Discussion Thread: How To: 98-00 cruise control pod lighting fix mod


DISCLAIMER: Neither I or FordRangerForums.com is liable for any mistakes made during the process. Do at your own risk.

Do you have a 98-00 truck? Do your cruise controls not light up? Well, some of our trucks did not have the feature wired up although the wire is there. You can fix this problem if you run one wire thats supposed to have power to another component such as your headlight switch or OHC to power your cruise control pods. There has been previous talk of this a while ago but no how-to has been created.

I would like to thank member "crucialcolin" for clearing something up for me before i began this mod/fix.

Difficulty: 3/10
Tools Needed: Wire Strippers/crimp tool, Small socket set, Philips Head Screwdriver
Materials Needed: Wire, Electrical tape and Tap connectors/butt connectors

Here is what i used:


I started by removing my radio bezel first (two screws 7mm head)



Disconnect this mess of wires from your deck unless you want to leave it all hanging


Pull your deck out and place it aside and you can leave your bezel hanging if you wish


Remove your trim piece around the gauge cluster (5 7mm screws, 3 up top two on bottom)




Remove Headlight and Dimmer Switches


**NOTE: It is easier if you put your truck in 1 if you have an automatic transmission. MAKE SURE YOURE EMERGENCY BRAKE IS ON**


I then moved on to the plastic panel under the steering wheel. There are 4 bolts(7mm) that you have to remove for it to come off. One on the left, two behind your hood release and one on the right of the panel
These are the ones behind the hood release incase you're unsure


Once you pull the plastic panel off, you'll see a metal panel behind it secured with 5 bolts which looks like this:

Remove the 5 bolts (5/16) and put the panel aside

Once you have removed the panel, all you will see is a bunch of wires


Look under in that mess of wires and you will see a few different connectors. Look for the bigger brown connector with 6 holes (next to another connector with 2 wires going into it.
**NOTE: Make sure you don't have the red/black wire going in one end of the harness and out the other. If you do, its more likely that the bulbs within your cruise control pods are just burnt out.**


I separated both ends of the wire connectors just to avoid possible problems


On the end which is still held up to the metal part on the truck, look for a red/black wire. This is the wire you will need to either cut or pull out of the harness to give it power.
I pulled the wire out with a small pair of pliers.


Strip this wire a bit and then put on your connector, crimp on if using butt connectors(I used butt connectors because i had them laying around)


Here is my collection of screws lol


On your headlight switch, find the White/Black wire and cut it in half.(Leave wire on both ends) Then strip and braid both ends of the wire

Put a Connector on the piece of wire thats still attached to the headlight switch.
Run your wire from the red/black wire from under the dash the best route possible and then braid it together with the other end of the white/black wire from your headlight switch. Crimp both ends together and you should be all set to go.
Turn headlight switch one click, enough to turn on your instrument panel


Check your cruise control pods and they should be lit up!


For safety, wrap both connections you made with electrical tape, as an insulator.
Under dash

Headlight Switch


Now, put everything back together and you're done!


If you get stumped, feel free to PM me.