1999 Taurus Key Fob & Door Lock Problems!

[bcsman]

Just found this forum and seems to be a wealth of knowledge and help, so here goes. My daughter-in-law bought a 1999 Taurus awhile back and has had electrical problems from the start. The person who sold it said they would try to fix them. They've tried but no luck. I've just fixed a stuck dome light and door ajar light problem by taking apart two doors and freeing up the door latches. Now to the problem. The power door locks work fine whenever there is power to the ignition. They even lock, after my latch fix, when the car is put in gear. However they don't work either with the switches or the key fob when the ignition is off and/or the key is removed. As far as I know they should work with or without ignition power so there should be voltage to the door lock switches at all times. I need to trace the "hot" wires from the fuse box to the door locks to find out where the voltage is, but don't have any diagrams. Would someone be able to send me a diagram or two to my e-mail so I can trace the problem out?? Thanks for any help!!

[shorod]

Welcome to the forum!

You're right, the locks should work with or without the key in the ignition.

You can view a wiring diagram for the door locks at Autozone's website in the "Repair Guide" section.

Do you know what the seller did to try to remedy the issue? Did they by chance try replacing the Transmission Range Sensor (TRS, DTRS, or sometimes park/neutral safety switch) or inspect the wires in the door jamb where they go from the car body to the door? Both of these areas are known trouble spots.

-Rod

[bcsman]

Thanks for the welcome Rod!! I'm not sure what they did, but pretty sure they didn't replace any sensors. My son mentioned that the key fob worked before they got it back and I did check the voltage on the fob battery, 3 + volts. I did get the Autozone diagram except it says the "hot" voltage comes from a 30A breaker. Just not sure which breaker it's referring to, don't see any that are labelled "pwr locks". Is it one of the maxi breakers in the breaker box under the hood, or is it under the dash?? I do think they did some kind of wiring mod as there is a large 10-12 gauge red wire that's spliced into a blue wire coming out of the breaker box under the hood. I'll try to trace that and see where it goes, but it definitely doesn't look like Ford wiring!! Also where are the all door lock and unlock relays in the diagram located--under the dash?? Thanks for any help!!

Brian

[shorod]

If you want to send me a private message with an e-mail address for you, I can send you the PDF of the section from the 1998 factory service manual that should align nicely with your 1999. It will also detail the locations of the 30A breaker #4 and the relay locations. The relays are probably located within the Remote Anti-theft Personality (RAP) module located above the accelerator pedal. Does your Taurus also have the 5-button keypad on the driver's door?

-Rod

[bcsman]

OK first off here's what I found. I tore the drivers door apart to access the wiring. According to the Autozone diagram the master door lock switch has all the wiring intact. And much to my surprise I'm getting 11.50 VDC on the pink/yellow and pink/green wires on the door switch with or without the ignition on. So that appears to be wired OK and it has the proper voltage to lock/unlock the doors with the ignition off. That's checking the voltage with the ground attached to the black door switch wire pin or a metal ground on the door.

I also think I've found the all door lock/unlock relays under the dash. They are two plug in connectors. The only problem is they aren't wired according to the Autozone diagram. The lock relay (I think) has a pink/yellow and pink/green wire running to it whereas the diagram shows a pink/yellow and pink/black wires. The unlock relay (I think) has what looks like two pink/black wires instead of pink/green and pink/orange wires. Maybe the diagram isn't correct as it doesn't look like anything has been modified with splices.

Next the Taurus does not have the 5-button keypad on the drivers door.

And last I'm PM'ing you with my e-mail address. THanks so much!!!

[bcsman]

Discovered another interesting twist to my problem. I thought I'd try to reprogram the key fob thinking I might get lucky that way. I got the owners manual out and followed the instructions, but after turning the ignition from OFF to ON 8 times the doors never locked or unlocked so it never went into the program mode. Found another procedure for programming the automatic door locks and that one never worked either. It appears there may be a problem in the keyless module area that affects the door locks. Does this make any sense??

[shorod]

Well, are you certain that they keyless entry is the factory system?

-Rod

[shorod]

According to the owner's manual, the factory remote keyless entry fobs are user-programmable. The excerpt from the owner's manual page 63 reads, "If you purchase additional transmitters (up to four may be
programmed), perform the following procedure:

"To reprogram the transmitters yourself, place the key in the ignition and turn from OFF to ON eight times in rapid succession (within 10 seconds) ending in ON. After doors lock/unlock, press any control on all transmitters (up to four). When completed, turn the ignition to OFF. The doors will lock/unlock one last time to confirm completion of program mode.

"All transmitters must be programmed at the same
time."

-Rod

[bcsman]

First off thanks for the diagrams Rod!!

Second, I'm pretty sure it has a factory installed keyless entry system. I know the FOB looks exactly like the picture in the owners manual. Also the door locks and FOB worked as they should until the mechanic worked on it last time, so I may have to look him up to see what the heck he did!

Third what are the locations of the all door lock/unlock relays and the RAP modules. Pretty sure they're under the dash, but which side?? If I could locate the RAP, would that verify a factory keyless entry sytem or would all Taurus have that??

And last I think I'm going to purchase an owners manual for this car!! See them used for sale on Ebay for $35.00 shipped free!!

Brian

[shorod]

I'll have to get back to you on the locations.

You can download a PDF of the owner's manual for free from here.

-Rod

[shorod]

The driver's unlock relay is located in the Instrument Panel fuse panel, the all lock and all unlock relays are located under the instrument panel near the center console. If the diagram below is too difficult to read, then you can click here.

Also, I believe you're correct that if you do not have the factory keyless entry, you would not have the RAP module.

-Rod

[bcsman]

Wow that diagram is great!! I can finally figure out where all the relays and modules are--thanks so much!!

Now a new turn in my saga! I talked to the person who last worked on this Taurus when the keyless quit working. He said it was worked on because the power windows had quit working. He troubleshot and replaced the generic electronics module (GEM). Since replacing that part the keyless entry quit working and the power door locks quit functioning with the ignition off. Fixed one thing and caused another!! Don't know how much this guy knows, but he said I may need to take the car to a dealer to reprogram the keyless entry as changing the GEM may affect the function of it--does this make sense?? I did a little research on the GEM and it does control certain functions of the keyless entry system and lots of others. Not sure if he's accurate with that advice or not--any ideas?? If so that could possibly cure my problems or at least the keyless entry one!!

Again thanks for the diagrams and schematics--have already downloaded and printed for reference.

Brian

[shorod]

I do remember reading in one of the Ford service manuals that if the GEM is replaced, the configuration needs to be downloaded and the new one programmed with the downloaded configuration. Obviously there are ways to program a GEM from scratch, but either way does require dealership tools as far as I know. I don't recall reading about anyone actually replacing a GEM so I'm not sure if they always require programming or not. I'm also not positive that your car is one that requires programming.

-Rod

[bcsman]

Probably give my local Ford service dept. a call next week to pick their brain on this issue. When I find out anything I'll post results for those interested! Again thanks for all the help Rod!!

Brian

[bcsman]

Talked to our local Ford service today and have an appointment tomorrow morning to program the GEM. At least try!! They said when changed or swapped there are certain items that have to be programmed. Only problem was I didn't get a warm and fuzzy from them as it didn't sound like they've done this very many times. At least the person I talked to!!! Hopefully I have more working than less when I leave!! Wish me luck!!

Brian