Is my VSM bad?
#1
05-07-2015, 07:15 AM
Is my VSM bad?
My power door locks work, the keypad works. But the dome lights don't come on with the doors open and neither does the door ajar light. The weird thing is if I try to lock the doors using the keypad while the doors are open it won't lock, so the door switch/sensor definitely works in the drivers door. Also, the auto headlights don't work.
From my research, these are all controlled by the VSM but most who have them go bad say that the dome lights would stay on all the time. At the shop they tried reading codes off the VSM and they couldn't communicate with it. Does this mean the VSM is good but there is a broken wire somewhere that isn't letting it communicate with the rest of the vehicle and hence some things aren't working? Or is it really gone? I pulled it out from behind the dash (major pita) and it is part # 2c7t-15k602-ak.
From my research, these are all controlled by the VSM but most who have them go bad say that the dome lights would stay on all the time. At the shop they tried reading codes off the VSM and they couldn't communicate with it. Does this mean the VSM is good but there is a broken wire somewhere that isn't letting it communicate with the rest of the vehicle and hence some things aren't working? Or is it really gone? I pulled it out from behind the dash (major pita) and it is part # 2c7t-15k602-ak.
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#3
05-07-2015, 07:49 PM
Another interesting thing, I got the truck without any remotes, I figured before I order some I'll see if I can get it to go into programming mode. I tried for a half hour in every which way I could think of (door open, door closed, locked and unlocked, etc...) and it wouldn't go into programming mode. This is why I'm thinking it's the module. Unless it's just a broken wire somewhere between the module and the steering column/gauge cluster area?
#4
10-27-2015, 11:32 AM
Update:
It seems like the issue is not the vsm but rather the communications circuit. I'm using info from all data to troubleshoot. I should be getting something on the orange wire between the dlc (where you plug in the obd2 monitor) and the vsm. I get continuity between the dlc and the instrument cluster but nothing between the dlc and the vsm. According to all data the next step is to trace from the dlc to connector c210m. But for the life of me I cannot find it.
Does anyone know where connector c210m is located and what it looks like? It seems like that is where all the vehicle communication wiring is spliced.
It seems like the issue is not the vsm but rather the communications circuit. I'm using info from all data to troubleshoot. I should be getting something on the orange wire between the dlc (where you plug in the obd2 monitor) and the vsm. I get continuity between the dlc and the instrument cluster but nothing between the dlc and the vsm. According to all data the next step is to trace from the dlc to connector c210m. But for the life of me I cannot find it.
Does anyone know where connector c210m is located and what it looks like? It seems like that is where all the vehicle communication wiring is spliced.
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#5
10-27-2015, 11:48 AM
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#6
10-27-2015, 11:50 AM
#7
10-27-2015, 09:53 PM
I finally got this VSM situation sorted out thanks to the help of jpr38057. Reps!!
Here's how it played out:
My original problem was, no automatic headlights, no door ajar and dome light on door open, can't get into programming mode to program a remote. I originally thought that my VSM was bad, It was getting power and the door locks were working (they run through the VSM) and there are plenty of threads where people had similar issues and it turned out to be a bad VSM and sometimes even a bad instrument cluster as well. Boy am I glad I didn't order any parts before thoroughly troubleshooting!!
I have a subscription to alldatadiy, I did a lot of searching on there and found that the UBP bus that the instrument cluster and VSM (and some other modules) communicate on is an orange wire #693. So i checked for continuity between that wire at the OBD port and the VSM and I got nothing. I checked between the OBD port and the instrument cluster and it rang out fine. So that was my problem, no communication going to or from the VSM to the rest of the vehicle. According to alldata, my next step it to trace the wire from the OBD port to connector c210, which they don't provdie you any info on, just "right dash". Thanks to jpr38057, I now know that it is under the dash on the right side, right next to the door and the fuel reset button. So I checked for contiuity on the orange wire there and I had the same issue. From the OBD port to connector c210 I was good but nothing between there and the VSM. I tried following the wire but it goes under the carpet under the passenger seat and I wasn't interested in taking the whole interior apart.
There's a solution however. Thanks to jpr38057 I also had a diagram for the entire run of that pesky orange wire. It seems like after connector c210 it only goes to the VSM and the Driver's Seat Module. My Ex is a limited but it only has power seat motors and leather. No heated seats and no seat memory, so no Driver's Seat Module. So the only place that wire goes after c210 is the VSM. So I took the easy way out. I ran a short piece of wire from the OBD port to the VSM, they're right near each other anyway, and VOILA! Makes me wonder why Ford ran the wire all the way around the vehicle and not just straight to the VSM to begin with.
