where is the lighting control module located on a 2003 mercury grand marquise and how to change?

It's here~

globber up inside the dash unscrewing the necessary fasteners, losing them under the floormat, then proceed to the seven layers of hell trying to unsnap the front of the instrument panel to remove the mysterious box--to install, buy a pint of whiskey and sit on the curb drinkin' it~

Thanks for the quick answer with the diagram. I don't drink whiskey so I substituted two six packs of Lone Star and will try tomorrow. Hopefully I can get access through the ashtray ,radio or glove box opening as a pass around the 7 gates of Hell. Thanks again , GENE

you can access it from here

THERE IS A RECALL FINALLY ON THE 2003 MERCURY GRAND MARQUIS "LIGHTING CONTROL MODULE" AS OF 4/28/2014. CALL YOUR LOCAL FORD DEALER AND THEY WILL REPLACE FOR FREE!!

You are right Troy, except that it is NOT a recall, just a warranty extension on the LCM. And Ford just started fixing them for FREE!!! (Ref: Ford Customer Satisfaction Program 14N01) Now you probably have a bad LCM if: Neither your low or high beams will come on, yet the "flash to pass" brights come on when you pull the light switch on the steering column towards you. Ford/Lincoln/Mercury has finally decided to deal with the rat-nasty LCM's they have been putting out. I just got the letter on this from Ford last week. Without starting a safety recall, (as they should,) they are extending the warranty on the LCM (based upon VIN number,) to 15 years or 250,000 miles whichever comes first. AND if you paid earlier for this replacement and have the receipt, they will reimburse you for the repair provided it was done before the notice came out. The window to be reimbursed for an earlier repair looks to be between April 1st, 2014 to October 31st, 2014. This window also applies if your car is under 15 years, yet has exceeded 250,000 miles. Ford's LCM replacement is completely without charge for parts and labor. Retail owners should have their VIN number handy and call the local dealership for an appointment. They say it should take a half a day yet could be longer due to dealer "service scheduling requirements." They will only replace LCM's that do not work, but mine lasted 10 years before it started acting up. This gives Ford a way to show concern, without really dealing with the 1000's of LCM's that will fail after this window closes in the future. Ford only "invented" their LCM after their service departments were losing money on a system that smaller repair shops could easily fix. Nice to have a little black box that they could unplug and swap out so they could charge $800- $1000 in parts and labor then repair at the factory with three $10 relays. Anyway if you have any questions about this "un-recall" you may contact the Ford Customer Relationship (I'm in a "relationship?") Center at 1 (866) 436-7332 either they or the dealer can tell if your vehicle is covered if you have the VIN number handy. IN THE MEANTIME. Should you need to get granny to the hospital at night, you can try this. The LCM on my 2003 is located about 18" directly above the gas pedal under the back of the dash... Turn on the lights and give the LCM a tap with your foot. This will often engage the cheap Ford relays and the lights will come on. But you should make that appointment with the dealer before everybody starts fighting for access to the same part. I also don't know if Ford would be willing to call someone a liar if he claimed his headlights stopped working because he thought it is just a matter of time before the lousy relays in his LCM failed, since this is intermittent, and asked for an LCM replacement under this warranty as well. That is why this should be a RECALL, and not just some bean-counter's way of slithering out from all of the angry customers that demand action today. My Grand Marquis is really a fantastic car, but having to drive 50 miles home on narrow country roads with one terrified hand while holding the "flash to pass" arm with the other, and risking my life because Ford played it cheap with some relays on their flagship chassis for a decade or more, really makes you wonder what they were thinking.

I got a letter, just haven't been able to get car to dealer for repair. Lights were intermittent for 4 to 5 months, but, do not work at all now. If caught out after dark, must use pass mode. Not fun if you are 10 miles from home.

It is no longer an extended warranty, it is now a Safety Recall. Safety Recall Notice 15S39/NHTSA Recall 15V-861. Ford now has to fix it whether your lights work full the time or not. My 2004 Grand Marquis is at the dealer as i type. They tried to tell me it was an extended warranty anf i told them they were full of bullsh!t ,it was now a recall and i' am holding the letter stating so. Ford does not want to replace then all as it is labor intensive. Mine was working fine(they don't know that ) but i told them to replace it. Ford is trying too screw the public as usual !

PS , the Recall letter states when parts are available Ford will notify you to call for an appointment,,,,, well Ford had the parts and they didn't call me ,,, i just went in with the recall letter and demanded it be fixed immediately. They said they needed the car for a full day !!! Wait for parts my ass, they have them,,Ford is not being honest. If you own one of Fords pile of crap cars like mine, take it in and demand repair now. Don't wait until it fails, like they want . REMEMBER IT IS A RECALL NOW SCREW FORD LIAR BASTARDS !

RECALL Subject : Loss of Headlights , 1 INVESTIGATION(S) Report Receipt Date: DEC 22, 2015 NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V861000 Component(s): EXTERIOR LIGHTING Potential Number of Units Affected: 296,004 All Products Associated with this Recall expand Details close 5 Associated Documents expand Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company SUMMARY: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2003-2005 Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis vehicles manufactured October 3, 2001, to August 2, 2005. The affected vehicles have a lighting control module (LCM) that may fail, resulting in a loss of headlights. CONSEQUENCE: A loss of headlights can reduce driver visibility and increase the risk of a crash. REMEDY: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the LCM, free of charge. Parts are not currently available to remedy the affected vehicles. Owners have been mailed interim notification on January 19, 2016. A second notice will be mailed when remedy parts are available. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S39. NOTES: Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

WITH A HALF MILLION CARS AFFECTED YOU KNOW FORD DOESN'T WANT TO FIX THEM ALL. EVERYONE TAKE YOUR CAR IN FOR REPAIR, DO NOT WAIT FOR THE PART TO FAIL. TO HELL WITH FORD AND THEIR LIES. ITS TIME TO COST THEM THE FORTUNE THEY RIPPED US OFF FOR !

