Loss of all lights/ Shifter stuck

[MarkVIIIdude]

Hi guys-
I've got a couple car problems with my '97 Mark.
First, my shifter will not move out of park, at all, when the car is running and the only way to move it out of park is to turn the key all the way, even while the car is already on, and then it clicks into reverse, drive, etc. SO, would anyone know what that could be and how I could get it back to NORMAL?!
Second, ever since the shifter problem, none of my exterior lights work, nor do the brake lights when I press on the brake. Only the Headlights work. Does that sound like a fuse that would blow and all the parking/brake lights would go out? Where would the fuse be located?
Third, I'm still having a problem with the neon bar not lighting up across the back. It flickers on when the lights are turned on and then that's it.. does it sound like there's dirt in the wires? or a fuse? Any ideas would be great.

Thanks for helping!
MarkVIIIdude :wrench

 

[MarkOfDeath]

Fuse, because you have to press the brakes to move from park to anything and since you dont have power (fuse) to the rear brake lights the car doesnt know you are pressing the brakes

 

[lincolnboy]

should be fuse #38

 

[driller]

After the fuse, check the BOO switch and harness.

 

[MarkVIIIdude]

Fuses? Light switch??

Hey guys,

Ok, so I found two blown fuses in the dash fuse box, replaced them, turned the car on and low and behold I had noooo problem shifting the car into reverse or drive but the minute i turned the headlight switch on both fuses blew and I couldn't shift the car again... would anyone know what the prob would be with the lights/light switch that it blows out the fuses and won't let me move the shifter?? I'd really like to get this solved because the car is just sitting there and it's frustrating seeing it sit there everyday not being able to drive my Lincoln!

Thanks for any further help.

 

[bufordtpisser]

Direct Short To Ground

If the fuses blow as soon as you turn on the headlights, you probably have a direct short to ground in the lighting system. A short can be a very difficult thing to diagnose. You need to look for obvious signs of a short, like melted or bubbled wires or harness plugs, black spots on your lights, things like that. Then you can start unplugging all of your lights one by one until you can successfully turn on the lights without blowing a fuse. There are also testers out that are supposed to be able to locate shorts fairly easily, but they are not cheap, and are not always reliable.

 

[badbolr]

No lights/Shifter

Dude, $100 says it is your rear lamp ballast. I had the same prob last month. It will keep blowing fuses because of a short in the ballast. Dealer wants $800 to repair. Ballast itself is $500 from Ford. Contact this guy. He has a $90 aftermarket replacement part. Cost me $150 to have it installed. You can probably do it yourself. Works fine. Glitch got it to me in a short time.


glitchm@hotmail.com

http://www.markviii.org/~glitch/InverterRAI.html

 

[MarkVIIIdude]

Dude, $100 says it is your rear lamp ballast. I had the same prob last month. It will keep blowing fuses because of a short in the ballast. Dealer wants $800 to repair. Ballast itself is $500 from Ford. Contact this guy. He has a $90 aftermarket replacement part. Cost me $150 to have it installed. You can probably do it yourself. Works fine. Glitch got it to me in a short time.


glitchm@hotmail.com

http://www.markviii.org/~glitch/InverterRAI.html

Dude,
Were you having problems with your rear lamp ballast before your fuses started blowing? Cause mine hasn't been working properly since last summer and only bout 4 months ago it just stopped working altogether, would only come on when the lights went on and then went out. If that's it, that'd be awesome and would solve a bunch of probs for me. Is your rear ballast and fuses etc. all working good now?
Thanks for the info.. hope it works!

 

[badbolr]

Everything worked fine. Drove 2 hours, parked, and when I came out to leave would not shift out of park. Then discovered the tail lights by reading the manual. Everything works great now.

 

[lincolnboy]

Dude,
Were you having problems with your rear lamp ballast before your fuses started blowing? Cause mine hasn't been working properly since last summer and only bout 4 months ago it just stopped working altogether, would only come on when the lights went on and then went out. If that's it, that'd be awesome and would solve a bunch of probs for me. Is your rear ballast and fuses etc. all working good now?
Thanks for the info.. hope it works!

open the trunk and pull down the trunk carpet off the trunk lid...you will see one connector for the rear neon light disconnect that... turn light on see if fuses blew then.....you more then likely have a bad ballast..hummm i cant remmeber who but there is a guy on here that can get you one for bout 85 buck oppose to buying a whole new neon .......for 800-900 bucks

 

[MarkVIIIdude]

Thanks, I'll try that too... just to make sure.

 

[badbolr]

Well...

Well, what was it? The ballast?