Hi, 

New to the forum and to the 2014 Ranger 2.2L 6 speed which I recently bought. The super cab version with the little suicide back doors.

It arrived with what I mistook to be a flat battery in the fob, it would always try to unlock the doors when pressed but would not lock!

So I replaced battery in the 2 button fob and seemed to lock/unlock fine for a day or so then refused to lock for several days... From here on it's been pretty much rinse and repeat! 

Sometimes the fob will lock, then I go to the local shop and back. It will lock fine when I get there but refuses to lock when I get home again (5 mile round trip) 

Same if I'm out all day, can do 20 miles get out, wont lock. Then go another mile and it will then lock like nothing is wrong for another couple of days.

 

Went back to the Main dealer and after taking a mortgage out to pay for the very lengthy diagnostic cost I was told it was a 'poor reception from the key fob' and needed a new fob and key. 
Waited a couple of days for the new key then went to collect vehicle, checked vehicle at the dealership and went home. All was fine for a few days and then back to not locking again!

least I got a new key to show for it (shame it wasn't gold!)

 

It will ALWAYS unlock from the fob: Flash the hazards and cycle the locks open when unlock is pressed even when already unlocked and to the range I would expect approx 20-30ft. The same with lock (when it works)!

When lock doesn't work, it is just DOB pressing the button gets no response from the vehicle at all. No hazards, no interior light turn off, doesn't even cycle the locks... Just nothing! 

 Just wondered if anyone had any suggestions what I could be checking to try and isolate the cause of the fault that the main dealer doesn't want to spend the time doing? 

Is this a common issue with the weird door latches, any wiring or connectors prone to corrosion etc?

 

Have you used FORScan to check and see if there are any DTC's for the RKM ?

Have you measured the vehicles battery voltage and check that it's SOC is more than 55%

On 10/6/2024 at 11:40 PM, unofix said:

Have you used FORScan to check and see if there are any DTC's for the RKM ?

Have you measured the vehicles battery voltage and check that it's SOC is more than 55%

Very sorry for the very late reply, apparently having reply notifications on doesn't actually notify me. Will have to remember to check back!

 

No idea what Forscan is? 

The main dealer did not give me a specific fault code but they did say the diagnostic came back as poor remote signal. Can I assume the poor signal fault would be from the RKM?

Current battery charge as of today is 12.5V so that's a 99.2% SOC, right? (It appears to be a newer battery though it isn't a heavy duty battery that i'm used to seeing on other similar trucks like this)

I will keep battery tester in the vehicle and check this again when the truck refuses to lock on the fob, at the moment the fob is locking the vehicle. 

 

I did read other posts for different model fords that suggested looking at the RKM and checking it was bolted down and grounded properly... But I can't find the RKM. Are you able to advise on the location of the RKM on this model and I can check this also? ( UK model )  

If FORScan is dealer only, it's unlikely I will get this done. 

The main dealer up here seems to be less than reputable and I don't plan on going back there, my own experience so far also seems to corroborate this! 

Whilst fetching the vehicle home from them the speedo stopped working and the fuel return cooler sprang a leak. 

 

Main dealer had the vehicle up on the lift and had been underneath which I thought was strange for the fault they were trying to locate. May have just been a coincidence, but somewhat suspicious!

The speedo turned out to be a loose connector block on the side of the gearbox which took me about 2 mins to find as it had clearly been pulled off it's retaining bracket and a nearly new fuel cooler which showed signs of being bent at the mounting bracket! 

 

 

Update on the battery:

Failed to lock today, battery is sitting at 12.8v

On 10/19/2024 at 4:48 PM, Ibn Rustah said:

If FORScan is dealer only, it's unlikely I will get this done. 

Forscan is not main dealer at all.  It's effectively a clone for private use.

Just a small point. With a 10 year old car, I would dump the 'main dealer', get yourself a reputable local independent garage. They don't have marble flooring and expensive coffee machines to finance!

