Auto liftgate troubles

[getfished]

Thanks for that follow up. I read your link and was confused but I think it is just because I'm very tired at the moment. I will reread it again this weekend and go out to do some experimenting. One other thing , When opening and closing the liftgate after finally getting it to work I think there is no audible bell when opening or closing. Is that the way it's supposed to be ? Seems like I read sonething about a bell sound when the gate opens or closes. I'll take another look at my owners manual to see if I can verify this.

Thanks for the support guys.

 

[sheltonfilms]

Thanks for that follow up. I read your link and was confused but I think it is just because I'm very tired at the moment. I will reread it again this weekend and go out to do some experimenting. One other thing , When opening and closing the liftgate after finally getting it to work I think there is no audible bell when opening or closing. Is that the way it's supposed to be ? Seems like I read sonething about a bell sound when the gate opens or closes. I'll take another look at my owners manual to see if I can verify this.

Thanks for the support guys.

Where the control unit is (behind the quarter panel) there is a speaker/buzzer attached to the unit and has a 2 wire connector going to it. These two wires jump right over to the main unit. Could have unplugged it and never plugged it back in.

 

[getfished]

I think I know the control unit you are referring to sheltonfilms. We had removed it during the repair to that quarter panel. I'm almost certain it is reinstalled and plugged in correctly. I don't have the trim molding installed in that quarter so I can see the control unit and it does appear to have a small speaker which does have a 2 wire ? connector plugged in.

I did have a different connector plug in that I couldn't figure out where it went. I posted a pic or two about it earlier in this thread. I figured out it went to a plug in (sensor/switch ) that is in the trim molding that covers the back crossection that the latch striker bar is mounted to. I plugged it back in to see if maybe that had something to do with this concern. It didn't make any difference. still no audible bell sound when opening or closing the liftgate.

Are you certain that I do not have the foot activated feature on my liftgate ? It is a 2105 model.

 

[sheltonfilms]

I think I know the control unit you are referring to sheltonfilms. We had removed it during the repair to that quarter panel. I'm almost certain it is reinstalled and plugged in correctly. I don't have the trim molding installed in that quarter so I can see the control unit and it does appear to have a small speaker which does have a 2 wire ? connector plugged in.

I did have a different connector plug in that I couldn't figure out where it went. I posted a pic or two about it earlier in this thread. I figured out it went to a plug in (sensor/switch ) that is in the trim molding that covers the back crossection that the latch striker bar is mounted to. I plugged it back in to see if maybe that had something to do with this concern. It didn't make any difference. still no audible bell sound when opening or closing the liftgate.

Are you certain that I do not have the foot activated feature on my liftgate ? It is a 2105 model.

Scan the vehicle again and see if there are errors listed under the LTM. If you don't see any errors go to "tests" and run the "ON Demand Selft test" for the LTM (have liftgate closed when starting this).

See if you get codes B236A, B2903, or B2940.

I'm certain. The 2016 order guide shows on the bottom left of the first page that the handsfree function was new in that year.

https://media.ford.com/content/dam/...S/2015/05/12/16Explorer-Order-Guide-Specs.pdf

 

[getfished]

OK I will try to do the diagnosis test. May not get it done today or tomorrow but I will try to take your suggestions. I appreciate it.

 

[peterk9]

…….. When opening and closing the liftgate after finally getting it to work I think there is no audible bell when opening or closing. Is that the way it's supposed to be ? Seems like I read sonething about a bell sound when the gate opens or closes. I'll take another look at my owners manual to see if I can verify this.

Thanks for the support guys.

The chimes for the liftgate only sounds when it starts to close. Foot activation was introduced with the 2016 model year although I can not recall if it was on all trim levels.

Peter

 

[getfished]

OK Perter. thanks. Looks like I don't have foot activated. I also don't have the bell chimes working yet either. I hope this weekend to try to troubleshoot that. Too many extra obligations have hit me all at once.

 

[getfished]

Hey hey. Finally got a chance to tinker with the Explorer today. Liftgate chimes are working when the liftgate close. The chime is weak, so weak that I actually have never heard it but the wife confirmed it is sounding but very faint.

Peter I reread your link to the thread about the rear dome . I did as suggested and voila! It worked.! Operator failure doesn't surprise me. Ha ha.

Now it seems as if everything is working properly and I can reinstall the complete set of interior trim moldings and just about be finished with this project. The wife loves the car.

One other minor issue I noticed when driving is that the amber light showing a passenger in a seat with a seatbelt and inflated air bag sometimes is lit and sometimes it's not. Not quite sure what to think about that except that I'll look into it at a later date if it doesn't clear itself up.

I appreciate all the help guys.

 

[peterk9]

.......One other minor issue I noticed when driving is that the amber light showing a passenger in a seat with a seatbelt and inflated air bag sometimes is lit and sometimes it's not. Not quite sure what to think about that except that I'll look into it at a later date if it doesn't clear itself up.

I believe the only time that warning should be ON is if the passenger seat is unoccupied. If you have something else with enough weight on the seat, that could turn it OFF.

Peter

 

[Stellar D]

Hey everyone. I've been scouring the forum for about a week and can't seem to quite find the same issue I'm having with the power liftgate. Please forgive me if this has been addressed, but I couldn't quite seem to find the answer.

More often than not, the power liftgate won't open. I can use the dash button, remote button or the button on the handle. What happens is it will unlatch, but doesn't seem to have enough "spring" to fully unlatch and open. I can here the three chimes suggesting everything is fine. I would have to manually open it. When it's fully open, I can press the button and it will close and latch on it's own no problem.

Again this doesn't happen all the time. It seems to go a day without working, then another where it works fine.

What component gives it that "pop" to open it up past the latch?

This is for a 2014 Explorer Sport

Any help greatly appreciated.

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum.
Your thread was merged with this one.
My guess would be that you may need a new actuator (motor). There should not be any chimes when attempting to open the liftgate. Only when it starts to close. Chimes at any other time are an indication of a problem.. Are you sure there is no binding causing the 'gate' to stop?
"When opening: The system will stop and a tone will sound three times
when it detects an obstacle. Remove the obstacle to operate the liftgate."
When the latch assembly is activated, it releases the 'gate' and that results in it popping out from the locked position.
Lift Gate for 2014 Ford Explorer | Auto Nation Ford White Bear Lake
You can also try Resetting the Liftgate (page 85 of the 3rd printing).

Peter

 

[Stellar D]

Hi Peter,

Thank you for your response. This makes sense, I got it working yesterday and it doesn't chime when it opens. I guess the obstruction would be the latch itself. When I open it manually, i have to hit the button and lift it as the latch hasn't released. So it pops open, but the latch doesn't open I'm thinking? I fooled around with the rubber stopper on the latch of the body, and even closed the tailgate latch while it was open and hit the button to see it unlatch. Maybe it needs grease or something?

Something else that I don't know, but could be an issue is the alignment of the liftgate itself. The left side has a significant gap you can fit a finger in, where the right side has virtually nothing.

I tried the power disconnect and it's worked a few times so far. Fingers crossed. I'm just wondering if its the latching mechanism or the alignment as the actuator seems strong.

Cheers

 

[peterk9]

I doubt the alignment would be the cause if it's been working all these years. Misalignment of the 'gate' is not unusual. Hope it keeps working.

Peter