Wish to remove auto-lock "feature"

Does this have an aftermarket remote start or alarm system?

Believe it or not, that is a FEATURE not a bug. It is designed to do that. If you dont want it on, there should be a procedure to turn it off in your owners manual. That would be a book that is distributed with your vehicle at the time of purchase. If it wasnt in the vehicle when you bought it, you can find them on e-bay, or at your local Ford dealer.

I wish to prevent this. I have

Nope no wiring around it or otherwise. Its called a VSM (vehicle security module) it also controls your dome lights and such.

Have you just tried to pull the interior door handle while they are locked? If so you will notice that on Ford's, the doors automatically unlock when you pull the inside handle. Only on the front doors though, not on the back doors. That is part of your child safety features built into Ford vehicles, and has been pretty much standard on all power door lock systems for Ford...

Ford Tech

Once upon a Tue, 20 Mar 2007 08:15:46 GMT dreary...over many a quaint and curious alt.autos.ford of forgotten lore... quoth "Jim Warman" ...

No.

I too find that "feature" annoying and unnecessary. This has been discontinued on later vehicles. My crown vic does it.

Once upon a Wed, 21 Mar 2007 14:19:58 -0500 dreary...over many a quaint and curious alt.autos.ford of forgotten lore... quoth "Ford Tech" ...

It is no more a feature because Ford declares it so, than Micro$oft's bugs are features because Micro$oft declares them so.

I'm sorry, I thought it obvious that if I took the time to look through the Clinton manual and prowl the Internet (vide my next paragraph), that I did so AFTER checking the Owner's Manual. If that was not obvious to anyone, please consider it said. ;-)

Is there any way to block or reroute whatever signal the VSM is sending to (whatever it sends it to) so that it will not activate the (whatever is activated)?

The problem still remains: my doors are being locked and unlocked without me choosing to. I consider this unacceptable. I wish to make the decision as to when the doors are locked and unlocked. I should (in MORAL sense) not have to kowtow to some idiot designer's whim, by having to go through some rigamarol every time I start up, or stop, the engine.

If anyone has ANY helpful ideas, I would be glad to read them. :-)

The solenids are probably driven through a relay. Pulling the relay will disable the entire electric locking system.

I had to pay $39 to the dealer to get this "feature" disabled in my 03 windstar. The nicely worded procedure in the owners manual didn't work. Even the dealer could not get the procedure to work. (it involves entering codes in the keyless entry number pad). They had to plug a computer into it.

I was able to disable the "feature" quite easily in my 00 Chev Venture.

Another "feature" I hate:

-Air conditioner that runs whenever I put the defroster on. It's not supposed to run below 12C but on some cars it will still run at -3C. I've gone so far as to disconnect it for the winter on past vehicles.

That is generally true but not all Fords unlock only the front doors, some will open the rears with a second pull. Some Lincolns like the Zephyr MKZ. MKX unlock all the doors with the default setting but can be programmed to open only the front doors. The Fusion and Milam may be similar. The automatic lock feature lock the door at speed not time. Personally in todays world of highjackers I prefer the autolock.

mike

This begs the question "Why"? The AC runs in the Defrost mode to dehumidify the interior and prevent the windows from fogging. It also has the benefit of keeping the oil circulated in the AC system. At low temps the pressures in the AC system are low, so there is little load. There is no discernible fuel savings and you run the risk of damage to the AC system with it disconnected. And no, running the AC doesn't reduce the heater output. Can you explain why having the AC running in Defrost is a bad thing?

Most Ford Owner Guides are available for download as pdf files.

The OP implies that he has a manual, since he mentions both his lack of keyless entry, and the use of a procedure that didn't work.

Raid? ;)

mike

Once upon a Thu, 22 Mar 2007 12:41:54 -0400 dreary...over many a quaint and curious alt.autos.ford of forgotten lore... quoth "Mike Hunter" ...

Perhaps on your car, but not on mine. *AS* *I* *SAID*, when I put the key in the ignition, and turn to ON (WITHOUT STARTING THE CAR, *AS* *I*

*SAID*), after a wait of 3-5 seconds, all the doors lock.

To repeat my question: how do I disable this *B*U*G*?

Once upon a 22 Mar 2007 02:44:53 -0700 dreary...over many a quaint and curious alt.autos.ford of forgotten lore... quoth snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com...

