whats under drivers side kick panel?

[saywheresarny]

hey all. i have a 93 explorer xlt 4 door that im trying to sell. the other day i was walking past it and could hear the door locks going nuts. they were constantly trying to unlock themselves. so the only way i could get them to stop was unhook the lock switch. now today i was walking buy and hear a buzzing noise that was coming from under the drivers side kick panel. could figure it out so i just unhooked the battery. any ideas? are the 2 incidents related? whats under the kick panel that would be making a buzzing noise? was thinking maybe after all this rain/snow/sleet water got into something. i dont run it anymore it just sits. any help please?

 

[DeRocha]

hey all. i have a 93 explorer xlt 4 door that im trying to sell. the other day i was walking past it and could hear the door locks going nuts. they were constantly trying to unlock themselves. so the only way i could get them to stop was unhook the lock switch. now today i was walking buy and hear a buzzing noise that was coming from under the drivers side kick panel. could figure it out so i just unhooked the battery. any ideas? are the 2 incidents related? whats under the kick panel that would be making a buzzing noise? was thinking maybe after all this rain/snow/sleet water got into something. i dont run it anymore it just sits. any help please?

Welcome to the site! As you have already surmised the 2 incidents are related. You have a failure in the door unlock circuit. The clicking and buzzing noise are telltale signs of a relay failure.. A relay is basically a switch that using an electromagnet to turn on a circuit. When power to the circuit is shut off springs inside the relay pull the switch to the off position. When a relay gets old the springs can get weak and can click and buzz as you have described. To prevent an overload on the door circuit I would remove the kick panel and replace the offending relay.. (these relays can be bought at any auto parts store).

The overload is like you continually pressing the door unlock button.. additionally this could kill your battery as the lock/unlock circuits use a bit of power..

 

[TedJ]

Stock, there shouldn't be anything under there but the E-Brake mechanism and some wires.

Now if you have an aftermarket alarm system or something, they could very likeley have jammed it in there. Its a common place to tap the wires for the door locks. Keeping the solenoids engaged all the time will burn them out or at least shorten their life and kill the battery. Take the door sill trim off, 3 screws, and its clipped in so you have to pry a bit, then the one screw in the upper door trim, and the pop faster in the center of the kick panel. Then you can wiggle it out and see whats going on in there. If there is a leak and a alarm module in there, the water will make it go wacko.

-Ted