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2003 ford explorer windows and radio not working?

mc143gj

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November 20, 2012
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City, State
California
Year, Model & Trim Level
2003
I have a 2003 ford explorer XLT and I am not receiving any power to the windows or radio. I did electrical testing with voltmeter and nothing for both. All of the electrical items work on the truck except for these two items. What is the power correlation between the windows and radio? How can can the windows and radio simultaneously go out at the same time? PLEASE HELP!!!!
 



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no power

Probably the wires going to drivers side door broken, seems to be a common problem.
 






The only correlation I can think of is the fact that both those accessories continue to work after the key has been removed from the ignition but the door has not been opened.

I've been having just the opposite problem lately. I can remove the key from the ignition and the radio stays on even AFTER I open the door. It's intermittent and, usually, if I reinsert the key a couple time into the ignition lock and pull it back out, it will finally shut off the radio as it should.

So maybe something in the ignition lock that triggers a relay?

Keep us posted on what you might find.
 






Welcome aboard mc143gj!! :salute:


I had similar electrical issues with my '02 XLT. The dome lights would stay on until the battery saver feature turned them off, the accessory delay wasn't working, the driver side puddle light didn't work, the keypad on the door would set off the alarm when I pressed it, the door ajar light would flash and beep at highway speeds, the radio would shut off as soon as I turned the key off, the alarm would beep twice when I armed it. Recently all 4 windows stopped working. Most recently the driver door lock actuator stopped working.

A lot of electrical issues can be traced back to broken/damaged wire(s) in the boot between the body and the driver's door. I found 3 broken wires and repaired them. The thin black ground wire was broken and after repairing it all was back to normal. When the windows stopped working, I repaired the thick black ground wire and the windows now work like a champ. I had to repair the pink/black wire to fix the driver door lock actuator.

Here is the thread for removing the door panel: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums//showthread.php?t=303524

Here is a great thread for checking for broken/damaged wires, thanks to synyster for this awesome write-up: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums//showthread.php?t=270081

Be sure to take your time when looking for broken/damaged wire(s). Check all the wires for breaks/damage. When you think you're done looking, look again, and again, and again. A bright flashlight can be very helpful.
 






Rondo:

So the broken wire in the door can also cause the issues with the window/radio feature? I wouldn't have suspected that since everything else you list continues to work fine.

Guess I'll check the door wiring next.

Thanks!
 






I agree with Rondo that door wiring controls a lot of stuff, when i took mine apart i found 6 broken wires and dont know what they all controlled but everything is working great after fixing it.
 






Rondo:

So the broken wire in the door can also cause the issues with the window/radio feature? I wouldn't have suspected that since everything else you list continues to work fine.

Guess I'll check the door wiring next.

Thanks!

I know when you shut off the vehicle but still have the key in the ignition and radio on, the radio should go off when you open the door. So, I would think there is some kind of sensor in the door area that signals the radio to turn off once the door is opened. Mine still works.
I just repaired a broken wire in my drivers door rubber boot today, that caused me to lose power to my front passenger window. Neither front driver side or passenger side buttons would open this window, but now after the fix, they both work again. I found a larger diameter, white/yellow striped wire had broke right in the middle section of the driver side door jam boot. This wire connected into the middle "Blue Colored" wire harness (window buttons) on the driver side arm rest control pad. To do the repair all I had to do was unplug the door wiring harnesses, remove the door panel and take out the door speaker. Using the speaker opening as an access port, I was able to pull on the window harness wires going into the door jam boot, until the broken wire end pulled back into the door. I then pryed off the rubber boot at the door jam area and found the other end of the broken wire. You can either repair the broken wire by soldering it together and use a weatherproof shrink tube or use a Butt wire connector as I did. I wraped electrical tape around the connectors when I was done. Make sure you get a good crimp on the connectors. You will need a short section of 12 gauge wire to make up for the gap in the broken wire ends and give it a little extra length for wiggle room in the future. I would test the repair out first, before you put the speaker and door panel back together. Hope it helps! BTW, I got a lot of helpful info from "BigRondo" prior to doing this repair, thanks Rondo!
 






