and my horn doesnt work PLEASE HELP!! WHAT SHOULD I DO? :confuse:

jasonmc

I just want to know how you change the alternator on a lincoln ls v8. I cant even see it from the top of the engine. a little help will be much appreciated

mrtfm

I have a 2002 LS it has been a good car, however for about 3 months now I have to crank it awhile to start it once it starts it runs great and sometimes it starts right up. I run premium gas in it and I am fairly fluent in auto repair but im perplexed with this one. Also while running the air conditioning sometimes the passenger side will start blowing heat all by itsself. If anyone has any insight they could share it would be greatly appreciated.

thank you

clairec

I've had the same problem for a year! The shop never determined what the issue was, yet they always found a reason to get close to a thousand each time I visited. From June until yesterday, not once did I have an "event", last night, just as before, everything shut down in traffic, I had no lights, no radio, the car wouldn't take gas, yet kept running for several blocks until I could pull over. Top speed was almost five miles an hour. Surely this is dangerous, and surely someone at Lincoln "knows" and isn't telling! I have ten grandchildren and PRAY that this doesn't happen with them in the car! The dealer has replaced grounds, batteries,a mega fuse, and several oil on valve "issues" at 500 dollars a piece. Every time it rains hard I do have to replace my brake lights, I've often wondered if a good rain sets off something to cause this shut down , as we were very dry this summer, and the rains just started again.

lsowner

My 2006 Lincoln LS w only 8000 miles and 2 years from date of manufacture is now on its 3rd battery. When battery voltage dips, I get all kinds of crazy things happening -- headlights flash when starting engine, message center indicates tail lamps burned out (they're not), or parking brake needs service, or advancetrac not working, many others, all false signals. What is the root cause? Dealer has worked on the car 5 times and can find nothing wrong.

pmj380

the alt is on bottom left of motor if standing in front of car. get car on lift to access from bottom. take front left wheel off it will give you room to work. very tight work area but no hoses need to be removed to get old one out. one bolt on top, one one bottom slide bolts out. unplug and remove cable and work alt out, it will come out just move hoses out of way replace with new, job royal pain toke me 5hrs in book its a 2 1/2 hour job

akirby

I would suspect a short. With the car off, check current on all circuits. If you find a circuit drawing current that should be off then that will narrow it down. But those can be tough to find. Better read up on the lemon laws.

windsweptls

First of all...hey everyone...
Has anyone ever wired the driving lights direct so they stay on with the high beams or come on with the ignition like daytime running lights?
Any other tricks and or upgrades?
Thanks,Paul
2000 LS V6

gfunston

My problem is the alarm will turn off and all 4 windows will roll down on their own.
this happens whether the alarm has been activated or not,and yes even with a new batterie this has happen.
Has anyone experienced this too, any remedies.
Computer was checked and no faults showed.
Love my Linc.
Glenn

akirby

Could be a bad keyfob. The keyfob unlocks the doors, turns off the alarm and rolls down the windows using the unlock button. Take the battery out of the keyfobs and see if it still happens.

ghfun

The windows and sun roof area all supposed to open up when you hold the button, I believe it is the unlock botton on the remote. It is a built in fueatre. Now not supposed to do this if you just press the button but hold it and volia they all roll down to let the heat out.

dannycotton

i have everything loose from the alternator but can not get it out of the car