So now that my VSM was back online I had to test and make sure everything was working. I put on the automatic headlight and cover the sunload sensor on top of the dash and the headlights came on and I tried going into programming mode to program the remotes and I got the lock-unlock that signifies your in programming mode. So far so good....except my dome lights and door ajar light were now staying on constantly. So instead of messing with each door latch switch to find the broken one I went straight to the VSM. There's 3 plugs on it, one of them has the return from all the door switches. The ground is on pin 14 and the door switches are on pins 4, 5, 6, 11 and 12. So I went from ground to each pin and the one that wouldn't ring was my open switch, which turned out to luckily be only one, the front passenger door. I tried the wd-40 in the latch trick and that didn't work so I removed the door panel and then removed the switch. What a pain though. But I got it out with the help of another post on this site, I can't remember which though, I just googled on my phone. The switch was way beyond wd-40, it was stuck real good and all corroded. So I just took a piece of wire and jumped pins 5 and 12 at the VSM for now so my lights don't stay on always. Now I need to order a replacement switch and a remote/fob.
Anyone have experience with the aftermarket remotes/fobs? I know som eof the cheaper ones have battery drain issues where it dies every month, I don't want to get stuck with one of those.....
Big time reps to jpr38057 for all his help. I'm real happy I don't need to replace the VSM.
Here's how it played out:
My original problem was, no automatic headlights, no door ajar and dome light on door open, can't get into programming mode to program a remote. I originally thought that my VSM was bad, It was getting power and the door locks were working (they run through the VSM) and there are plenty of threads where people had similar issues and it turned out to be a bad VSM and sometimes even a bad instrument cluster as well. Boy am I glad I didn't order any parts before thoroughly troubleshooting!!
I have a subscription to alldatadiy, I did a lot of searching on there and found that the UBP bus that the instrument cluster and VSM (and some other modules) communicate on is an orange wire #693. So i checked for continuity between that wire at the OBD port and the VSM and I got nothing. I checked between the OBD port and the instrument cluster and it rang out fine. So that was my problem, no communication going to or from the VSM to the rest of the vehicle. According to alldata, my next step it to trace the wire from the OBD port to connector c210, which they don't provdie you any info on, just "right dash". Thanks to jpr38057, I now know that it is under the dash on the right side, right next to the door and the fuel reset button. So I checked for contiuity on the orange wire there and I had the same issue. From the OBD port to connector c210 I was good but nothing between there and the VSM. I tried following the wire but it goes under the carpet under the passenger seat and I wasn't interested in taking the whole interior apart.
There's a solution however. Thanks to jpr38057 I also had a diagram for the entire run of that pesky orange wire. It seems like after connector c210 it only goes to the VSM and the Driver's Seat Module. My Ex is a limited but it only has power seat motors and leather. No heated seats and no seat memory, so no Driver's Seat Module. So the only place that wire goes after c210 is the VSM. So I took the easy way out. I ran a short piece of wire from the OBD port to the VSM, they're right near each other anyway, and VOILA! Makes me wonder why Ford ran the wire all the way around the vehicle and not just straight to the VSM to begin with.
So now that my VSM was back online I had to test and make sure everything was working. I put on the automatic headlight and cover the sunload sensor on top of the dash and the headlights came on and I tried going into programming mode to program the remotes and I got the lock-unlock that signifies your in programming mode. So far so good....except my dome lights and door ajar light were now staying on constantly. So instead of messing with each door latch switch to find the broken one I went straight to the VSM. There's 3 plugs on it, one of them has the return from all the door switches. The ground is on pin 14 and the door switches are on pins 4, 5, 6, 11 and 12. So I went from ground to each pin and the one that wouldn't ring was my open switch, which turned out to luckily be only one, the front passenger door. I tried the wd-40 in the latch trick and that didn't work so I removed the door panel and then removed the switch. What a pain though. But I got it out with the help of another post on this site, I can't remember which though, I just googled on my phone. The switch was way beyond wd-40, it was stuck real good and all corroded. So I just took a piece of wire and jumped pins 5 and 12 at the VSM for now so my lights don't stay on always. Now I need to order a replacement switch and a remote/fob.
