I have a 09 e350 v8 gas van. I believe there is a short somewhere because I have tried everything else. The van initially presented with all of the dash lights flashing on and off about 10 seconds after starting and then about every 2 minutes or so. It then progressed to no radio and wouldn't shift out of park. Finally the headlights /taillights stopped working. I have replaced the neutral safety switch, the parking brake warning switch and the solenoid assembly that controls the lock unlock of the colum gear shift. I have checked all applicable fuses and found none blown. I have power to the all fuse locations but can't seem to trouble shoot past this point. The van starts and runs great ot seems to be electrical. Any help would be appreciated.

 

I had the same issues with my 06 last Fall. Threw a bunch of parts at it with no resolution. Finally gave up and took to dealer. They had the answer in 2 hours. The wiring harness had a shorted wire near the EGR oriface tube. They repaired it ($800).No issues since. Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and pay for expertise that can only be found at the dealer.

 

There is a lot of good help here and I believe you did the right thing before spending anymore $$ without knowing if it will solve the problem.

As you know, we try to determine the cause before replacing anything.It is important to know if you have some of the tools to perform certain tests.

As mr. Boone posted , a good visual inspection is always the first step in any diagnosis. So,,,you might start with checking what he suggested.
If you could not find anything that appeared questionable , we can suggest some other things to check, are you game?

 

I am performing inspections of wiring harnesses in the area suggested right now. If there are a few troubleshooting hints you might have I would be very appreciative. I do have a good quality volt meter and some jumper lines made up. Also have a basic scan tool. Anything helps.

 

Tracing the harness defect was way beyond what I wantted to do...that is why I went to dealer. I do almost all of my repairs and maintenance. However this one was beyond my skilset. One question..does your scan tool do Ford specific codes at the pid level? I do know that the dealer tech had to open the main wiring harnes at the ECM level to do testing and diagnosis.

 

When you say dash lights flashing can you be more specific which ones exactly? Dash lights only illuminate the whole instrument cluster, and not the check engine light, or you mean all those buttons on the dash when you turn the headlight switch on? I can't attach 100+ pages here so please be more specific.

 

I do not have a ford specific scanner. And am close to the point of taking it to a shop.

 

More specifically concerning the dash. I have no radio. The dash light will come on illuminating the speedo and tack. Then all of the warning lights will come on for 4 or 5 seconds while the door chime beeps. When the warning lights flip on the dash lights will blink off then warning lights go off and Dash lights come back on. This cycle will continue as long as vehicle is running or key in acc position.

 

My alldata is only up to 2008 and some 2009, I checked 2008 and can't find any relevant data to troubleshoot your issue.
What I'd do is to check your battery wiring, including ground cables. Then also check your alternator, especially the brush on the voltage regulator. The brushes should be checked every 2 years since it gets worn out easily. Alternators don't go bad easily, and they often got misdiagnosed and turned out to be just the voltage regulator. And then on voltage regulator the issue is normally the brushes and not the voltage regulator itself.