FORScan - download for free:

On 4/7/2024 at 8:59 PM, unofix said:

FORScan (for use with Windows Laptop) : https://forscan.org/download.html

It's what many Ford owners use including some Ford technicians.

vLinker FS, cable for laptop: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vgate-vLinker-Adapter-FORScan-MS-CAN/dp/B0952P4MLP

vLinker FD, for android phone: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vgate-Bluetooth-vLinker-Scanner-Diagnostic/dp/B08H82WC8L

vLinker FD+, for iPhone: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vgate-Bluetooth-vLinker-Scanner-Diagnostic/dp/B08H8JHWP2

 

Search Tag:   FORScan123

 

Ahhh, righto. Thanks peeps! 

I do plan on hanging onto this truck until the death of Diesel, so I'm sat waiting on the obd cable off amazon just now!

Shame the android app Isnt available anymore. Yea I read that I can still side load the app but read there was something that cant be done using the app and Bluetooth plug (not sure what exactly, but seems like the extra functionality of the windows version might be handy to have?)

I miss the good old no ecu days of my Fourtrak! Central locking didn't work on that either... Well actually the locks didn't work at all, but no one in their right mind would want to steal it so didn't matter anyhow 🤣

 

Can't help feel like FORScan won't help much with this particular problem though? Just seems way too intermittent of a fault for it to be something to do with the trucks brain, I'm leaning towards a loose ground or broken wire somewhere to do with the remote receiver unit?

 

Dunno if it helps, didn't think to mention before but: 

When the fob doesn't lock the truck, if I lock it with the key the central locking seems to operate fine! All the doors and the fuel cap lock, however the interior light remains on? 

 

19 hours ago, StephenFord said:

Just a small point. With a 10 year old car, I would dump the 'main dealer', get yourself a reputable local independent garage. They don't have marble flooring and expensive coffee machines to finance!

Yea well, Main dealer wasn't my first choice but since the problem seemed so odd I thought (incorrectly) that it was possibly a known issue and they'd be on it like a rash! Clearly messing with the fuel cooler and the harness connector on the gearbox wasn't the place to look after all! 

Oh, on a similar note... They even wanted me to sign a waver for what they said was a 'crank case oil leak' which turned out to be spillage from the oil filler cap! Truck hasn't lost a drop of oil since I bought it 5 months ago!

On a mostly unrelated note... 
Is it worth getting the truck remapped? Had a look about and there only seems to be Stage 1 remap available that claims to be 30% increase in bhp and better fuel economy (can't quite wrap my head round more bhp and better fuel economy though!)

🤔Alternatively is that something I could do myself with FORScan?

6 minutes ago, Ibn Rustah said:

...Alternatively is that something I could do myself with FORScan?

No. ForScan is primarily an analytical tool, with the ability to change some standard configuration of functionality. 'Remapping' is a black art which messes with the standard ECU settings, and you need someone that really knows what they're doing to carry it out.

4 hours ago, StephenFord said:

No. ForScan is primarily an analytical tool, with the ability to change some standard configuration of functionality. 'Remapping' is a black art which messes with the standard ECU settings, and you need someone that really knows what they're doing to carry it out.

Fair enough lol.

As long as I can't FUBAR anything with Forscan then! Anything to do with the ecu is black arts to me.

10 hours ago, Ibn Rustah said:

Can't help feel like FORScan won't help much with this particular problem though? Just seems way too intermittent of a fault for it to be something to do with the trucks brain,

Use one of the phone versions of FORScan with either the android or iPhone dongle. Then if and when the fault occurs you can instantly check to see if there is a diagnostic trouble code present.

Righto, OBD cable arrived this evening. 

Don't really know what I'm looking at so I've attached them, but think there are 2 fault codes?

 

The most relevant one that says something about the 'PATS key' seems to be from the 3rd of June which is about a week before I received the vehicle from the dealer!

