Sorry, but I'd say your're looking at a hack job

I certainly had no ego involved in my attempts to help you out, just a bit of Internet searching, so don't sweat my feelings at all. There was no assurance that the plug was there...

I have been party to a couple cars owned by friends/relatives that had the etronics "worked on" by prior owners and they can be scary.

Best of luck to you,
George

 

I can work out a hack job, that's not a real problem. I just need to determine what exactly is installed there so I can get an owner's manual and a key fob. If the unit still works, the end result will be RKE so mission accomplished. It's got a trailer ebrake module and an aftermarket tach, so that's some of the extra wires too. No biggie.

I'm fine with whatever result I ended up with. George I appreciate all the help and getting all that information made it a lot easier to figure out what was what and where it should be. Looks like it probably never had factory RKE and this was added later. Now, on to trying to determine a model number for this Whistler thingy and put this whole door lock thing to rest. Sorry that the thread probably won't be helpful to anyone else since my search turned into a custom hack job..

 

This might help - Whistler - installation manual . At least there's an image of the fob which corresponds with this - Whistler Hsxbantx Transmitter Remote Key Fob | eBay . Looks like Whistler is out of the security system business but maybe they still address technical questions - Whistler Group - Whistler Group | Catalog | Categories

Sixto
93 E150 Chateau 5.8 187K miles

 

That is awesome! Thanks, that's exactly what I was looking for.

 

I just found this thread, but as I read it I knew you already had something aftermarket. Ford vans don't lock the doors automatically on startup but they DO if they have an aftermarket alarm in many cases. If I were you, instead of trying to track down stuff for that old alarm/RKE I would just buy a fresh one. You can get a Bulldog brand (I think) for like $30 online. You would then only need to replace what you have which would be easy since all of the wires are already run. I CAN tell you that the Fords have a 5-wire reverse polarity power lock setup (Google 5 wire) which has relays added in for the door locks to work properly. You will most likely find these in the passenger kick panel. That's where most put them. You have easy access there to a solid red and solid brown wire which are your lock/unlock wires. If you pull that kick panel and find the relays then you are golden, it's already done and you have easy access to it. Find yourself a cheap RKE (which probably won't come with those relays) and replace what you have. Also, the LED and toggle switch are for that alarm most likely, the toggle being the valet override switch.

Surprisingly there is a lot of info out there on adding this stuff to our vans. I just did mine and found LOTS of info.

 

Thanks. Next to the Whistler module are two large relays wired in. Sounds exactly like what you're referring to. I love the information I was able to get here and I appreciate everyone's input.

 

Well, I was wrong when I said no one would learn anything from this thread.

I was out of town for a while, got back this week and decided to just put Bubba back together and tackle this later. Anyway, when I was tucking and zip tying the wires, I apparently missed a power wire with a partial end exposed. I started the van. It ran for 3 seconds, then quit. That was followed by blue smoke and burnt electrical smell. The hot wire that contacted the chassis was melting and the boot was smoking. And, the van won't start...

I looked at the PDU and all the big fuses look fine with no burn. The key chimes when its' in the ignition, the horn honks, but no crank, no dash lights, no warning lights... Any thoughts? I don't have a wiring diagram handy and it's dark now, so any ideas what to check?

And the lesson learned- pay the heck attention and make sure all the wires are accounted for. Darn it. Who's dumb? I'm dumb!

 

Check with AutoZone's library of schematics for your year & model.

This sounds to me like a fusible link might have been fried when the exposed wire touched ground and back fed something.

With the schematic in hand check for voltage at the starter engagement terminal on the solenoid when the key is turned to "start". If nothing there work backwards to find any overload protection device that might have been affected by the short.

 

Oh well, my luck.

Thanks for the tips and where to start looking.

 

Well, they're not always available when we need 'em but hey they're free?

Something should pop up there soon---if not post this latest issue in the Electrical & Wiring forums here---should be someone with experience with this sort of thing.

I'm betting its a rather and cheap fix----hoping so anyway!

 

Thanks, and I agree with you; the electrical protection system probably saved me from myself and I should be good to go once I figure out which fuse/link blew and where it is.

 

JWA, as you know my wiring issue is sorted out. Luckily, just blew a fuse. All buttoned up and running right again. No progress on the Whistler and RKE; I just put that to bed for now. Thanks again for everyone's input.

 

Glad you got this fixed Warren!