Automobile

If the dash doesn't light up, you may have an ignition switch problem. To test the starter circuit, find the relay on the inner fender near the battery. One of the red positive battery cables bolts to it. There is a red / blue wire plugged onto the small terminal on top. Unplug that wire, then run a jumper wire from the battery positive post to that terminal. Be sure the car is in "park". If the starter cranks the engine, that circuit is good.

You CAN use a voltmeter to test a bunch of fuses quickly, but to just check one fuse, it's much faster to just pull it out and look at it.

Caradiodoc

Yup, there could be three totally independent circuits in the switch. The circuit that supplies the starter switch contact could be the same one that supplies the dash. They use different circuits to spread the load out to reduce overheating one set of contacts, and so when one system fails, not everything goes dead. The engine will still run so you can drive safely off the road when the instrument cluster fails. If the radio and power window circuits stops working, you'll still know how fast you're going, etc. If they just used a single circuit in the switch, everything would go dead at once and you would have to search in a lot more places to find the problem.

Let's eliminate the easy stuff first. Reread the procedure for jumping the starter relay by the battery. That will verify the starter, relay, and the high-current wiring is good.

The radio should not be playing. To be sure you're jumping it right, use this picture. 1. Unplug the red wire from the relay. 2. Connect a jumper wire between the battery positive post and small relay stud as shown.

A simpler alternative method is to just touch a screwdriver to that small stud and the larger stud, (number 3) at the same time.

Darn the bad luck. This is a picture of a '94 model. The part shown used to be used as the solenoid that switched the very high current on and off to the starter. In later years Ford finally started using a starter with a built-in solenoid like Chrysler and GM use, but they kept on using that part as just the starter relay that only switched a very small current. I thought you might still have that on a '99 model but apparently you now must have the more common relay in the fuse box. I'm not sure what style relay you have but I have a bunch of them here that are identical to some common Chrysler relays. Remove your starter relay, then either pop the cover off, reinstall it that way, then squeeze the contact to see if the starter cranks the engine, or you can use a piece of wire or stretched out paper clip to connect the terminals in the socket. Use terminals 87 and 30 or the two with arrows pointing to them. Holler back with the results.

Caradiodoc

Everything I told you up to now was just to verify the starter circuit would work. My concern is the dash not lighting up. That is not related to the starter circuit. The only thing they MIGHT have in common is a pair of contacts in the ignition switch or the wire that feeds that part of the switch.

If there is a fuse for just that circuit, the fastest way to test them is with a test light. Connect the clip lead to the battery negative cable, then touch the probe to the two small holes on the top of the fuses. When you find a fuse where the test light lights up, it must light up from both holes. If it only lights up when touching one of the holes, either it's blown or the probe isn't making good contact. You can use a voltmeter this way too.

If you find some fuses where the test light doesn't light up on either hole, those are in the circuit after the switch which means you must turn on the appropriate switch, then test that fuse. There should be a sticker on the fuse box cover that lists the fuse circuits and the relay functions.

Caradiodoc