'90 Ford Ranger signal / light problems

[90RXLT]

We just purchased a 1990 Ford Ranger for our son. We believed the guy who sold it to us when he said the instrument light had just gone out, and was a fuse. Stupid us, we believed him.
At this point, the headlights worked when turned on, and brake lights worked...but no blinkers on either front or back.
When we got it home, there were actually 2 fuses out of the panel, # 5, and # 13. We replaced those: Headlights still normal, only front driver's blinker worked when signalling left, when signalling right- only both rear lights flashed.
Got to thinking it was the multi function switch, but saw a recommendation to clean it before buying a new one, so that's what I did. Now, headlights stay on no matter what, even when they are turned off. Only way to get them off, is to unplug the connecter at MFS (the one with the red/yellow wire), or disconnect battery.
Have checked all fuses, and all seem to be good. Flasher is working, can hear it clicking. Unbolted and cleaned ground on fender apron, but no help. Any ideas on a next step? I did read on here about a ground that was located between the bed and tailights- should I try that? Thanks in advance!
(I did search this site for anything that sounded like my issues before posting here.)

 

[adsm08]

You have some serious gremlins there man.

It sounds like you have some circuits crossed. I would start with a new MFS. They are cheap, and easy to replace, and will get that off the list of suspects.

Next thing I would check, does the connector for the MFS look new? If it was changed out recently the wires may not have been put back in the correct locations.

 

[90RXLT]

Thanks for the advice. We did start with trying to test the wiring/ or MFS last night. With switch unplugged and key in run, I used a jumper wire to try to get the signals to light to each corner of the truck from the connector with switch unplugged. Did find out the bulb was blown on the right front, replaced that. Now I have flashers to each corner EXCEPT the driver's rear.

At MFS connector, the light green/organge wire at first showed hot, but no flash either to tester or signal, just stayed lit. (Then, I couldn't get it to show power again...it is loose- can be pulled right out of the connector.) When I still showed power up front, I opened rear left light housing to check for power there. Someone has spliced into the wiring there, and the green/orange and brown(I think) wires were taped together apart from the rest of the wiring. There was no connector to the bulb in the light- missing. Looks like they wired it directly to the light. When I checked the green w/orange wire there, I got power, but no flash.
So originally, I had a left front signal, and a right rear signal, and hazards worked on both sides. Now I have 3 signals except left rear, hazards flash everywhere except the left rear.
We plugged the MFS back in, and we still had the three signals, but the headlights still stay on until you unplug that connector, or disconnect the battery. The main light switch knob makes no difference. We did isolate that to the purple wire in the other connector on the switch. It too, pulled right out of it's connector, and the headlights went out. (The headlights worked fine until I cleaned the MFS and reassembled.) The high beam indicator stays on too, and lights won't dim. Is the purple wire supposed to show hot all the time at the connector? I want to try to narrow it down as much as possible before replacing the switch.

 

[90RXLT]

No, connectors do not look new.

 

[90RXLT]

Getting another switch this afternoon. Thanks for the advice.

 

[90RXLT]

Replaced MFS with a used one. This fixed the headlight problem, but not the rear turn/stop/hazard flasher issue. I am stumped, as originally, this light worked when the hazards were engaged, or brake was applied. When we fixed all the other corners, this light stopped working. As I said before, someone rerouted wiring to this left rear light, and taped up the light green/orange, brown, and black wires. On these wires coming out of the fuse panel, there is power, but tester light stays lit, does not flash. All other flashers/lights working. No power at all though out from MFS. The only wires from switch that DO flash when left signal is engaged are the light blue wire( from flasher to mfs), and the green with white stripe wire (the front left). As you can tell, I'm not that good at reading these diagrams, so am having trouble figuring out what they may have done, and how to trace this back to the issue. It seems the issue might still be in the switch, but with the wiring being spliced differently in the rear, could this be overriding something? Any help would really be appreciated!!!