vents and window issues

[amaelaw]

Hi, I'm new on here, I have a 2003 explorer xlt and recently my vents have not been working. Once in a while it will work correctly, but most of the time if I have the vent or A/C on it only comes out the defroster and floor. I've seen some things about using a dowel rod but I was wondering if it would work in the 2003 model as well. I don't have $1700 to fix something like that. Also my windows will only roll down if I have the drivers door open?? Kind of a pain when you're driving down the road I'm going to check the wire in the door but is there anything else that it could be?

Thank you for your input!

 

[BigRondo]

Welcome aboard!!

I have moved your thread to the Stock 3rd Gen Sub Forum for better exposure.

I had similar electrical issues with my '02 XLT. The dome lights would stay on until the battery saver feature turned them off, the accessory delay wasn't working, the driver side puddle light didn't work, the keypad on the door would set off the alarm when I pressed it, the door ajar light would flash and beep at highway speeds, the radio would shut off as soon as I turned the key off, the alarm would beep twice when I armed it. Recently all 4 windows stopped working. Most recently the driver door lock actuator stopped working.

A lot of electrical issues can be traced back to broken/damaged wire(s) in the boot between the body and the driver's door. I found 3 broken wires and repaired them. The thin black ground wire was broken and after repairing it all was back to normal. When the windows stopped working, I repaired the thick black ground wire and the windows now work like a champ. I had to repair the pink/black wire to fix the driver door lock actuator.

Here is the thread for removing the door panel: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums//showthread.php?t=303524

Here is a great thread for checking for broken/damaged wires, thanks to synyster for this awesome write-up: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums//showthread.php?t=270081

Unfortunately the pictures are no longer available in the above thread. IIRC, I believe I unwrapped the wires enough to gain access. When I have gone searching in there I had an idea of what wire I was looking for. I located the the wire I was looking for and gently tugged on that wire on the door side. The wire was pulled toward me and out of the harness. I then went inside the vehicle and gently tugged on the the wire I was looking for and was able to pull it inside the vehicle. I then spliced a length of wire to the 2 ends, completing the circuit. I then gently pulled the excess into the door.

Be sure to take your time when looking for broken/damaged wire(s). Check all the wires for breaks/damage. When you think you're done looking, look again, and again, and again. A bright flashlight can be very helpful.

Good luck getting it sorted.

Please keep us posted as feedback helps others reading this post looking for a fix to the same or similar issue!

 

[amaelaw]

Semper Fi BigRondo!

Thank you so much for your response! I should have known if anyone could help me it would be a Marine! I would say former Marine, but as my boyfriend tells me, "once a Marine always a Marine!" I will add this to my project list for the week and next weekend. I will let you know how it turns out!

 

[BigRondo]

Roger that. Be sure to keep us posted.