Key Fob Mystery - 2000 Explorer

[jmclean02]

I've read all the posts regarding programming FOBS and i have not seen any that have the same issue i am having.

I sit in the car, hit unlock on the drivers side arm rest to unlock the doors. Cycle the key from off to on 8 times like the manual says and the locks "lock" but don't cycle to "unlock"

I press a button on the FOB and the actuator makes noise like it is trying to unlock, but never does. Turn the key back to off to end programming.

Key fob will then lock the truck, but when you press the unlock key it does nothing. The interior light comes on as if it is unlocking but the actuator makes no noise at all and stays locked.

Any ideas what is going on? I can't unlock the drivers side door with a key so im wondering if this is part of the problem.

 

[budwich]

IF you hear noises, then you have issues with the actuator / linkage at the door.... are you saying all doors don't unlock or just the driver's door? IF its a "factory system", a second depression should cause all doors to unlock. Do they all make noises? none? you likely have a "rotted splice" issue in the left rear passenger area raceway... lots of posts.... people fix with new wires in the "bad areas". Further, you have another issue in the door(s) itself since a "noise" means a mechanical issue there... again lots of posts, linkage, door spring, OR actuator mounting.

 

[jmclean02]

What i mean is that on the 8th turn of the key to "ON", the door locks should cycle to lock, then unlock.

Mine doesn't do this... It cycles to lock, and thats it. I press any button the FOB and the locks make the noise as if they are unlocking but they stay locked.

I can press lock/unlock on the drivers door/passenger door/lift gate and the doors function normally and will lock or unlock.

But for some reason the FOB only programs the lock and panic functions. Pressing unlock on the FOB does nothing except turn the interior light on.

 

[RomeovilleIL]

The light turning on means the RAP is reading the signal from the fob. I would suggest the previous posts about a rotted wire somewhere is likely correct. I would trace the lock power from the RAP module back to the door controls.

 

[jmclean02]

The reason it was such a pain was because i couldn't open drivers side door with a key. I just took the door panel off and reclipped a door latch rod with a spring keeping it upright. This allowed my key to turn the lock freely so i can open the drivers door.

I will check for the wiring issue when it gets warmer out. Too cold here in Canada right now to do much without a garage!

 

[budwich]

one problem down... one to go... recheck your "single press" on the fob and see if the door now opens... it might as the spring problem is common.

 

[jmclean02]

Its strange because i bought 2 FOBS off Ebay back in December. I had problems programming them. Went to the dealership, etc. They were stumped. Then one day, i jumped in the truck, did the 8 on/off thing and voila! The locks cycled and i was able to program FOBS.

Then one cold day the FOB stopped unlocking the truck again. I tried to reprogram, but to no avail. So the more i think about it, the more likely it seems there is a wiring issue.

I watched a video where there was a bad splice in a pink/yellow wire heading through the back of the explorer. The truck in the vid was a 4 door and the splice was located in the rear door floor area. Since mine is a 2 door sport. Where would the the splice be located for that?

 

[jmclean02]

And yeah Budwich, i tried to reprogram after the spring fix, but the truck still would not enter program mode. It's weird, because it like half enters program mode.

 

[budwich]

ok... but let's be clear... cause your first post indicates "noise" when you depress the unlock button. where is the noise coming from? the driver's door, the rear quarter panel, the other doors? from there, the forum can tell you more.

further, the programming "issue", isn't really an issue.... if you can use your fob to lock the doors, it means the fob works and so does the "computer"... you don't program each function, just whether the fob "talks" or not.

 

[jmclean02]

when i press unlock on the arm rests, the doors unlock with the normal noise of the actuator unlocking. pressing the unlock on the fob does nothing except turn the interior light on.

the noise i am referring too is when i try to enter program mode. in a normal scenario you turn the key on/off 8 times at which point the door locks cycle. going from lock to unlock.

in my truck, when i get to the 8th on/off.... my door lock cycles to lock... but doesnt' cycle back to unlock... i then press any button on my fob... in the normal programming when you do this, the locks cycle from lock to unlock again.. on my truck when i press the button, the lock tries to cycle but none of the door posts actually unlock. They make the unlock noise, but dont do anything.

then i turn the key back to off at which point the locks are supposed to cycle again to end the programming mode... my locks do not cycle. they make the unlock noise again yet the truck stays locked....

it may be easier to take a video while i try to program and post the link on here afterwards to see what i mean.

 

[jmclean02]

The one time i was able to program the fob correctly, the locks actually cycled which led me to believe that in order to program lock/unlock on the actual FOB, the door locks actually need to lock/unlock during programming. Since my doors "lock" during the program sequence and the "lock" button on the FOB actually works, thats why my line of thinking went that route.

 

[jmclean02]

Looks like i figured it out. There was a hole in the drivers side rear wheel well where water was splashing up under the tire jack compartment hitting the rear hatch wiring and causing shorts. I figured this out last week on a wet day when all of my locks were going all glitchy and constantly locking and unlocking. Spliced a new piece of wire back in, and voila! I was now able to program the FOBS correctly. Only took 5 months to figure it out!