Anyone have experience with the aftermarket remotes/fobs? I know som eof the cheaper ones have battery drain issues where it dies every month, I don't want to get stuck with one of those.....
Big time reps to jpr38057 for all his help. I'm real happy I don't need to replace the VSM.
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10-27-2015, 10:07 PM
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#11
11-10-2015, 07:01 AM
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I finally got this VSM situation sorted out thanks to the help of jpr38057. Reps!!
Here's how it played out:
My original problem was, no automatic headlights, no door ajar and dome light on door open, can't get into programming mode to program a remote. I originally thought that my VSM was bad, It was getting power and the door locks were working (they run through the VSM) and there are plenty of threads where people had similar issues and it turned out to be a bad VSM and sometimes even a bad instrument cluster as well. Boy am I glad I didn't order any parts before thoroughly troubleshooting!!
I have a subscription to alldatadiy, I did a lot of searching on there and found that the UBP bus that the instrument cluster and VSM (and some other modules) communicate on is an orange wire #693. So i checked for continuity between that wire at the OBD port and the VSM and I got nothing. I checked between the OBD port and the instrument cluster and it rang out fine. So that was my problem, no communication going to or from the VSM to the rest of the vehicle. According to alldata, my next step it to trace the wire from the OBD port to connector c210, which they don't provdie you any info on, just "right dash". Thanks to jpr38057, I now know that it is under the dash on the right side, right next to the door and the fuel reset button. So I checked for contiuity on the orange wire there and I had the same issue. From the OBD port to connector c210 I was good but nothing between there and the VSM. I tried following the wire but it goes under the carpet under the passenger seat and I wasn't interested in taking the whole interior apart.
There's a solution however. Thanks to jpr38057 I also had a diagram for the entire run of that pesky orange wire. It seems like after connector c210 it only goes to the VSM and the Driver's Seat Module. My Ex is a limited but it only has power seat motors and leather. No heated seats and no seat memory, so no Driver's Seat Module. So the only place that wire goes after c210 is the VSM. So I took the easy way out. I ran a short piece of wire from the OBD port to the VSM, they're right near each other anyway, and VOILA! Makes me wonder why Ford ran the wire all the way around the vehicle and not just straight to the VSM to begin with.
So now that my VSM was back online I had to test and make sure everything was working. I put on the automatic headlight and cover the sunload sensor on top of the dash and the headlights came on and I tried going into programming mode to program the remotes and I got the lock-unlock that signifies your in programming mode. So far so good....except my dome lights and door ajar light were now staying on constantly. So instead of messing with each door latch switch to find the broken one I went straight to the VSM. There's 3 plugs on it, one of them has the return from all the door switches. The ground is on pin 14 and the door switches are on pins 4, 5, 6, 11 and 12. So I went from ground to each pin and the one that wouldn't ring was my open switch, which turned out to luckily be only one, the front passenger door. I tried the wd-40 in the latch trick and that didn't work so I removed the door panel and then removed the switch. What a pain though. But I got it out with the help of another post on this site, I can't remember which though, I just googled on my phone. The switch was way beyond wd-40, it was stuck real good and all corroded. So I just took a piece of wire and jumped pins 5 and 12 at the VSM for now so my lights don't stay on always. Now I need to order a replacement switch and a remote/fob.
Anyone have experience with the aftermarket remotes/fobs? I know som eof the cheaper ones have battery drain issues where it dies every month, I don't want to get stuck with one of those.....
Big time reps to jpr38057 for all his help. I'm real happy I don't need to replace the VSM.
Here's how it played out:
My original problem was, no automatic headlights, no door ajar and dome light on door open, can't get into programming mode to program a remote. I originally thought that my VSM was bad, It was getting power and the door locks were working (they run through the VSM) and there are plenty of threads where people had similar issues and it turned out to be a bad VSM and sometimes even a bad instrument cluster as well. Boy am I glad I didn't order any parts before thoroughly troubleshooting!!
I have a subscription to alldatadiy, I did a lot of searching on there and found that the UBP bus that the instrument cluster and VSM (and some other modules) communicate on is an orange wire #693. So i checked for continuity between that wire at the OBD port and the VSM and I got nothing. I checked between the OBD port and the instrument cluster and it rang out fine. So that was my problem, no communication going to or from the VSM to the rest of the vehicle. According to alldata, my next step it to trace the wire from the OBD port to connector c210, which they don't provdie you any info on, just "right dash". Thanks to jpr38057, I now know that it is under the dash on the right side, right next to the door and the fuel reset button. So I checked for contiuity on the orange wire there and I had the same issue. From the OBD port to connector c210 I was good but nothing between there and the VSM. I tried following the wire but it goes under the carpet under the passenger seat and I wasn't interested in taking the whole interior apart.
