Adding Keyless Entry to 97 Exp Sport

[jpanell]

Hey guys, I'm brand new here. I have a 97 Explorer Sport, 4WD, 5SPD, 2Door and it does have power locks but doesn't have the remote receiver. I thought I saw somewhere that you could get the receiver from ford and it would be relatively plug and play? I bought a transponder on amazon and realized I can't use it after the fact. It would really be nice to have this feature added because the power lock switch on the driver's side only works for unlock so it's kinda annoying. Thanks for your insight.

 

[1Aauto]

Thanks for joining, it's great to have you here

Tony

 

[96eb96]

Hey guys, I'm brand new here. I have a 97 Explorer Sport, 4WD, 5SPD, 2Door and it does have power locks but doesn't have the remote receiver. I thought I saw somewhere that you could get the receiver from ford and it would be relatively plug and play? I bought a transponder on amazon and realized I can't use it after the fact. It would really be nice to have this feature added because the power lock switch on the driver's side only works for unlock so it's kinda annoying. Thanks for your insight.

The switch can be taken apart and cleaned with some electrical cleaner. Mine works great.

The question is if you have the wiring harness for that unit. I believe it is on the drivers side, in the cargo area by the rear washer. I think the remote entry also had the door keypad, so the wiring is obviously different. I know on other fords the door lock switches are wired differently for factory RKE. One reason for this is the two stage unlock(two presses for the passenger door).

You can pull the trim and see if there are any extra harnesses. A generic RKE should be relatively easy to wire up.

 

[J_C]

It is probably a very expensive part as new OEM, I'd sooner get one off eBay (if guaranteed working) or from a junk yard.

It may be plug and play if you have the wiring harness, connector for it. On my '98 4dr it's in the cargo area, left rear panel accessed behind the storage hatch there. The procedure for programming the keyfobs is here: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/index.php?threads/97-explorer-key-fob-programing-fyi.267195/

Do realize that this may not solve your driver's side locking issue. If you're trying by pressing the driver's door master control panel switch and that isn't working, it could be that switch panel itself (then just replace that), might be a frayed wire in the door hinge rubber boot, or might be a spring broken on the lock mechanism.

You may need to take the door panel off, see if there's a broken spring, have a multimeter or test light to probe for voltage getting to the lock solenoid when you're hitting the driver's door switch, or pull the switch out and probe for power going into it and out once you know which wire color is going to that specific door lock solenoid. you might be able to tell which wire by looking at the back of the switch panel, the wire positions relative to the switch positions, I don't recall.

 

[jpanell]

@96eb96 Thanks for the cleaning insight, I'll definitely give that a try. I'll have to look back there for the extra harness, otherwise I probably will end up going with a generic one.

@J_C It's a $160 part from Ford, so I will definitely be checking ebay and the junk yard first, if I have the wiring connector, fingers crossed. As far as the door locking, the lock mechanism works perfectly fine if the passenger controls are used so it's most likely the driver switch being dirty or having a bad connection I think, I'll update once I take it apart.

I appreciate the help so far guys!

 

[toypaseo]

Maybe consider an aftermarket unit for power locks.

A past co-worker of mine added keyless entry to his mid-90's Chevrolet Caprice. It had power locks. It was east to install, and has great range. It was just a basic Audiovox one, I believe.

 

[jpanell]

Just as an update for anyone who reads this thread, unfortunately my truck did NOT have the wiring harness, so it turned out that this would not have been a plug-n-play deal. So for anyone that has a 2nd gen Explorer with power locks but no door keypad, sadly you cannot just buy the keyless unit and plug it in for keyless entry.

I have not yet installed a generic keyless entry because I ran out of time in the summer and went back to engineering school for my junior year. However, it's the summer again so I might do it now and I'll let you guys know how easy it was to do.

Most of the ford dealerships don't even want to talk to me or look if they have parts for my '97 explorer anymore, kinda makes me sad. It's such a good truck for a college kid like me who just wants something to learn how to fix up and get to and from school and so fun to drive since it has a short wheel base and the mazda 5 speed transmission. I'm so thankful for this website and you people who care enough to keep these trucks alive! I just got back from studying in Europe for 6 months and I can tell you this kind of "keeping the dream alive" for old underdog cars doesn't exist over there like it does here, makes me so proud to be American. God bless the USA and you people.

-Jack

 

[Jason94sport]

Older Viper/DEI alarm system on Ebay for $30 new. Actually PM inbound I have something for you