Howdy y'all, been a long time since I posted...

I searched, and found some interesting stuff (I went and disabled that stupid chime, thanks!), but this particular problem is a new one.

My door locks all of a sudden stopped working. The aftermarket alarm system arms, but doesn't lock the doors. The door lock buttons do not lock the doors - pax and drv side. Here's the weird thing: I can hear a relay switching when I press the door lock buttons. After some disassembly I found the location of the box with the relay(s) in it, up against the firewall and practically inaccessible. I can feel the box 'click' when I press the door lock buttons.

- I checked all the fuses under the dash
- I checked all the fuses in the power box under the hood
- popped the switch panel out of the door, it looks fine, and besides, that relay clicks, so the switch(es) are still working.
- I did the mod to the actuators some years ago (thanks to you fine folks!), they have worked flawlessly until this past weekend.
- I can't even push the door lock levers down manually. When I try, I can feel it just bending the rod. I can't lock the truck at all!

Any suggestions?

Thanks again for a fine bunch of folks around here.

chris

 

Okay, a little more searching revealed, well, a little.

"it's common for a wire to break in the driver's door accordian conduit. It is usually a ground wire and that causes the solid state relays in the security module to malfunction. Often other items controled by that module also start to act up, like the puddle lamps and door ajar lamps."

So I will look there first.

Another possibility, much less likely, is the 'Central Security Module'. Which is not listed in all wiring diagrams. Apparently it contains the relays that switch everything.

This site is still THE source for info on Ford trucks!
c.

 

More info...
- Checked wiring all over the place. Everything looked fine.
- Took the door latch/locking mechanism out of the door.
- Took apart the gearbox/motor mechanism.
- Little teeny tiny electric motor was seized up. Burnt. Dead.

So now I have to buy a new door mechanism, or maybe scavenge one from the junkyard.

If I ever meet the clowns who designed this mess, I want to punch them in the nose. I am an engineer, and the door lock mechanism is really a BS contraption. It has WAY too many parts, it is prone to unrepairable failures, AND it is LESS SECURE than most other cars!

After seeing how they perpetrated that design, it really makes me question whether I would ever buy another Ford of any kind. I didn't really 'choose' this truck in the first place (long, ugly story), and otherwise I've been pretty happy with it, but that Rube Goldberg mess of a door lock mechanism really makes me wonder.

 

I bought an inexpensive aftermarket power door lock kit on Amazon, including 4 actuators and a control unit, for about $35. I screwed these to the inner door skin near the lock actuator rod and wired them to the OEM wiring. They are very powerful - I didn't even bother to disconnect the wretched Ford OEM actuators. My door locks pop up and down with authority and have worked nicely for several years now. Very cheap, very easy. With the door panel in place, it looks and works as if it were totally stock (except that the locks now actually work)...

 

so all four of your door locks seized at the same time? Its not the locks themselves its something else....

 

+ 1 on that.

 

Big clue, all 4 stopped working at the same time.

If you can gear the "relay click" when you press the lock/unlock button, then the switches are probably OK. It is either the relay that powers the actuators or the power feeding the relay.

 

+2 on that....... Kind of like getting 4 flats at once. I doubt if 2 normal flats ever occurred at the same time.