There's a solution however. Thanks to jpr38057 I also had a diagram for the entire run of that pesky orange wire. It seems like after connector c210 it only goes to the VSM and the Driver's Seat Module. My Ex is a limited but it only has power seat motors and leather. No heated seats and no seat memory, so no Driver's Seat Module. So the only place that wire goes after c210 is the VSM. So I took the easy way out. I ran a short piece of wire from the OBD port to the VSM, they're right near each other anyway, and VOILA! Makes me wonder why Ford ran the wire all the way around the vehicle and not just straight to the VSM to begin with.
So now that my VSM was back online I had to test and make sure everything was working. I put on the automatic headlight and cover the sunload sensor on top of the dash and the headlights came on and I tried going into programming mode to program the remotes and I got the lock-unlock that signifies your in programming mode. So far so good....except my dome lights and door ajar light were now staying on constantly. So instead of messing with each door latch switch to find the broken one I went straight to the VSM. There's 3 plugs on it, one of them has the return from all the door switches. The ground is on pin 14 and the door switches are on pins 4, 5, 6, 11 and 12. So I went from ground to each pin and the one that wouldn't ring was my open switch, which turned out to luckily be only one, the front passenger door. I tried the wd-40 in the latch trick and that didn't work so I removed the door panel and then removed the switch. What a pain though. But I got it out with the help of another post on this site, I can't remember which though, I just googled on my phone. The switch was way beyond wd-40, it was stuck real good and all corroded. So I just took a piece of wire and jumped pins 5 and 12 at the VSM for now so my lights don't stay on always. Now I need to order a replacement switch and a remote/fob.
Anyone have experience with the aftermarket remotes/fobs? I know som eof the cheaper ones have battery drain issues where it dies every month, I don't want to get stuck with one of those.....
Big time reps to jpr38057 for all his help. I'm real happy I don't need to replace the VSM.
The following users liked this post:
#12
03-11-2017, 03:30 PM
I finally got this VSM situation sorted out thanks to the help of jpr38057. Reps!!
Here's how it played out:
My original problem was, no automatic headlights, no door ajar and dome light on door open, can't get into programming mode to program a remote. I originally thought that my VSM was bad, It was getting power and the door locks were working (they run through the VSM) and there are plenty of threads where people had similar issues and it turned out to be a bad VSM and sometimes even a bad instrument cluster as well. Boy am I glad I didn't order any parts before thoroughly troubleshooting!!
I have a subscription to alldatadiy, I did a lot of searching on there and found that the UBP bus that the instrument cluster and VSM (and some other modules) communicate on is an orange wire #693. So i checked for continuity between that wire at the OBD port and the VSM and I got nothing. I checked between the OBD port and the instrument cluster and it rang out fine. So that was my problem, no communication going to or from the VSM to the rest of the vehicle. According to alldata, my next step it to trace the wire from the OBD port to connector c210, which they don't provdie you any info on, just "right dash". Thanks to jpr38057, I now know that it is under the dash on the right side, right next to the door and the fuel reset button. So I checked for contiuity on the orange wire there and I had the same issue. From the OBD port to connector c210 I was good but nothing between there and the VSM. I tried following the wire but it goes under the carpet under the passenger seat and I wasn't interested in taking the whole interior apart.
There's a solution however. Thanks to jpr38057 I also had a diagram for the entire run of that pesky orange wire. It seems like after connector c210 it only goes to the VSM and the Driver's Seat Module. My Ex is a limited but it only has power seat motors and leather. No heated seats and no seat memory, so no Driver's Seat Module. So the only place that wire goes after c210 is the VSM. So I took the easy way out. I ran a short piece of wire from the OBD port to the VSM, they're right near each other anyway, and VOILA! Makes me wonder why Ford ran the wire all the way around the vehicle and not just straight to the VSM to begin with.
