Tail Light Switch problems of the 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis

The vehicle suddenly had no brake lights or tail lights, then, it had brake lights and tail lights, then, the vehicle would not start, despite having a new battery. After much investigation and work, our certified mechanic feels that the lighting module is shorting out, thus, draining the battery. The vehicle was stationary, in motion on a city street and on a highway, turning, essentially all aspects of usage, when these issues occurred.

The contact owns a 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis. While operating the vehicle with the exterior lighting switch in auto mode, both the front and rear exterior lighting would not illuminate. While in manual mode, the tail lights would not illuminate. The vehicle was taken to tom holzer Ford (39300 w. 10 mile rd, farmington hills, mi) where it was diagnosed that the lighting control module was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failures and did not assist. The contact indicated that the vehicle was previously repaired per NHTSA campaign number: 15v861000 (exterior lighting); however, the failure recurred. The failure mileage was 130,212.

Head lights and tail lights will turn off while driving.

Tl- the contact owns a 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle and utilize the headlights, the contact noticed that neither the head nor tail lights of the vehicle would operate. The contact also stated that the turning signals for the vehicle failed a few weeks prior to the exterior lighting failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 147,000. Wh.

Facts: I own a 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis that had total headlight failure while driving 55 mph. Although I ran off the road I was able to recover with no damage/injury/loss of life because I was familiar with the road/the car/and sadly, previous experience with total headlight failure in a previous vehicle (2001 Dodge durango). Once I stopped I checked all obvious things for failure (battery/fuses/etc) but soon realized I had parking lights/turn signals/side marker lights/dash lights/tail lights/and even brake lights. . . Everything except headlights. I tried the high-beam position and no luck there either - until I pulled the multi-function switch toward the steering wheel to the "flash" the high-beam position. I continued to hold the switch in this position and drive with my high-beams on for the few miles I had left to my destination. Once home I turned vehicle off gathered my test equipment and began my troubleshooting just to find out that now everything worked as advertised. That held true for approx. 1500 miles or about 2 months (with initial failure at approx 31,000 miles) when headlights failed again; and now they even fail intermittently at any time to include daylight hours. My troubleshooting revealed the lighting control module (lcm) is the cause of failure, but more importantly, my investigation revealed this is a known failure. . . By literally hundreds of people. . . To include you people of the NHTSA. My analysis tells me that the failure is probably not miles related but more likely usage related since my 31+ years (and counting) in the military taught me to drive with my headlights on 24/7/365 in the see and be seen philosophyadd the fact that I currently have 34,000 miles where most have a lot more. Opinion: a 3rd grader could have done the research to identify this is a serious problem and an 8th grader could make the decision to recall the cars for total headlight failure. If you can't - take your loved ones for a ride in my car at night!!!.