Odd electrical issues. Help needed

OK. I have a 2001 ex v6 sedan. I'm having odd electrical issues that I'm trying to figure out. The first one is, whenever it is cold out (maybe 45°f or lower) my brake light on the cluster stays lit up till the engine is nice and warm and may flash back on once in a while as I hit the brake pedal. The second issue is, whenever it rains out (heavy rain) my side airbag light will come on. It's such a ridiculous thing and it won't show up in the codes even if I check it while the light is still on. And finally, my AC compressor won't kick on. The signal from the AC control unit is good, and I can manually make it work if I jump the relay. I've tried many good relays and nothing makes it go. Thanks in advance

Sounds like you have a few gremlins messing around with your electrical system.

All these issues are going to be difficult to pin point. My suggestion would be to find a wiring diagram an hunt down each circuit to find the faults.

Sorry I'm not much help without seeing the car in person. Good luck

the brake light thing could be a low fluid level, due to worn pads or a leak, or a bad sensor in the cap. if it's not those, i don't know haha. once the brake fluid warms up, the light can go off if it rises enough to satisfy the sensor.

Sketch o5 said:

the brake light thing could be a low fluid level, due to worn pads or a leak, or a bad sensor in the cap. if it's not those, i don't know haha. once the brake fluid warms up, the light can go off if it rises enough to satisfy the sensor.

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+1 on this.

A/C compressor... Are you sure the system has a charge? I don't think it will turn on unless there is a good charge in the system.

Side airbag light is usually triggered by people sitting on the edge of the seat so start there...

How long has the side airbag light been on? One day I accidentally left my windows cracked and it rained, getting the inside of my car a little wet, and it made the side airbag light go off because of the water getting in the system. After it dried (took a day) it was fine.


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Pads and rotors are new. Fluid is at a proper level. AC is vacuumed and recharged and it runs perfect if it's jumped. I think the issue is on the ground side maybe? The airbag light only comes on when it rains and goes on and off while im driving. It use to have a bad water leak on the drivers floor from the sunroof drain tube falling off. I was hoping I missed some common issue form that was hidden. Someone mentioned maybe my brake fluid was full of water or something but the pedal feels good. I hope this clears anything up for more suggestions. Thanks again guys.

Goldeneye9mm said:

OK. I have a 2001 ex v6 sedan. I'm having odd electrical issues that I'm trying to figure out. The first one is, whenever it is cold out (maybe 45°f or lower) my brake light on the cluster stays lit up till the engine is nice and warm and may flash back on once in a while as I hit the brake pedal. The second issue is, whenever it rains out (heavy rain) my side airbag light will come on. It's such a ridiculous thing and it won't show up in the codes even if I check it while the light is still on. And finally, my AC compressor won't kick on. The signal from the AC control unit is good, and I can manually make it work if I jump the relay. I've tried many good relays and nothing makes it go. Thanks in advance

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1. For the brake light I would check as mentioned above, make sure the system is bleed properly,...on a side note if its the BRAKE LAMP check your rear bulbs. On the drivers side light there is a black box on the lamp housing. That box is what lets you know you have a bad bulb...Just saying if it is the BRAKE LAMP light.

2.The side air bag thing with the rain makes me suspect you have the ford problem. They had windshields that were not glued properly and the ecu would get wet an cause issues. Did you ever fix the sunroof drain? You said your drivers side is wet make sure your ecu and SRS module and passenger seat are not getting wet.

3. The compressor got me because you said you signal is fine....as in reaching the compressor? If it was a bad ground it would not get to the comp. BUT if your floor is wet maybe the ecu is suffering? If you look at the diagram the ecu controls the relay ground. I would start by making sure NO MORE leaks. As usual this is just my 2 cents, its hard to fix electrical problems online. GOOD LUCK!!

I've suspected the ecu may be part of some of the issues. The passenger side drain is connected and drains fine. I may pull some ways from the junk yard or something to test it out. I have a scan tool that shows the AC compressor control signal comes on when I hit the button. But it never makes it to the relay in the box. So yeah, maybe because of old water issues they are bad internally. I checked the wording itself from the eve to the relay and it was OK. I guess it's not getting out of the ecu.