So now that my VSM was back online I had to test and make sure everything was working. I put on the automatic headlight and cover the sunload sensor on top of the dash and the headlights came on and I tried going into programming mode to program the remotes and I got the lock-unlock that signifies your in programming mode. So far so good....except my dome lights and door ajar light were now staying on constantly. So instead of messing with each door latch switch to find the broken one I went straight to the VSM. There's 3 plugs on it, one of them has the return from all the door switches. The ground is on pin 14 and the door switches are on pins 4, 5, 6, 11 and 12. So I went from ground to each pin and the one that wouldn't ring was my open switch, which turned out to luckily be only one, the front passenger door. I tried the wd-40 in the latch trick and that didn't work so I removed the door panel and then removed the switch. What a pain though. But I got it out with the help of another post on this site, I can't remember which though, I just googled on my phone. The switch was way beyond wd-40, it was stuck real good and all corroded. So I just took a piece of wire and jumped pins 5 and 12 at the VSM for now so my lights don't stay on always. Now I need to order a replacement switch and a remote/fob.
Anyone have experience with the aftermarket remotes/fobs? I know som eof the cheaper ones have battery drain issues where it dies every month, I don't want to get stuck with one of those.....
Big time reps to jpr38057 for all his help. I'm real happy I don't need to replace the VSM.
Here's how it played out:
My original problem was, no automatic headlights, no door ajar and dome light on door open, can't get into programming mode to program a remote. I originally thought that my VSM was bad, It was getting power and the door locks were working (they run through the VSM) and there are plenty of threads where people had similar issues and it turned out to be a bad VSM and sometimes even a bad instrument cluster as well. Boy am I glad I didn't order any parts before thoroughly troubleshooting!!
I have a subscription to alldatadiy, I did a lot of searching on there and found that the UBP bus that the instrument cluster and VSM (and some other modules) communicate on is an orange wire #693. So i checked for continuity between that wire at the OBD port and the VSM and I got nothing. I checked between the OBD port and the instrument cluster and it rang out fine. So that was my problem, no communication going to or from the VSM to the rest of the vehicle. According to alldata, my next step it to trace the wire from the OBD port to connector c210, which they don't provdie you any info on, just "right dash". Thanks to jpr38057, I now know that it is under the dash on the right side, right next to the door and the fuel reset button. So I checked for contiuity on the orange wire there and I had the same issue. From the OBD port to connector c210 I was good but nothing between there and the VSM. I tried following the wire but it goes under the carpet under the passenger seat and I wasn't interested in taking the whole interior apart.
There's a solution however. Thanks to jpr38057 I also had a diagram for the entire run of that pesky orange wire. It seems like after connector c210 it only goes to the VSM and the Driver's Seat Module. My Ex is a limited but it only has power seat motors and leather. No heated seats and no seat memory, so no Driver's Seat Module. So the only place that wire goes after c210 is the VSM. So I took the easy way out. I ran a short piece of wire from the OBD port to the VSM, they're right near each other anyway, and VOILA! Makes me wonder why Ford ran the wire all the way around the vehicle and not just straight to the VSM to begin with.
So now that my VSM was back online I had to test and make sure everything was working. I put on the automatic headlight and cover the sunload sensor on top of the dash and the headlights came on and I tried going into programming mode to program the remotes and I got the lock-unlock that signifies your in programming mode. So far so good....except my dome lights and door ajar light were now staying on constantly. So instead of messing with each door latch switch to find the broken one I went straight to the VSM. There's 3 plugs on it, one of them has the return from all the door switches. The ground is on pin 14 and the door switches are on pins 4, 5, 6, 11 and 12. So I went from ground to each pin and the one that wouldn't ring was my open switch, which turned out to luckily be only one, the front passenger door. I tried the wd-40 in the latch trick and that didn't work so I removed the door panel and then removed the switch. What a pain though. But I got it out with the help of another post on this site, I can't remember which though, I just googled on my phone. The switch was way beyond wd-40, it was stuck real good and all corroded. So I just took a piece of wire and jumped pins 5 and 12 at the VSM for now so my lights don't stay on always. Now I need to order a replacement switch and a remote/fob.
Anyone have experience with the aftermarket remotes/fobs? I know som eof the cheaper ones have battery drain issues where it dies every month, I don't want to get stuck with one of those.....
Big time reps to jpr38057 for all his help. I'm real happy I don't need to replace the VSM.
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#13
03-12-2017, 09:35 AM
Thank you DidieX for the information. I have a truck that I'm working on and it has the exact conditions you are describing. I'd like to test the continuity of the orange wire between the OBD + VSM and also the circuit of each door switch. Is there anyway you can PM me with a more specific pin label of the VSM?