2003 Ford F250 Super Duty Gauges Stopped Working And Fuse #44 Blows

A 2003 Ford F250 Super Duty came in with the complaint that when fuse #44 in the underdash fuse block blows the gauges stop working.

First I removed the lower dash cover, which is held in place by four quick release screws.

Then I removed the fuse block cover and confirmed that fuse #44 was indeed the correct fuse. It was.

After looking through fuse information and wiring diagrams I found that the overdrive switch was on this fuse circuit. I replaced the fuse, cranked the truck and moved the shifter handle from park to drive and back several times and as I had figured from previous experience the fuse blew. I removed the steering column covers by first removing the retaining screws and pull the lower cover off. I then removed the lock cylinder by switching the key on and pushing in the retaining pin at the bottom of the lock cylinder.

After the lock cylinder was out of the way I removed the upper cover to gain access to the overdrive switch wiring.

And there it is, a nice little short in the switch wiring. The wiring had a lot of damage to it and if you click on the picture to enlarge it you can see it better.

I decided to replace the lever assembly with switch and harness due to the degree of damage. If you caught this soon enough you could wrap it with tape and position it so that it will not happen again for a long while. To remove the lever assembly simply tap the pivot pin up from the underside and finish pulling it out with a pair of pliers. Pull the handle out of the shifter assembly, push the new one into position and install the pivot pin. Make sure that you fully seat the pin so that it will not work itself back out.