Hello:

I just bought a 2000 E150 cargo van and I am having some strange electrical problems and I’m hoping someone might be able to help direct me to a wiring diagram for the power door locks and courtesy lights. I’d also like to see a drawing showing the physical routing of the wiring harnesses.

Here are my problems:

First, my power door locks will not open or close from any of the switches but they do all lock from the autolock feature shortly after I get in the van so I’m presuming the problem is in the switches or wiring.

Next, there is a courtesy (dome) light between the two front seats and another on the frame just inside the rear doors. The main light switch will not activate either one nor will opening any of the doors. There are no switches on the actual lights themselves and both bulbs are fine. Both lights have a black and black with blue striped wire going to them. Neither wire is hot nor reads continuity with a ground.

The left hand rear speaker has no sound. The speaker works and there is a signal coming out of the head unit so I believe there is a short in the wire somewhere between the two.

All fuses are good.

Finally, (and this may or may not be relevant to my problems) what in the world are the two small spring-loaded square sliders mounted on the top of the frame at the rear doors? I noticed that the left hand one was broken (the slider and spring are missing) and since they seem to be “activated” by opening/closing the doors I figured it was some sort of a door-open switch but there is no wiring going to them!

I’m open to any suggestions anyone has but I think if I can find a wiring diagram I can make progress on this!

Also, I’m wondering if some or all of these might be related and if I could find a diagram of where the actual wiring harnesses go, maybe I could figure out a likely place to look for a short.

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

Holy Cripes---a hundred problems in just one thread!

Go to AutoZone.com and dig around for their free viewable and printable wiring diagrams. If you're experienced at following those finding the source of your electrical issues should be fairly easy. In the meantime..........

Function loss of the interior PDL switches while the auto lock feature still works (aftermarket alarm or RKE??) most likely means the PDL fuse is blown OR there is a loss of power to the Master Control panel mounted on the drivers side door. This panel contains both PW switches along with the PDL switch too. Check a schematic for the fuse location as well as wiring to that control panel. They've been known to loose contact over time, easily remedied by gently squeezing the contacts together, just enough to restore contact and in theory operation of the PDL's from the factory switches.

Your courtesy lights have their own schematic which might also be available from AutoZone.com.

Left speaker is probably blown either from age or too much rockin' & roolin'. Before the radio itself is damaged replace that speaker ASAP even if only temporarily. Stereo audio devices with one channel not properly loaded as when a speaker is attached don't live too long. Even cheap aftermarket speakers from Crutchfield with a suitable adapter are decent additions.

No idea what spring loaded thingys you mention are door bumpers, intended to soften the door closing action as it engages the latches and seats against the body. Good idea to replace them.

If you'll be keeping this van and do your own troubleshooting and smaller repairs it would be a great idea to have a book of factory schematics, better known as an EVTM. Here's an example: http://www.ebay.com/itm/2000-FORD-ECONOLINE-CLUB-WAGON-ELECTRICAL-WIRING-DIAGRAMS-MANUAL-/231530701129?hash=item35e84e2149&vxp=mtr

Just a fair warning--IF you don't jump on this one ASAP with both feet at the speed of sound I will! Even though I alredy have two others this one is just too cheap to pass up. Get it quickly----------

 

Not sure if this will help but it is a post about for a 1997 door lock and light problem

 

Wazzat you say Annaleight?

 

OH my!! I need some coffee..

here is the link
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...entry-fix.html

 

I think that thread will be useful if troubleshooting the electrical situation before digging into the RKE module. We first have to make sure its not something as simple as a blown fuse or loose wire.

BTW Rocky51 hopefully you're checking fuses either with a test light or other continuity tester---visual inspection can be misleading.

 

I'm with JWA on this...be sure you check and double check, or replace with known good, all relevant fuses, and make sure you have found ALL the fuse panels. My particular van has 2 main panels, one in the engine compartment, and one under the dash on the driver side.

 

Thank you for all of the help JWA!

I've never seen an EVTM before but that looks great. Even better is the price in the link you provided (yes, I bought it!)

Also great tip on finding wiring diagrams at AutoZone - I had no idea they had those. I'll see what I can find there.

In searching under the dash I found a an aftermarket alarm (Karr 2040) and that definitely is the source of the auto locking feature (the autolock goes away with the alarm unplugged. I'm still not sure if it has RKE.

