I inherited a 2002 F250 that I havev been using for my daily for awhile now. When I first got it I the door ajar light was always on and it played the radio and the dome light stayed on till the battery died. After testing both door sensors and replacing the drivers side still no resolve. I then went to order a new vsm as I had read that it was another common issue. I replaced it and fixed the radio issue though my gauge cluster still says the doors are open and the dome lights stay on till the battery saver relay cuts them out. I had my dash rebuilt to see if that is the issue but still am having the problem. The one weird thing to note is I drove the truck without a vsm plugged in as it is not necessary to drive the truck, and it told me the doors were open all the time even without the vsm plugged in. Becasue of this, I thought that maybe the communication wire from the gauge cluster to the vsm was getting a hot from somewhere, and upon testing found that my dash is sending approximatly 12 volts back to the vsm even when the truck is turned off. Is this normal? was my dash not properly inspected when rebuilt, or is this something that should be normal? I do not know what else to do here and while the problem is not major, I am much tired of getting calls from people letting me know my dome light is on

 

When you replaced the VSM did you get the same version code that's on the vsm?

Did they program it for you.

It must match exactly to work right.

Next you could have a stuck sensor at one of the doors. This is usually the problem if vsm is good
You can spray some wd40 at the latch area and work the doors. This is where the door open/closed switch is.
other wise you may have to take part each door till you find the stuck/gummed up switch.

The culprit is usually the driver door as it's used the most

If the vsm is correct I would go for the latch sensing switches they gum up.
and get stuck

 

Also the vsm controls the keyfobs.
so it has to always be on to listen for the xmission from keyfob
so if you have a keyfob it should work now.
If not you can get 2 for $20 amazon.

And simple process to program it to the new vsm

 

I have replaced and tested both door sensors as I stated, so that is not the issue. The VSM also was already reprogrammed to my keyfab, and as I stated appears to not be the issue either as the truck recognizes when the doors are open and closed with it in, it simply still says they are open on the dash and the dome light stays on

 

What was your testing procedure to see if the doors are working? If you tested at the door then you have not tested properly. If you have tested at VSM then we can now rule out door switches. This would be your first step if it hasnt been completed. Also would help for you to say what pin and plug to the VSM is getting 12v so we can see if that is normal.

 

The VSM programming i talking about is the firmware inside the vsm. Which has nothing to do with the keyfob programming.
there is a code set on the outside of the vsm. The new one has to be equiviliant or reflashed with equivilant firmware to work on your truck. You just cannot plug any vsm in.

You seem like you may know this already but I've seen no confirmation so far.

Keyfob are a minor issue you can do and a side issue.

And just a note if you got an exchange with same firmware it's possible, it was not repaired correctly. The rebuilders usually offer a warrantt.
But you want to ohm out the wires first to confirm

 

This sentence confuses me, can you explain more.

How does the truck know its closed or open. When the door ajar is always on?

Using the keyfob to activate the the door lock actuators is a completely diferent loop/circuit to reading the door latch position switches.

Sounds like it cant tell . If you pull the vsm you will always get a door ajar.
it cannot sense anything at all cause it's in the vsm.

If the vsm is not shutting off dome and dash. It cannot tell what state the doors are in so it cannot know or it would shut off the dome and dash

If you put in the vsm and still getting the ajar light. Either firmware in the vsm is wrong. (Might have a 4 door firmware) since no signal from back doors it thinks open. May I ask you you got vsm from?

Junkyard or a module company?

Or I agree with the other gentleman .
Need to pull plug and do condenuity test from the plug that goes to vsm and open close door to make sure the switches are good (which you state are) and the wires carrying the signal are not broken/compromised.

 

I know the truck recognizes the door opening and closing because the radio shuts iff when i open the door and the headlights turn off (I have the headlights set to auto rn), before I replaced the vsm all lights stayed on and the radio played till the battery died or was disconnected. Now everything works as normal except for the dome light, bed light, and dash door ajar indicator.

As for the door sensors I replaced the drivers side, and tested the passenger side as you had described.

The VSM I bought was actually pulled out of a 04 Excursion, and my local Ford dealership and mechanic refused to refresh it with the old one because they didn't have the stuff necessary to do it (I think they just didn't want to work on an older truck). However, as I stated before, I drove the truck without the VSM plugged in. I talked with someone else with a VSM problem and they stated you don't need the vsm to drive the truck, but it just won't know when you stop the truck and would basically never shut off the radio and etcetera because there was ni signal from the VSM to shut them off. However, my truck when I did this acted as if the doors were open the whole time and the dash still indicated the doors were open. To me, the dash should not be displaying this because it wouldn't be getting any signal from the VSM because it was unplugged. Hence I tested voltage on the wires and found that the dash is sending 12v from the dash back to the VSM

 

It is the pin that communicates with the VSM, it's a solid orange wire that is the only wire coming from that plug in the VSM and is the only solid orange wire connected to the gauge cluster. Per the wiring diagram it goes directly between the two

 

So yes, as you stated, it is from a 4 door vehicle (at least I believe it is based off the number on the VSM), however like I said when I tested it unplugged why is the default door open on my truck when others who did the same thing said the problem said when they did the same thing the truck functioned as if the door was closed

 

In my experience, which I'll admit isn't all-encompassing, but if the truck thinks the door is still ajar...usually it has to do with the adjustment of the door itself. Does the door shift up or down when you open/close it? Does it actually close tight to the body, or does it seem like it has a bit of gap?

It seems like, in both my '99 and my '03, the radio would stay on if the door was closed enough to catch but not fully latch, which was also enough to turn the dome light on and set the 'door ajar' light. Adjusting the latch, and replacing hinges if they're bad (it IS a 20 year old truck) can often fix the issues you're seeing.

 

Ok. Everything you need is here.

1) all vsm hardware is the same. The firmware is what tells the vsm to what circuits to use and how

2) you MUST have the same firmware inside the replacement to have it work correctly..

As I stated above. The vsm is looking for input from the other backdoors and cant find them..
I guess if you knew what pins were being looked at you could create a loop at the plug to simulate the open back doors to closed.

3) I hope the dealer gave you old vsm or the code on the vsm.

It is lazy and shoddy work they did not program the new one and you received half a job from them. You can order a proper one online, but no code your screwed. And it's not like some one with a similar truck can tell you theirs, as it requires a dash removal to install and read the printed code number on it

Maybe someone has a boroscope and can snake a camera up the firewall

Good repairs to you

 

Actually for an excursion you have five doors that its looking for a ground source to say the doors are closed. Easy to put a ground on the rear two doors and the hatch door at the VSM. These will be be pins 6, 11 and 12 for the plug on the left side (should be grey).

For this orange wire. You say its on the same plug as the door switches? Cause that plug (the grey one on the left) or c2113a doesnt have a solid orange wire. It does have a red/orange wire. Now if you are talking about plug c2113c or the plug furthest to the right then yes that has a solid orange wire on pin 5. So which one are we talking about here?

Just so we dont get too hung up on the orange wire. If its is indeed on plug c2113c then the 12v is normal. It is a ISO 9141 network wire (or one wire network) and 12v is its resting state. Heres a good read https://diag.net/msg/m6886xplzkq5gjj2hs79hn9ifu

 

Thats great you found the pin outs to ground. That can hack the issue for the VSM he has currently.
Very generous to secure that info.
Yea that 3rd plug on right should have only the 1 wire if I remember correctly. Which is the live 12v

Nice job TunaFIsh

OP: Let us know how it turns out for you. always good to hear the conclusion