Door Keypad intermittent 2004 Sport Trac

[Adam Smith]

Stuck at the beach this morning, door wouldn't unlock; keys, wallet, cellphone, insurance card, slim jim all locked inside. Luckily Lifeguards looked up roadside assistance # for my insurance co. and let me use their phone. While waiting for tow truck, I kept trying, and after about 40 - 50 attempts it opened. Same thing happened ~3 years ago, then resolved by itself. I've now taped a spare key to the bed extender behind the tailgate (which I should have done last time). Now it seems to work but only after 2 - 3 attempts. I followed directions from the manual to reset the factory code (so I would be able to use never-used buttons) but the new code won't set. I just washed my truck yesterday, could a drop of water have shorted it out? I assume that if it was a broken wire, it wouldn't have self-resolved, either this time, or last time. And when I was trying to get in for 15 minutes in the beginning of the event this morning, if I simultaneously pressed the 7-8 and 9-0 buttons, it Always worked, audibly locking all doors (they were already locked, but it was clearly trying). The 7-8 and 9-0 button combo continues to works fine to lock all doors. Any ideas? Thank you.

 

[blert]

Just for clarification...
When you punch in the code it does nothing? Can you hear the mechanism trying to unlock the door?

 

[Adam Smith]

Nothing, no noise at all.

 

[DILLARD000]

If you drive on the beach frequently, humidity+sand+salt can do real damage to all sorts of items on any vehicle.

 

[Adam Smith]

I just drove down to the parking lot at the beach, I live 300+' above sea level. It's dry here in San Diego.

 

[blert]

Intermittant electrical issues are the worst. I have never had to deal with this particular issue so I might be missing something that is totally obvious to someone else... Personally, I would arm myself with a small wire brush, a piece of fine sandpaper, and a tube of dielectric grease. Then go to town cleaning connectors, grounds, and searching for frayed/damaged wires. Best of luck to you, and I hope someone can come up with a more specific area you might concentrate in.

Edit: Does the FOB work?

 

[Adam Smith]

I'm not sure how to get the door apart to get the keypad out; it might be a sealed unit.
I put the FOB in a drawer when I bought the truck new. I just tried it for the 1st time, didn't work, but I'm sure the battery is dead.

 

[blert]

Just so any future readers have the info... Grab a fresh battery for your FOB. If it works reliably then that eliminates a lot of areas of concern.
Do all the buttons light up on the pad?
In the "Projects" section you will find walk-throughs for taking the door panels off. It's not hard but there is not much room to work inside the door.

 

[Adam Smith]

Well I tried the FOB again... it works. After all these years the battery is apparently still good. Not sure why it didn't work at first this morning. But the door keypad is inconsistent, when I park, I'm going to either take my keys with me (really don't want to do that), or unlock the rear passenger door and lock all others if I'm going in the water (that's got to be the last door a thief would try).
Yes, after pushing 2 buttons of the 5 buttons of the code, the pad numbers all light up.
I will check out the Projects section. Thanks.

 

[Adam Smith]

I can't find a project for Door Keypad. I went to the old site for Projects. What would I search for and how would I search? I'm not an expert on computers. Thanks.

 

[blert]

Hmmm... only one I could find no longer has pictures. Door Panel Removal, Speaker Upgrade

There are a bunch of threads strewn about this forum concerning the keyless entry system. Search for "keypad" and "keyless entry".

You can find good vids on YouTube.


It might be that you can remove the keypad from the exterior. My wife took my truck to work this morning so I can't confirm. But before I would go yanking on it I would give a look from the inside to see how it is attached.

 

[Phil Frady]

I’m 99% sure your keypad is fine. It’s easy to replace. I know this because you just described my truck. The issue is the wires being pinched Ethernet the door and the frame. On mine the loom is twisted while the door is shut causing the pinch. This is known about on the explorer forums. You could disassemble the loom and repair the damage wire(s) and all would be back to normal.
having a “Hide-a-key” is a good idea because if your battery dies the Keypad and Fob are useless, found that out.

 

[JerryRigour]

Have you tried recovering the factory code rather than programming a new code?
it can be found on top of a box that is visible looking in through the windshield, passenger. Just remove the long plastic dash piece that is closest to the glass.

 

[Adam Smith]

Have you tried recovering the factory code rather than programming a new code?
it can be found on top of a box that is visible looking in through the windshield, passenger. Just remove the long plastic dash piece that is closest to the glass.

I'm still using the factory code. I think the 1:2 button contact is getting worn, but I can't reprogram it; I've tried countless times.

 

[Adam Smith]

I’m 99% sure your keypad is fine. It’s easy to replace. I know this because you just described my truck. The issue is the wires being pinched Ethernet the door and the frame. On mine the loom is twisted while the door is shut causing the pinch. This is known about on the explorer forums. You could disassemble the loom and repair the damage wire(s) and all would be back to normal.
having a “Hide-a-key” is a good idea because if your battery dies the Keypad and Fob are useless, found that out.

Question: if my keypad is fine, why would I replace it? What is "Ethernet" the door? If there are damaged wires, why would it work after several tries? I always assumed there was a separate tiny "backup" battery for the door, in case the car battery died, but I guess not. Hideakey is taped inside the bed, nobody will notice it. Thanks.

 

[Phil Frady]

Question: if my keypad is fine, why would I replace it? What is "Ethernet" the door? If there are damaged wires, why would it work after several tries? I always assumed there was a separate tiny "backup" battery for the door, in case the car battery died, but I guess not. Hideakey is taped inside the bed, nobody will notice it. Thanks.

Sorry about that, my phone autocorrected “Between” to “Ethernet”, I don’t see the similarity but whatever.
I bought a replacement keypad and it’s super easy to replace but that did not fix my problem. My 1/2 button is the one that does’t work like yours. I have seen on the explorer/ranger pages that people are having the same problem and they show the wire loom twisted like what my door is. Some people have had luck by pulling the loom away from the plastic can attached to the door and repairing the wire. I have not tried because I haven’t felt like taking it all apart. I will probably try soon because I have to take off my window tint.

 

[blert]

Sorry about that, my phone autocorrected “Between” to “Ethernet”, I don’t see the similarity but whatever.
I bought a replacement keypad and it’s super easy to replace but that did not fix my problem. My 1/2 button is the one that does’t work like yours. I have seen on the explorer/ranger pages that people are having the same problem and they show the wire loom twisted like what my door is. Some people have had luck by pulling the loom away from the plastic can attached to the door and repairing the wire. I have not tried because I haven’t felt like taking it all apart. I will probably try soon because I have to take off my window tint.

True, that bundle is a known cause of many problems. Hope I never have to open mine up. If I ever do, you can be sure I will try to find a way to add a little slack to it and double wrap all the wires with electrical tape.

 

[Adam Smith]

Follow up: I've been being very careful to push the edge of each button, slowly and carefully, and it's usually worked on the 1st try; sometimes 2nd, and one or two times it took 3 tries. But I also have been leaving one door unlocked just in case. And I hid a key outside the cab. I'll continue to leave a door unlocked for a few more weeks just in case. Thanks to everyone for the help. It remains a mystery.