Rear hatch lock switch for a '91-'94.

[SeaFord]

I'm new to the group and the original owner of a 5 speed '93 Sport 4X4 that has been garage kept its entire life (with the exception of a car port while stationed in Panama) and is by far the best vehicle I've ever owned. I guess I got lucky but try and make some of my own luck by taking good care of it. Recently the passenger door lock control stopped working. It would lock from my side so I correctly guessed the switch itself was bad. I picked up one from the junk yard and once again everything on my car worked. While at the yard and the reason for this post, I saw a newer Explorer with the rear hatch open and noticed the rear door lock switch. I paid a couple of bucks for it and was wondering how hard this would be to install in a '91-'94 and if the wiring is in the same place. It would be a huge convenience. Anyway, it's good to be here and I'd appreciate any ideas or help.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! I've moved your thread into the stock 91-94 section. Go back, and get the wiring harness from the switch. Everything should be swappable since it was stock & not aftermarket. Get a schematic diagram of the circuit.

 

[Anime]

The '93 Sport 5-speeds are nice.

There's no wiring in the 91-94's for the rear mounted switch, though.

It'll be a pain to run the wiring to the front and wire in along with the two door switches to activate all the locks, but it's certainly doable. It might be worth your while to go back to the junkyard and pull the whole wiring harness from the rear switch location, if the left side panel is easy to remove or is already loose.

I've never seen the point for the rear switch (aside from for 3rd row rear seat passengers in a 4-door to be able to lock/unlock the doors for others), since you can manually pull up or push down the rear lock, and if you need to control the front door locks when you're in the back with the glass or hatch open, you can do so by adding a remote keyless entry system.

 

[SeaFord]

Thanks, I'll take a closer look at it, including schematics. The convenience would come in when loading stuff, say from a store when alone, and not having to dig out the keys again to open the front door. I must be getting lazy in my old age.

 

[Anime]

I'd suggest getting a keyless entry system. Plenty of units just plug in and use the factory power switches to lock/unlock everything.

If you want convenience, that's the way to go, press one button and unlock both front doors AND the rear, plus it'd be a fairly easy install on a vehicle that has power windows and locks.

Ford actually had an add-on keyless entry module for the Explorer, sometimes you can grab them out of old ones that had it (Limited, Eddie Bauer, etc.), but of course you'd really want one that has the remotes, so aftermarket is easier, and usually less expensive.