Hi All,

Something odd happened today and was hoping to get some help. I went to unlock my van, that has an aftermarket Viper alarm and the doors didn't unlock. Thought that was odd and was thinking maybe the alarm was a dud (was installed about a year ago). Anyhow, proceeded to manually unlock the door and drove off. In still thinking about the issue, I tried to lock and unlock the doors with the door switch. Nothing. Not for any of the doors. What the heck?

Not sure if it matters, but I have 1999 Chateau with power door locks but no key fobs that lock and unlock.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
John

 

Hi John, the fuses for the door locks are shown in the owner's book:




That's about all I got. :-)

jim

 

Definitely check your inside fuses---that's a good recommendation. IF the PDL's are the only thing not working then we won't have to concern ourselves with the Battery Junction Box or under hood fuse/relay box.

Since you don't have RKE or Remote Keyless Entry if the Viper doesn't trigger the factory PDL's after verifying the fuse is good (or replaced) then its onto checking the main power feed at the PW & PDL master switch, located in the driver's door.

First things first---check inside fuses.

 

Jim/JWA,

Thank you much for the help. Went to oreilly auto to pick up a fuse puller since my fingers are too fat. Tried to pull it out, but the puller was too fat. Walked back in to ask them if they had a thinner one and he pulled out a small set of pliers and said I could use it in the parking lot.

Pulled out both 4 and 5, and 5 was blown. Bought a new one, popped it in and tadaaa.. Worked again! Thanks guys. I love these easy wins. I took a picture after.



So what I noticed is theres alot of empty spots here. I dont know what exactly they do yet since I do not have an owners manual (van never came with one). I was thinking about going through and replacing all the current ones since I do not know how old they are (and putting all the numbers right side up so it looks pretty. lol) and also putting in fuses where there are empty spots after finding out the correct amperage. Any cons in doing this?

Thanks,
John

 

No need to start replacing fuses all ***** nilly---if they're not broke don't fix 'em.

Spots where no fuses are present means those circuits aren't part of your particular vehicle. Invest in a gently use factory owners manual or factory EVTM---both kinda invaluable for this sort of information.

 

"I love it when a plan comes together!" :-)

Here's my link for owner's manuals: Owner Manuals | fleet.ford.com

Pros/cons on fuses are many. Like JW says, messing with something working is always taking a chance. Then again, corrosion and bad connections on electrical stuff is common and I have solved lots of problems by simply unplugging and replugging connections. The under the hood connections are more prone to this but connections in the cabinet are subject to temperature variations from +130 to below zero.

If you are careful, removing and reinstalling fuses should not hurt anything and having a spare set of fuses handy is always a good idea especially while out on the road.

Glad it was an easy fix.
jim

 

Again, thanks for the help guys!