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My Ford Focus had an evaporator core leak, so the DIY hobbyist in me took apart the instrument panel, dashboard and finally, replaced the evaporator core. I'm on my way putting parts back together. I've more or less put together the dash and instrument panel and the only part that's left undone is the gearshift (yes I took the gear shift out in the process :(

Now I'm faced with a dilemma, I have a mystery wiring harness underneath the gearshift( please see the picture attached). The big arrow shows where the harness for the gearshift should go (to the male connector behind the gear shift). The arrow with a question mark is pointing to the mystery harness which I don't know where to plug into. I've looked very carefully underneath the gearshift, but did not find a matching male connector. I know that harness as the Traction Control Switch Wiring Harness. This is as far as I went, I have no idea where this female Traction Control Switch Wiring Harness should go. I'd really appreciate it if someone can drop me a hint. Thank you very much for your help!

enter image description here

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  • I take it the one at the end of the big arrow goes to the one which is attached to your shifter? One of the sets of wires is probably going to be for the neutral safety switch. The other will probably be for the shifter lockout (the one which releases when you step on the brake).
    – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 ♦
    Aug 5, 2015 at 0:41
  • @Paulster2 thank you very much for your input, Paul! The big arrow shows where the harness should go (from a harness to the female connector behind the gear shift). The arrow with a question mark points at a harness which I don't know where to plug into... I've looked very carefully at the shifter assembly, but I could only find one female connector (which is pointed by the big arrow)
    – user133466
    Aug 5, 2015 at 3:56
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    Also in the future the use of freehand circles is a much better tool to show people exactly what you are trying to show them.
    – Move More Comments Link To Top
    Aug 8, 2015 at 16:07
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    @Movemorecommentslinktotop I've updated the picture in accordance to the community wiki. The 8th number on the VIN of the vehicle is 3. And you are correct, the vehicle is a US model.
    – user133466
    Aug 8, 2015 at 20:38
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    Much better, you arrows have no souls though...lol
    – Move More Comments Link To Top
    Aug 8, 2015 at 21:11

2 Answers 2

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See if this picture helps you. Keep in mind most manufactures only use one main harness regardless of the accessories. So even if you don't have heated seats, or traction control the connectors and the harness are already there.

enter image description here

Also here is the pin-out for the traction control switch

enter image description here

Look on the inside of the drivers door for a label that looks like this.

enter image description here

This will tell you if the vehicle is equipped with traction control

  • 2 - Four-wheel anti-lock brakes
  • 3 - Traction control brake system
  • 5 -Four-wheel anti-lock with Traction control brake system
  • Blank - Less anti-lock/Traction Control brakes
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  • thank you for your input! Move more comments lin... The traction control switch from the above diagram seems to match what I have: Pin 1 and 2 are plated. Pin 3, 4, 5, 6 are empty. Pin 7 and 8 are plated. Does that mean my vehicle might not have the Traction Control feature, and the switch was unplugged from the beginning? Thank you!
    – user133466
    Aug 8, 2015 at 20:49
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    @user133466 Most likely not, the car was not equipped with traction control, they just use the same harness regardless
    – Move More Comments Link To Top
    Aug 8, 2015 at 21:11
  • Thank you! Move more comments lin.. So this problem is solved I presume?
    – user133466
    Aug 8, 2015 at 22:01
  • @user133466 I would think so you can check out the additional information I put in the answer to confirm
    – Move More Comments Link To Top
    Aug 8, 2015 at 23:16
  • Thank you so much for your help! I'm an aspiring car DIY enthusiast and I hope perhaps one day to become a a moderator for the Mechanic stack exchange moderator. Aside from taking apart the gearshift, I've the experience for replacing a car's AC evaporator, dryer and the orphus tube. But I'd love to learn how to do research like you did, either it was finding the illustrations on the web or from a repair manual. Because your illustrations are spot on. Thanks again for your help!
    – user133466
    Aug 11, 2015 at 15:28
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Do you have a wiring diagram for the car? A Haynes manual or similar would have one - then you can try and identify the wires by the colour codes.

Also, it might be a silly question, but do you actually remember disconnecting it from something when you removed the console? It might be for something that isn't actually fitted to your car, as manufacturers use standard looms and it is surprisingly common to find wires that don't actually go anywhere...

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  • I do not recall... just feeling really desperate , can't find where that wiring harness should go... :(
    – user133466
    Aug 6, 2015 at 15:20

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