Another Update for today:

Been out and about since 8 this morning on errands to suppliers etc. and covered around 120 miles in total.

Been in and out of the truck about a dozen times and locked without fail using the fob, got home 15 mins ago and wouldn't lock. Put FORScan on and still just shows the 2 faults as posted above.

 

Does this put me back at square one chasing a physical problem?

7 hours ago, Ibn Rustah said:

Does this put me back at square one chasing a physical problem?

Does this problem with the remote locking only ever occur when you are at home ?

Is the remote lock/unlock working as normal when you are away from home ?

Nope, Its completely intermittent sometimes it locks at home, sometimes doesn't.

Repeated visits to the same away from home locations, again locks or doesn't depending how it feels. Sometimes it will lock all day long when the vehicle is in use, sometime it will go a day or more and not lock at all when used. 

The only constant factor I've managed to pin down is for the fault to occur or clear up the vehicles needs to have been used or moved. To me it seems like a bad ground** or damaged wire somewhere, but everything I've checked and jiggled so far in the dash or the doors has not replicated or fixed the fault. 

 

But I see what you're thinking though i'm pretty confident its not interference. That would also affect the ability to unlock the vehicle as it's still the same frequency right?  Litterally only the ability to 'lock' is being affected.

 

**Edit... maybe not a bad ground either cos that would also stop it from unlocking wouldn't it?

Edited October 25, 20241 yr by Ibn Rustah

Another update: 

Went to work last night, Still wasn't locking when I got there (Locked using key and checked all doors were locked) 

Unlocked on the fob this morning and drove home. Still wouldn't lock when I got home. 

Had a nap until 11.00. Checked if car would lock on the fob and nothing. pressed unlock and the lights flashed and tried to unlock (as you expect). Tried to lock again immediately after and nothing, still DOB

Opened and closed all doors a couple of times and gave them a bit of a slam (trying to jiggle any loose connections) 

Still DOB trying to lock with the fob. 

Went and got the lappy and sat in the car, tried to lock again before plugging obd in and still nothing.

Plugged obd in, set ignition to ON and connected, set it to view PIDs->BCMii-> put these random wotsits on the screen (see attached) no reason other than to see what they did, except the door switches I wanted to look at those! But mostly I was just playing about. 

Turned off ignition, removed key and tried to lock with the fob and still nothing. That last one 'RKE_Message' didn't change when pressing lock on the fob. 

Started the truck, let it run 30 secs then stopped and removed the key. Pressed lock on the fob...  and F me... it blood well locked on the fob???  

At NO point between starting engine and turning engine off did ANY of the door/bonnet/boot switches change state nor did I open a door before trying to lock it! All I did was turn engine off, remove key from ignition and press 'lock' on the fob! Probably less than 5secs, 10 at the very most.

 

 

Ps. What's the difference between 'Door switch' and 'Door ajar' look to be the same thing to me? If door has just snecked but not shut properly they both still show as open!

Pps. I didn't want you to see me, that's why i put tape over the camera before taking a photo 🤪

Had another offhand thought!

This is an Ex-fleet vehicle, only came with 1 pretty gnarly key which I very much doubt is the master.  (Both the key I received with the vehicle and the Ford Main dealer supplied new key both exhibit the same 'problem' with locking) 

Lease Co never seem to pass them on, go figure. Could this be some dappy key coding issue as a result of not having the master present???

Edited October 26, 20241 yr by Ibn Rustah
Typos

4 hours ago, Ibn Rustah said:

Could this be some dappy key coding issue as a result of not having the master present???

On your model/year there is no master key, both remote keyfobs should be equally the same.

Now there is the possibility that the replacement keyfob is not a genuine Ford item and is actually a 'clone' of the original. This is never a good idea, but it is something that companies like Timpsons do.