In March of last year, 2015, my LCM started giving me trouble. At first, it was occasionally my lights would either not come on until I ran through all the lighting positions or all of a sudden ALL LIGHTS would go off while I was driving. I am a divorced femaie with no siblings so I started checking into it. Every time the Check Engine light came on I would head to Auto Zone to try to get them to check out the errors. After two less troublesome problems with my 2003 Crown Vic were diagnosed and fixed, finally the LCM was mentioned to me. After i did lots of research on and offline, I knew it was definitely the LCM. I knew nothing about any extended warranty or possible recall. I priced various LCM brands online and ordered one from Amazon. As soon as my neighbor, a certified ASE mechanic put the new LCM in, all was right with the world. I just got FORDs recall letter with my cars VIN listed and I am sending in my receipt for parts and labor. My friend only charged about $120 to install the part that i purchased. Is that a very low price? Thanks guys - Sherrie

I RECEIVED MY FIRST SAFETY RECALL NOTICE ON OCT '15, AND ANOTHER LETTER ON JAN '16. NOW IT IS MAR '17, AND I HAVE NOT HEARD FROM ANYONE. MY 04 MERC HAS 81,000 MILES ON IT AND FOR THE LAST 5 YEARS IT SITS IN THE GARAGE ALL WINTER IN WISCONSIN. I HAVE HAD NO PROBLEMS WITH THE LCM...yet. I LOVE THE CAR AND HAVE HAD ONLY A FEW ISSUES...front sway bar, bad cd player, oh...the traction control unit stopped working and it was repaired. I WOULD RATHER THAT FORD DOES NOT TOUCH MY CAR BUT I DO NOT WANT THE LIGHTS TO GO OUT WHILE I'M DRIVING. WITHOUT A DOUBT, THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE AND COULD CAUSE A VERY SERIOUS ACCIDENT ESPECIALLY IF YOU DO NOT KNOW ABOUT HOW TO TURN THE LIGHTS ON WITH THE FLASH SWITCH OR YOU DO NOT THINK OF IT FAST ENOUGH OR YOU ARE GOING FAST AND ALL OF A SUDDEN YOUR LIGHTS GO OUT AND YOUR IN A DARK AREA....VERY SERIOUS.

I see some comments here that Ford is trying to screw the customer HAHAHA you do not know what getting screwed by a car company is to you buy a government motors vehicle

Thanks to all for sharing information. ... I finally received my recall notice with the VIN listed for my 2003 Grand Marquis. It arrived in the mail in late-June 2017. A dealer in the Philadelphia area said he would order the replacement parts and schedule the work. I hope to have it done during the week of July 10. ... We bought the car new, right off the showroom floor, in early 2003. The problems with the headlights started in 2012 or 2013. The Ford/Mercury/Lincoln dealerships in 2 states where we lived could not find a problem, which continued randomly. When the "extended warranty" notice from Ford arrived in 2014 (I think it was then), the Ford/Mercury/Lincoln dealer I was using at the time said the company had not provided the necessary parts to do the repairs. I was placed on a call list and told I would get a call when the parts arrived. No call came, and my follow-up calls to the dealer did not bring results. Now I have an official Ford recall notice --- 4 or 5 years after the problem started. That doesn't seem right. In fact, the whole thing seems legally actionable. While my '03 Merc is getting the recall work done, I will be talking with someone about the problems with power windows and power door locks that the car has had since the odometer reached about 26,000 miles. Each door has had problems with window motors, regulators, switches and door locks, and those pieces have been replaced at least once in each door and more than once in some cases. The car has 135,000 miles on it. ... Seems like en electrical defect anywhere in the car (such as the light control module) could cause electrical problems elsewhere in the car (such as in the power windows and power door locks). ...

I HAVE HAD VERY SIMILAR RESPONSES TO THE LCM. MY QUESTION IS HAS ANYONE EVER BEEN DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD AT NIGHT AND HAD THEIR LIGHTS GO OFF AND THEN CRASH BECAUSE YOU COULD NOT SEE???????. I HAVE THE SAFETY RECALL NOTICES FROM THE LAST 2 YEARS. I AM VERY SKEPTICAL ABOUT TAKING MY 04 MERC WITH 89000 MILES AND HAVE THEM SCREW IT UP, THEY WILL PUT IT IN THE WRONG WAY OR MESS UP SOMETHING AND I WILL HAVE TO PAY MULTIPLE VISITS TO A FORD DEALER AND HAVING IT END UP COSTING ME $$$$$$$...SOMETHING...!!! TO ME, THIS SEEMS LIKE A VERY SERIOUS PROBLEM TO HAVE YOUR LIGHTS GO OFF BY THEMSELVES. I HAVE A BUICK 03 REGAL, REAL NICE, AND THE LIGHTS STARTED TO GO OFF AND ON BY THEMSELVES AND IT WOULD SCARE THE O-BOMB-A RIGHT OUT OF ME. IT TURN OUT THAT THE WHOLE LIGHT SWITCH MODULE WAS HALF MELTED. I REPLACED IT AND NO PROBS...I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO KNOW IF ANYONE HAS BEEN HURT BY THIS LCM ISSUE....John, Milwaukee.

I didn't need to remove the accelerator pedal shaft or anything else except the harness connectors and bracket screws. I maneuvered the LCM toward the engine and driver's side and up until it came free. Do the reverse to install it. I looked on the rebuilt replacement unit to determine how to remove that tricky top wire harness connector. 30 min in and out.