Rondo:

So the broken wire in the door can also cause the issues with the window/radio feature? I wouldn't have suspected that since everything else you list continues to work fine.

Guess I'll check the door wiring next.

Thanks!

I believe the windows and the radio are powered through the Accessory Delay Relay. I will check my manuals and post up some info.
 






Thank you again guys for your quick response. I will attempt to to do what you guys have mentioned above and I will let you guys know if it worked...wish me luck!!! Thanks again.
 






Rondo:

So the broken wire in the door can also cause the issues with the window/radio feature? I wouldn't have suspected that since everything else you list continues to work fine.

Guess I'll check the door wiring next.

Thanks!

Thank you again guys for your quick response. I will attempt to to do what you guys have mentioned above and I will let you guys know if it worked...wish me luck!!! Thanks again.

I am going to PM you guys the troubleshooting steps for the radio not working & all power windows not working.

I have put some good info together that should be helpful in tracking down your issues. ;)
 






D Hook & mc143gj

Check your PM. :):thumbsup:
 






Got the pm and some great info. Thanks a bunch Rondo. I'll be checking this out on Saturday. Mine is an intermittent problem and hasn't shown up again for about 5 days or so.

Thanks again.
 






Got the pm and some great info. Thanks a bunch Rondo. I'll be checking this out on Saturday. Mine is an intermittent problem and hasn't shown up again for about 5 days or so.

Thanks again.

Good luck getting it sorted. Let me know if there is anything else you need. :biggthump
 






Did you solve the problem? My wife came home and said all the windows were stuck down and the radio doesnt work. Neither seems to be getting power. The 30 amp fuse for the windows checks ok. Was wondering if its most likely the the relay mentioned above or the door wiring...
 






My wife came home and said all the windows were stuck down and the radio doesnt work. Neither seems to be getting power. The 30 amp fuse for the windows checks ok. Was wondering if its most likely the the relay mentioned above or the door wiring...

It's common for the wiring in the door boot to break. I would start checking there, drivers door first. It easy to take the button control and door panel off, then remove the door speaker, use it as an access port and start searching the wire bundle going thru the rubber door boot. Pull each wire back towards the inside of the door. If one or more are broken, they'll pull right out of the bundle.
 






I had the same issue turn the key to the accessory position and shake the wiring a little in the door jam it will probably work intermittingly and you may hear a popping sound all you can do is go through the wires and splice and solder at that point.
 






Help needed

I am going to PM you guys the troubleshooting steps for the radio not working & all power windows not working.

I have put some good info together that should be helpful in tracking down your issues. ;)

Any chance of getting the info on this? My exp is having the same issues...fuse is fine, so wanted to check this out before trying to replace the relay.
Thanks
 






Having the Same Issue

D Hook & mc143gj

Check your PM. :):thumbsup:

Can you please private message the troubleshooting steps to me as well? I am having the same issue with my radio and windows not working. They were working fine yesterday.
 






Broken wire in the boot. Remove door panel and slide boot away and you'll probably be able to see it.
 



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same problem

Hello I have the same year xlt and the same problems. also the door ajar light keeps going off as well as the abs light goes on and off. I have a friend who has had a little experience with this model he suggests that the instrument cluster is faulty. I have also heard there might be a short in the ground wires in the drivers door jab of which there are two. I have checked all fuses and relays and the circuit breaker under the hood its all good. one last suggestion I found on youtube is that the window master lockout switch on the drivers side door panel is bad. there is one thing to do and that is to disassemble the entire switch panel and clean the contacts of all the switches as they have a tendency to burn. so cleaning the contacts with fine sandpaper and alcohol will help. let me know if you have luck with any of this. I love me explorer but these windows need to be fixed asap as its now getting into to 70's here in Idaho.
Charles
 






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