Power Liftgate not working 2014 Explorer

[R_Dylan]

2014 Explorer power liftgate suddenly stopped working--no movement up or down. I can manually open and close the door just fine. Trying to determine if its the lift motor or the latch assembly.

First I thought it was the lift motor at fault. I removed the plug to the lift motor and ohmed the red and black wires (the two heavier gauge wires), and found open circuit. To me this meant the motor must be burnt out. But then I read a thread on this forum from a few years ago where a guy replaced the lift motor without success, and found the problem was a faulty feedback switch in the latch assembly. See link: Auto liftgate troubles My problem sounds just like his. When I attempt the close the lift gate, it beeps once, and I hear the latch motor turn back and forth for a second. Like it's trying to unlock the door. To find out if the lift motor was getting power, I probed the red to black wires by piercing the insulation with the voltmeter probes. The meter shows a short pulse of voltage (probably 12V, meter auto-ranges so can't tell) after I press the close button, but then it stops. So why does it stop giving power? Is it because it senses that the latch is locked? The latch motor is working--it opens and closes the door just fine. When I open the door, it pushes through the first latch and beeps three times, but stops before getting through the second latch. Then if I lift the door while pushing the button again, I can pull it through the second latch.

So, why no continuity between the lift motor leads? I assume the two heavy gauge wires are to the motor and the others are for position sensing? Does the fact the the latch motor turns when attempting to close, mean that the latch position sensor has failed? I'd appreciate any help in fixing this problem.

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum.
I'm not sure what you mean by "first" and "second" latch or the "latch motor". By latch motor are you referring to the liftgate motor? The liftgate should only sound chimes when it closes, not when it opens. When closing, it will chime 3 times if operating normally. When you press the button on the dash or on the keyfob, does the liftgate unlock? I believe we are making about parts #9 and 14 here; Liftgate for 2014 Ford Explorer | Auto Nation Ford White Bear Lake

Peter

 

[R_Dylan]

Welcome to the Forum.
I'm not sure what you mean by "first" and "second" latch or the "latch motor". By latch motor are you referring to the liftgate motor? The liftgate should only sound chimes when it closes, not when it opens. When closing, it will chime 3 times if operating normally. When you press the button on the dash or on the keyfob, does the liftgate unlock? I believe we are making about parts #9 and 14 here; Liftgate for 2014 Ford Explorer | Auto Nation Ford White Bear Lake

Peter

I'm calling #9 the liftgate motor and #14 the latch motor. On mine, it chimes on open (or attempting to open). When I press the button on the dash or the keyfob or the handle, it unlocks (or unlatches--I hear the latch motor operate for a second). This happens when the gate is closed or open. I don't think it should do that when the gate is open. That's why I suspect a sensor in the latch assy may be bad and causing this issue. But the other test I did, showing no continuity to the lift motor leads, suggests that the lift motor is bad.

Thanks for your reply.

 

[peterk9]

Chiming on opening is not correct. It may be related to the issue at hand.

Peter