POWER DOOR LOCKS:

I've got power to the fuse for the locks. I took all of the switches out and tested them and they seem good. Initially I had power to the wire at driver's switch but after reconnecting the switch and testing it, I heard a click (kind of sounded like a relay) under the dash and I lost power. All fuses are still good.

The sound I heard seemed to be about halfway between the steering column and stereo. I found two small rectangular electrical boxes in that area - one is the wiper switch module and I haven't yet identified the smaller one next to it. Perhaps this is the RKE module? It has 000516T on it and I'll look at this in more detail tomorrow.

STEREO:

I may not have been clear, but the speaker and head unit work so there must be a shore in the wire between the two. I really only mentioned that as part of my idea that there may be a pinched or shorted wiring harness going to the rear of the van.

COURTESY LIGHTS:

It looks like the plunger switch on the right read door failed and the lights stayed on until the connector to the rear light melted and created a short. I replaced the connector and have a new switch ordered so that problem is solved!

SPRING LOADED THINGS ON DOOR FRAME:

These things look awfully flimsy to be a bumper of any sort. Can you point me to a picture or drawing of one of the bumpers?

 

Thanks for the link annaleigh - I'm inclined to think the problem might be with the RKE module though I need to confirm that is what I'm looking at.

JWA: I have been testing the fuses but putting a continuity tester on the two small pines on the face (while they are still installed.)

I'm skeptical of the Karr alarm but it looks to have been pretty professionally installed. It is connected to the factory harness with inline taps that then have male spade connectors that the alarm harness plugs into.

Right now I don't have power to the driver's door switch with or without the alarm connected.

Brian: Thanks for the tip - so far I have only been looking at the fuse panel under the dash - I will look for another panel in the engine compartment.

I appreciate all the suggestions - please keep them coming!

 

Good thing you bought that EVTM---I saw it had ended, contacted the seller saying I'd buy it if still available. As you know it was not. That will serve you well.

So onto your door locks---the other bits of no interest to me at this point. IF you have factory RKE (Remote Keyless Entry) you'll have this module mounted behind the drivers seat:



If you don't have that module you don't have what we call RKE. Any other mechanism or system used to remotely lock/unlock the doors is called something else, RKE being a common acronym here of FTE designating the factory-installed Remote Keyless Entry feature.

Whatever this aftermarket alarm/remote entry thing is you have that's most likely the source of your problems.

Reading from your schematics you'll see there is a main power feed to be found on the Master Control Switch panel mounted in the drivers door arm rest. That single power feed controls the entire PDL system---no power there, nothing anywhere else. If there's an easy way to disconnect this Karr thing do it and check if PDL function has returned.

If yes then leave it disconnected and consider an alternative such as Omega CrimeGuard 350i5 for keyless entry if you need or want that feature. I've been using that brand and version for about 8 years now---great product at a good price too.

Regardless how professionally installed it appears internally it might have failed thus causing your current issues.
The rear frame spring loaded devices are "bumpers" in that they reduce the door shell's impact on the door frame when its closed.

They're nothing more than a way to "soften" the force of the moving door shell as its closed---sort of a way to slow it down instantaneously without affecting or compromising the doors momentum which is used to properly engage the door latch.

Replace them if you prefer, leave them alone as is if that's not an important thing---either way as long as the door closes and latches properly, no leaks during rain or car washing you'll be fine.

Summing up the key thing to check on the PDL's is power to that Master Control Switch panel-----follow your schematics all the way back to the PDL's power source. In your case that's fuse #5, 20 amp located in the cabin fuse block.

 

This was addressed to JWA but I'm gonna field this one.

Checking continuity (with a continuity tester or meter) on live circuits and fuses is never a good idea, it can yield false results, especially in a complex circuit with relays, diodes, and computer modules.

You CAN check fuses in a live circuit, but continuity is not the way to do it. Instead, you use an incandescent (not diode type) test light and hook the clip to a good chassis ground, then probe both sides of the fuse with your test light's sharp point. if it lights up on both sides, its good. If only one pin has power, that fuse is suspect and should be pulled and inspected visually. If neither side lights up, you either have no power to that circuit farther upstream, or your ground clip is not actually 'grounded'.

But...the best way to check an ATM, ATC, or ATO fuse is to pull it out (using a long nose plier or the little plastic tweezer made for the job) and visually inspect it...look for the internal link to see if its blown or not.

In the 'olden days', sometimes glass fuses would fail at the ends, inside the glass but hidden by the metal caps, especially the under-10-amp sizes, and they could visually trick you into thinking they were good since the wire link was intact.

