I spoke with an alarm tech about similar problems (read my post above) and he said it was a bad relay and was no big problem to fix. I haven't taken my truck in yet to have it fixed though.

 

Here a link to some images I took of the motor repair. I placed a very fine jumper wire over the thermister and problem is solved completely. I tried just cleaning the motor first, but did not solve the problem, but after modification of the thermister WOW! works Great! I used a single strand from soem very thin speaker wire to form the jumper (kind of like a fuse) so should the button ever be held down for a long period of time, this is now the weak point in the circuit and shoudl fail first...but I did not test it to be sure.
[IMG]http://home.comcast.net/~mlbussard/wsb/html/view.cgi-photos.html-.html

 

Roger,
Can you share the secret of the little yellow clip on the handle operating rod?
You made it sound so simple, but for the life of me I can't figure the darn thing out.
Thx
Jerry

 

Excellent post. Now I know I can replace these faulty parts.

 

After an exhaustive search of the Internet and a rabid desire to avoid the local Ford Service Garage, I have resolved my Keyless Entry Problem! The cost was a whopping $ZERO dollars too. I simply disconnected the negative side of the vehicle battery, then turned the headlight switch to on position(to assist in draining any capacitors in the electrical system). After 10-15 minutes I went out and turned off the headlight switch, then re-connected the battery and the remote now works! Amazing. Something to do with setting the computer back to default. After almost a year of unlocking with the key I can now use my remote again. Just have to buy another key/remote to replace the spare I lost! arrrgh.

 

after reading on here i feel confident that i can repair my actuator my passenger side does not work. My question is I thought I read on here of somebody using GM door lock actuators tto replace the ford ones I checked on ebay and you can buy a GM actuator for 10 dollars would this work the theory seems sound just not sure if they would match up or be able to be configured to work

 

RogerD,
I used your insructions to change my door lock acuators and it went very smooth. Thanks for posting them .
Hal

 

This thread helped me out alot. However, to take off the door latch, i needed a Torx #27, not #9. Other than that, perfect.

 

Another satisfied customer! Thanks for the great directions! Saved me $$$$ and a lot of %$&!!^&%#$ words! :


S.

 

I had the same problem with my '99 Ford F-150 and fixed it. I will not take credit for ths fix as I read it here or another forum. The problem is a thermister which is a small rectangler piece of metal and is mounted in the motor which in turn is mounted in the actuator. It is a little tricky removing the actuator but can be done. Once you get it out pry it open ( you will bust the little tabs that hold it togeather but not to worry as a little epoxi where the tabs were will hold it togeather when finished. Once you get it apart, remove the motor and reshape the bent tabs that hold it togeather and disassemble the motor. Inside the motor you will find the thermister. Pry it out and wrap it in foil to short is out thus eliminating it from the circuit. Put it all back togeather and wolla you now have working door locks. If you want prove it before reassembling it in the truck hook two small clip leads up to the actuator and hook one to your already disconnected battery (hope you thought of doing this before doning anything else) and then touch the other clip lead to the other battery post. If you don't see the actuator try to move reverse the clip leads on the battery or actuator. after wrapping the thermister in foil and reassembling it thy this again. You will be amazed at the results. Any questions you can leave it here or to my direct e-mail (probley smarter) and I will get back to you. Good luck....Bill.

My e-mail address is ab0ot@juno.com

 

Resurection time!!!!

Alright I am thinking of tackeling this and cleaning my actuators this weekend.

My only concern is that I'm not 100% positive my actuators are the culprit. Mine started acting up at exactly the same time to the minute. Right after I had used the truck to jump start my lawn mower.....

Temp does seem to play a role in wether they work at all, but you only have one chance if that. If they don't unlock or lock on the first try, then your SOL. You'll have to lock them or unlock them manually.

Because there was an event that may have triggered the problem, and because they both failed at the exact/percisely the same time, then I was thinking possible relay, but if there is a relay for both sides, then that shouldn't be it either. Is there any other common between the two sides? that I should check, before I tear in and clean both the actuators.

 

Great info! I sent an email asking for the pics, thanks for taking the time to get this info out there for the rest of us. My passenger side actuator has been shot for months.

 

I have the same problem...I think I will break down and pay the Ford dealer to do the work. I started off looking at doing it myself and just don't think I can do it quick enough to where it's worth the savings..

Great posts!

 

The trucks that have keyless entry have a module under the dash on the drivers side that controls the lock/unlock of the doors. That could pssibly be a problem. Thanks for the info on the actuators. I am going to try that with my own truck so i can hook up my keyless entry with my remote start i have in my truck. At 150 apeice here for them,its hard to justify that to fix a convinience. But i will let you know how things work.

 

My 1999 F150 Extended cab had bad actuators which we replaced today with some I bought online for $12 including shipping. They work great. I just wanted to let anyone who has to do this that the way to get the door panel off is to remove the snap in door handle piece, pull it away from the door at the back and slide it over the handle. And the upright panel on the window above the door lock snaps right off too. Then there are two brass screws to remove, one behind the door handle piece and one at the top of the door panel under the window panel once it is removed. Snap out the control panel for the locks and windows by lifting from the front and sliding forward and up. You will need to tuck this through the opening when you pull the panel off. Then just lift up and out on the door panel to remove it. Unplug the light and set the door panel aside. We unplugged the gray plug from the original actuator, pryed it with a long screw driver. Very carefully stripped back some of the tape to separate the two red wires from the others. Cut the connector wires, attached female plug ends and plugged them to the new actuators. Red wire with black tracer goes to green on the actuator that I bought. Attached the actuator to the included strip. Located it on the inside of the door drilled holes and attached it with screws and lock nuts. Just like most have indicated, it takes awhile to figure out the first side and then the other side goes quickly.