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Auto liftgate troubles

getfished

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Year, Model & Trim Level
2015 Explorer Limited 4WD
2015 Explorer Limited 4WD

I bought this vehicle wrecked. It was damaged in the left rear quarter. Pretty much completely repaired except i’m Having trouble getting the lift gate to work.

I will verify fuse to be good . I tried the instructions in the owners manual for the reset but produced nothing.

I haven’t tried to do the lift height reset yet.
When I push the control on the
Liftgate or the fob I only hear a very short hum that comes from the latch and you can see the latch gear moving. It doesn’t make any bell sounds and I kinda don’t think the motorized cylinder is getting powered up.

I’ e Read where the assist cylinder on the passenger will cause the liftgate to fail if that cylinder has failed. How do you tell if that cylinder has failed ?
 



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Welcome to the Forum.:wave:
Will the liftgate stay open when you manually open it? If so, that should eliminate the passenger side strut. The chime only sounds when the 'gate' is powered close. Not when it opens. I would think that there is a good chance the motor may not be working. Not sure how difficult it is to get a meter on the contacts.

Peter
 






Welcome to the Forum.:wave:
Will the liftgate stay open when you manually open it? If so, that should eliminate the passenger side strut. The chime only sounds when the 'gate' is powered close. Not when it opens. I would think that there is a good chance the motor may not be working. Not sure how difficult it is to get a meter on the contacts.

Peter
Yes the liftgate will stay open .
 






My guess is motor as well. When the cykinder fails, people reported it would only open partially and stop or open all the way and slowly close down from the weight.

If you are hearing the click, the katcj is working. Dont think there are many other options besides the motor itself.
 






Well I went and checked to see if resetting the lift height would affect it but it didn’t.

That cylinder has 6 wires: red , green, blue , yellow, purple , and black I think. I will replace it if necessary but I hope I can verify first.
Thanks for the feedback so far.

When I push the button there is no sound at the cylinder and if you put your hand on it you can’t feel anything.

I checked a fuse in the engine compartment and it was good.
Owners manual also describes a fuse box in the drivers side to the left of and below the steering wheel down by the brake pedal. I looked high and low for it but couldn’t locate it. Maybe that fuse box is for a different trim package, I don’t know. It I couldn’t find it.
 






I have been trying to locate the motorized lift cylinder for this vehicle tonight and I'm striking out. Maybe my search is not using the right words. Not exactly sure what the name of this part would be.
 






Okay, I was wrong before the actuator (motor) is on the right. Actuator - Ford (FB5Z-14B351-A) | Auto Nation Ford White Bear Lake
It is part #9 if you open up the liftgate diagram.
For the fuse box see; Cabin fuse box location I believe that there is a pane under the dash that may have to be removed to get at the fuse box. The 2011 did not have that panel. Looking at the fuse listing in the Manual, it appears the fuse in the cabin fuse box is for the Liftgate Release which would be the latch. If the latch works then the fuse should be good. The one in the engine bay is for Power Liftgate which I'm guessing the one that powers the motor (actuator).

Peter
 






Peter, thanks for the follow up. If I remember correctly the fuse in the engine compartment is a 30 amp fuse. I switched it out with another like fuse and it didn't seem to make any difference.

With that said I finally did find an actuator on a web site called partsmaven I believe. I also think it is the same part and part number you referenced in your post.. Methinks maybe that darn thing is bad and here's why ::

On the partsmaven website the actuator is shown to be on the right side as you posted. My car was wrecked in the left rear quarter and that is the side my actuator is on. I'm pretty sure I installed it correctly but will verify. I gotta hunch it was damaged in the wreck.

Kinda interesting to see it on the left side though.
 






After physically checking mine, the actuator IS on the left and the support cylinder is on the right. I guess the parts site doesn't always update its diagrams. I've added pictures of mine. #1 is the actuator on the left side.
Check out these for some additional info/suggestions.
Explorer Rear Liftgate Won't Open
2013 Power Liftgate Problem.

Peter

Actuator.JPG


Support Cylinder.JPG
 






Thanks for the extra footwork Peter. I think I will go ahead and replace the actuator shock on the drivers side. I can get it to my door just under $100. Hope that solves because at my age I don't have much hair left. Ha ha. I should have the part on and installed in one week and will update.
 






