When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
98 Ford Expy, door locks stopped working. Pushing lock button you hear the relay clicking. Press the unlock and it sounds almost like static or something, only makes the noise for a second or too then it stops. I pulled the door panel and applied power to the actuator and it seems to work, so I am guessing I have a feed issue somewhere. Anybody have any suggestions? Swapped the replays under the hood and under the dash with a good one, nothing there. Found the relays under the dashboard cover. See picture. If I pull out the middle one the lock relay will click every time you push the button, but as soon as you push the middle one back in its the static sound and then the switch will cause no noise when pushing lock or unlock. I am assuming it’s an unlock relay issue but I am at a loss. Electrical isn’t my strongest suit. Anybody have any suggestions?
Pictures will not load. Will try again in the morning.
Well unfortunealty it wasn’t the issue. Ground tested good. I did find out that I have a rust hole right there and all the wires in the passenger side kick panel we all full of sand and crud from being exposed to the elements. So I am gonna have to do something with that. I did take apart and clean the ground and a couple other wires that were a little corroded. It was kinda weird though, when I took apart the ground to clean as soon as the two ground wire were taken apart a relay in the dash somewhere started clicking and the lights on the running boards were flashing. Wouldn’t stop until the ground wires were put back together. I have no idea what’s all that about. I really wish I could get this thing figured out. The real issue is I can lock all the doors manually but not the hatch. So I can’t turely lock the truck up when going anywhere.
as the two ground wire were taken apart a relay in the dash somewhere started clicking and the lights on the running boards were flashing.
That's because the door was open so the light relay was energized. When you removed the ground wire the relay coil circuit was still looking for a ground so it was back-feeding through other circuits.
Thank you for letting me know. That’s why I try to stay away from electrical stuff. I just don’t know enough about it. I am sure somebody electrical smart would have it fixed two months ago.