But the newer plastic fuses are designed so that this is just about impossible, and even if it did happen, the plastic is transparent enough that a failure at the ends can be seen.

 

I've always found the best way to look for continuity is electrically along its path from source--in this case the battery----all the way to its intended end---in this case the master switch block located on the driver's door.

Looking at the ATC etc fuses can reveal blown fuses however too many times I've tested those looking almost new and found no continuity through them.

Just like the glass fuses of earlier times visual inspection only can be misleading. Here's a good basic YouTube video how to best use a test light: Generally these same steps apply to most any automotive circuit, at least those which are NOT electronic in nature; radio's, cruise control modules etc etc

Troubleshooting any automotive-type circuit can be a bit difficult if only because test points aren't always as readily accessible as we'd like OR they're hidden from view so to speak. EVTM's come into play here as they show physical locations of connectors etc making following any one circuit start to end is "easier".

Rocky Tx2Sturgis is 100% correct advising you to use the test light grounded to a known good ground, the other end of the tester probing points along the circuit path. This is the easiest way we all use to quickly determine if fuses are blown, whether we have voltage available at those points along the path.

 

JWA, good video but I noticed there were some follow-up videos that show the use of a multimeter to test continuity on the live fuses.

Now...just because people on youtube do it and nothing bad happens, and they seem to have good luck finding a bad fuse, does not mean its always the best way to test fuses.

I know it seems pretty simple, but the devil is in the details.

DMM's have a very high load impedance, although some of them DO drop the impedance for continuity testing.

With only a high impedance input to the circuit being tested, a fuse might even be able to make the continuity tester show that its good and make a beeping noise when the bad fuse is a bit dirty and the humidity is high. Lots of continuity testers use 200 ohms as the cutoff. If the resistance of the fuse is 190 ohms, it will indicate 'good' on the tester, even though the fuse has become a resistor!

Or, being a live circuit, there could be a voltage differential present due to electronic interaction between circuits, and even though the fuse is 'open', the DMM shows the circuit as having continuity.

Third, and less likely in an automotive circuit, is that the DMM (when in continuity mode) does apply voltage and current to the circuit under test, (small voltage and amperage but there nonetheless) and this can cause issues with other electronic components in the path...but as I said, most automotive components are more robust. But you sure dont want to use a simple continuity tester (in continuity mode) when probing around inside a circuit board with computer chips! Of course, you wouldn't use an automotive test light in there either....

One more thing...if it should happen that there is a failed (or pushed in) female crimp connector under the fuse...and its been known to happen, then a continuity test might show the fuse is good...and in reality, there is no current getting thru it...so the test light would have found the source of the trouble, and the continuity tester did not.

 

TX we're gonna confuse this poor Rocky--seems he's perhaps a bit new to electrical troubleshooting.

I'd not necessarily disagree with your comments on a DMM---they do measure continuity to a point, some readings not necessarily what we're seeking.

The test light when used in conjunction with the EVTM would show where power is or is not when it should be; Key On, Key Off, Hot At All Times etc.

My quickest path to troubleshooting first off is seeing if power is available at the device. If not then its to the fuse, both test points there. Next would be the first connector past the fuse, most likely leading to a switch or control or sensor. With just a few steps we've narrowed it down, isolating the trouble area and onto address whatever the issue is.

Those new to 12 VDC systems tend to quickly forget or have never been told connections to known good grounds are essential because they are one half of the circuit. Any interruption causes something to not work.

Anyway hopefully some of what we're sharing helps this guy---these things can wear a man out just looking.

 

We're all new at something...as evidenced by myself a few times on this forum...speaking of which I will probably need to ask you a few questions about installing some new windows in my van, but will save that for another thread...

Here's the rub..'measuring' continuity is like measuring pregnancy.

You either are or are not pregnant. Same with continuity...except...when its not.

OK, take a good fuse, and test continuity across it. It should show zero or nearly zero ohms.

Now measure continuity thru a regular old raw speaker driver (not a 2 way or 3 way unit)...if the voice coil is good it should show that its got continuity. But it is also probably showing 4 or 8 ohms of resistance...which also indicates the coil is probably good...but it will have a drop in voltage across it with a power source applied...so how do you know if your meter is set to differentiate continuity between zero ohms and some other value? If its a value other than zero, you're actually measuring resistance, rather than checking continuity.

It all kinda depends on what you're measuring, how you measure it, and the results you expect.