Were you able to check to see if there was power going to it?
 






No, I didn't try to verify that power is going to it. It has 6 wires and I didn't try to find a schematic . Even if I would have I'm not sure I am competent enough to read it. Most cases I find I know just enough to get in trouble. Ha ha. The actuator cylinder is on the side that was hit in the wreck so I got my fingers crossed that will fix it. If not, well........................... we'll see.
 






The lift actuator shock came today. It's an easy install. It didn't make any improvements. Still won't open or close under power. The latch is working but it won't open. Not sure what to do next. I guess it's not getting the electric signal. I don't have a schematic and not sure I could read it anyway. Just don't want to take it to the dealer but may have to.
 






When you hit the button to open it, can you hear the actuator trying to move? You'll hear it, and if it's open when you hit the button, you could probably feel it.

Do you have any pictures of the damage?
 






You can't hear anything coming from the actuator. The only sound is when the latch releases. I do have pics on my phone. I will try to see if I can figure out how to get a couple of them up here.
 






That would mean you're definitely not getting power to it, so I would suspect wiring damage somewhere from the crash. I would start pulling interior panels and follow the wiring.
 






Well. I already have most of the interior panels removed from the back doors all the way to the liftgate. I didn't want to reinstall them until I am certain everything is working. When rebuilding I never noticed anything unusual about any of the wiring and believe me when I say there is a ton of it back there. I realize wire damage quite possibly can exist but would be unable to see easily.

I still have not installed the rear ( third row ) seats and there are some electrical harnesses to connect as regards those so I wonder if there may be some requirement to have them connected for the liftgate to work but initially I am not of that opinion.

I have also read some info about a body control module ? Not exactly sure what the function of that is or where it is located.
Currently the latch opens and closes with all switches, the fob, button on the dash, and the button inside the rear of the liftgate. The actuator shock doesn't appear to be getting power and that actuator is brand new. I just replaced trying to solve. The liftgate raises to maximum height manually and will hold in position on it's own at any desired height. It just won't operate with the actuator cylinder.

It would be nice if I knew which wire should be energized when the raise/lower switch was activated. There are 6 wires going to it so it's not as simple as positive-negative.
 






Well today I installed the third row seats and plugged in every electrical connector . Still no automatic liftgate. I also checked all fuses related to liftgate . No blown fuses. I guess I will eventually get it over to the shop or the dealer but it's going on the back burner for a week or two. Everything else works and I am swamped with other obligations currently so I am just gonna sleep on it for a while and continue trying to research for a solve.
 






Tried this after the motor swap?

Power Liftgate Initialization
General Procedure

NOTE
The power liftgate may not operate correctly under the following conditions: A low voltage or dead batteryA disconnected batteryRepairs/adjustments have been made to the power liftgate rod, power liftgate motor, liftgate hinges or liftgate striker


If any of these conditions has occurred, the power liftgate must be reinitialized.

  1. NOTE
    Battery power must be removed from the LTM for 20 seconds before the LTM will enter the initialization mode.

    Disconnect the battery or remove the LTM fuse(s).

  2. Wait 20 seconds and reconnect the battery or reinstall the LTM fuse(s).
  3. If liftgate is not already in the fully closed position, manually close and fully latch the power liftgate.
  4. NOTE
    Make sure the power liftgate system is turned ON in the message center before performing this step.

    NOTE
    If the power liftgate does not open during this step, Refer to Power Liftgate to diagnose the inoperative power liftgate.

    Power open the power liftgate by using the RKE transmitter or instrument panel control switch.

  5. Once the power liftgate is fully open, close the power liftgate by using the RKE transmitter or instrument panel control switch.
 



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Thank you for the reply. I have to confess that I am uninformed as to what some abbreviations in your post are referring to such as LTM & RKE. I do think though that I have tried the procedure you are referring to several times to no avail. The car is at the shop getting a muffler reattached. When I get back this afternoon/evening I will try to post some more info because I have one wire plug in that is not plugged in and for the life of me I can't figure out where this plugs in. I kinda don't think it has anything to do with the liftgate but it would be nice if the fix was simply a matter of locating the connector for this wire.
 






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