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f150 electrical problem

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Old Mar 4, 2010 | 02:42 PM
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dionisi58
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f150 electrical problem



so my dome light randomly comes on and drains my battery, my radio wont get reception, and the door chime randomly comes on. so i have to disconnect the battery when i park, so i was taking my buddy home after school, an when i popped the hood, before i connected the battery i heard this knocking noise and i found out when i open the passenger door the blue piece moves, im pretty sure this should be connected, but im not a mechanic or anything, so does anyone know what this is an if its maybe my problem?
 
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Old Mar 4, 2010 | 07:02 PM
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thanks for being so specific.....Come on really? the blue thing? What is that supposed to be.
However, you need to check the connections and make sure they are not loose.
 
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Old Mar 4, 2010 | 07:40 PM
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ok im in highschool and go to school for carpentry, as much as i would love to say the exact name of the part, i just dont know it, and i dont exactly know how to "check the connections" i did some snooping around the wires but have no idea what to look for
 
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Old Mar 4, 2010 | 10:28 PM
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From: Pennsylvania Wilds
Take a picture of the blue thing?
 
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Old Mar 4, 2010 | 10:29 PM
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Okay, figure this... The thing (a spring-loaded button) that makes the light come on and go off (and makes the door "ding") THINKS that the door is open. Meaning that...

There is a button in the door jamb that gets pressed in when the door is closed. (For future reference, this is called staying in "closed circuit", because the switch inside this button isn't "opening" properly when it is pushed in by the door, and 12V power is still running through the switch causing the light to stay on, and the door warning bell to sound off.) But this button isn't doing its job - its making the truck think the door is still open.

So what you do is find this button, wiggle it out of wherever it is in the door jamb, unplug the wire(s) from it, and replace it. And since you probably won't be able to tell which button is malfunctioning, you'll have to either replace both of them, or replace one, wait 'til it's fixed or not, then maybe replace the other one.
 
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Old Mar 4, 2010 | 10:36 PM
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From: Pennsylvania Wilds
My little blue thing isn't blue, and everything else in my truck is.

The door sensor is cheap, swap them both if there's any doubt. On my '95, there's a hex head to unscrew it from the column. I have a bad one in the driver's side, but it's bad in the right direction(open circuit).

From your first post, it kind of sounds to me like the sensor came out of the A-pillar and is hanging in the gap between the door and pillar? If that's the case, and it hasn't been crushed, you might be able to pop it back in. Put your battery back on, press the button, and see if the light goes out(make sure the other door is closed!).
 
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Old Mar 5, 2010 | 04:27 PM
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ok i guess its my fault for the picture to not be showming, i know about the button in the door jamb, this is in the engine compartment
 
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Old Mar 6, 2010 | 08:41 AM
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That's your vacuum actuator and actuator arm for your heater/defroster. You'll have to replace the heater box for that. You can get one from a junkyard to replace it.
 
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