Do you have any idea where that relay is? Or, what source I can use to find out where it is? Neither my Owner's Manual nor the Chilton's for this make&model have this info. Indeed, the Chilton's doesn't even discuss the subject, and the wiring diagrams in it don't show the door locks at all.

Simply because it is cold outside and it is not needed. The heater output is sufficient for defogging/ defrosting the windshield.

I want to decide what equipment to run in my car. I don't want big brother to make it work based on voodoo.

If you don't have a manual or anything then you're reduced to pulling them one at a time, click the keyfob and see if the locks still respond.

Some Internet sources say that it's possibly behind the glove compartment, and another source said this about the 99:

"in the 2nd generation...in the jack compartment...auxialiary relay box #2 is in there...and there is an unlock and lock relay in there...so there are 2 relays...one for each...but i dont know what the 1st generation...perhaps the same..."

It's obviously not needed for cooling, but that's not an issue in low temps. It doesn't really "cool", it dehumidifies. If you want to believe that the heater/defrost is adaquate without it, that's your choice. Cars without AC Suck Badly on cool rainy days. I've owned many and know from where I speak. Running the AC in defrost is IMHO one of the best "bugs" ever designed into an MVAC system.

You don't have a choice of when the PS pump, alternator, water pump, etc run on your car without your input. Is that "Big Brother" voodoo also? How about the PCM controlling the fuel mixture or transmission shifting? That's some pretty BIG friggin voodoo, Big Brother or not. Take a Xanax Denis, it sounds like you need it. If not, at least tighten up your tin foil hat.

You may want to take a look at how an a/c system works. If it works down to -3C, it is charged and the clutch cycling switch will not allow it to work lower. This is because of the pressure/temperature relationship. This is low enough to make sure a defroster works properly. Some vehicles have an ambient temperature sensor that cuts out the a/c compressor below some preset temp. There is no voodoo involved other than your misunderstanding how and why the system is designed to work as it does. Nothing to do with big brother any more than the myriad of other functions that your vehicle automatically takes care of to protect you from yourself. Instead of big brother, you may want to blame the American Trial Lawyers Associations or the ACLU or the Teamsters or MADD or the NRA or the Boy Scouts or the Girl Scouts or any one of an endless list of interested parties since you need someone to blame for the engineers trying to please the customer at the same time as everyone else who - like yourself - think they best understand how to design and build a vehicle. You may want to look for a reason that something is the way it is instead of not the way you want it.

Lugnut

I know when the air conditioner in my car is running and when it is not. For a living I operate over 8400 tons of refrigeration. I had a 95 windstar that ran the air conditioning COMPRESSOR down to a low of about -3c and I unplugged the compressor for the winter.

I have a 97 Cavalier that runs the COMPRESSOR down to the low single digit temps. I avoid using the defroster because running heating and cooling at the same time is just stupid and a waste of energy. Do you do this in your home?

My other beef with newer cars is headlights that stay on after you have left the car. Newer GM's keep them on for a minute or more. My windstar keeps them on for about 15 seconds. I cannot even begin to imagine a real reason for keeping all the lights on after the car is off. It unneccesarily taxes the electrical system, especially in the winter when short trips do not have sufficient time or engine rpm to replace the battery charge that was lost to starting and running electrical accessories.

I, along with other engineers I work with on a daily basis, yearn for cars with simplicity. Sure the electronics that operate the engine and transmission are a great improvement. A lot of the other crap they put in there to make the car more "sophisticated" for women and and for people who don't know any better. I guess this all stems from a distrust of the long-term reliability of accessories due to bad experiences. Things like heated seats failing when just off warranty, or a power seat that fails in the most awkward position imaginable. Power windows that always fail open. Electronic modules that cost more than the car is worth or become unobtainable when the car is 12 year old. I am fortunate that I now have sufficient income to be able to get rid of a car when it turns 8. On the plus side, the electronic modules seem to be much more reliable than they were in the 80's and 90's when my mistrust was built up.

They certainly do. cool rainy days, or days when its a wet snow, the AC in my car no longer works, and it just can't keep the windows clear.

On the other hand, i had an old 88 nissan sentra, and that thing would never fog up.. i don't know why.

Now the womans civic... that bastard you can frig with the controls all day, and you can NOT get the windows to defog well ... esp the rear doors... those thigns are perma fogged all winter.. i find this on al ot of new cars.