You could spend about £200 and get a Ford dealer to provide you with a brand new keyfob. They will programme it in to the vehicle and also reprogramme in any other keyfobs you have at the same time. While this might seem costly, it does mean that any other keyfobs that might be out there for your truck will be deleted from the vehicles memory and will cease to work. It would also show if the replacement keyfob is in fact only a clone, at which point they would not be able to programme that back in to the vehicle since it would have the same transponder number.

1 hour ago, unofix said:

On your model/year there is no master key, both remote keyfobs should be equally the same.

Now there is the possibility that the replacement keyfob is not a genuine Ford item and is actually a 'clone' of the original. This is never a good idea, but it is something that companies like Timpsons do.

You could spend about £200 and get a Ford dealer to provide you with a brand new keyfob. They will programme it in to the vehicle and also reprogramme in any other keyfobs you have at the same time. While this might seem costly, it does mean that any other keyfobs that might be out there for your truck will be deleted from the vehicles memory and will cease to work. It would also show if the replacement keyfob is in fact only a clone, at which point they would not be able to programme that back in to the vehicle since it would have the same transponder number.

I should hope that the new replacement supplied by the main dealer (TrustFord Aberdeen) is 'genuine'. I would need to check the invoice but pretty darn sure final cost was along the lines of £260-£280 just for the new key alone, it was itemised as Key fob + coding + key blank + cutting. My butt sorely hopes they didn't just run down to Timpson's at any rate! 

The Key I received with the seller seems genuine but maybe harder to be sure from the overall worn, well used and battered state. But should we assume at least one key isn't cloned and discount that for at least one keyfob?

 

Soo, back to FORScan and the previous post?

Is there a PID I can add to that live view list that can confirm or deny if a signal is actually being received from the fob, regardless of the ecu acting on it or not? 

RKE_Message doesn't seem to show that but only an actual state change from 'locked' to 'unlocked'. ie. there is no update on when a signal was received: example unlocked @ 10:02 & 20 sec again unlocked @ 10:03 & 05 secs!

 

Could you or anyone advise on the location of the receiver or what it looks like as this still doesn't discount the possibility of loose connector, damaged trace or poor continuity from a receiver connection?

 

The receiver is usually above the roof lining on cars.  Though I don't know if it's the same place for trucks.  Some are near the courtesy light at the front, others are nearer the rear and accessed more easily from the boot.  Is there are any easy access to the roof lining on the Ranger?

44 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

  Is there are any easy access to the roof lining on the Ranger?

Looks about 50/50 but possibly the rear end roof lining to be pedantic, as just a couple of coat hooks through the liner over the back screen. Front would need grab handles and visors taking down to access that. 

Either way a heck of an easier place for me to start looking than trying to pull the dash apart. I hadn't been able to find owt that looks obvious in the usual access spots like back of glove box or the easy to pull off footwell covers etc.

I'm assuming it's something about the size of a cigarette packet with an FCC id label (like any other RF equipment), if not I could have overlooked it already tbh! 

16 minutes ago, Ibn Rustah said:

Looks about 50/50 but possibly the rear end roof lining to be pedantic, as just a couple of coat hooks through the liner over the back screen. Front would need grab handles and visors taking down to access that. 

Either way a heck of an easier place for me to start looking than trying to pull the dash apart. I hadn't been able to find owt that looks obvious in the usual access spots like back of glove box or the easy to pull off footwell covers etc.

I'm assuming it's something about the size of a cigarette packet with an FCC id label (like any other RF equipment), if not I could have overlooked it already tbh! 

Not sure what an FCC label is but they usually say 433MHz somewhere on them.  This is a Focus one but I would expect it to be similar on the Ranger.

On 10/27/2024 at 11:05 AM, Ibn Rustah said:

Looks about 50/50 but possibly the rear end roof lining to be pedantic, as just a couple of coat hooks through the liner over the back screen. Front would need grab handles and visors taking down to access that. 

Either way a heck of an easier place for me to start looking than trying to pull the dash apart. I hadn't been able to find owt that looks obvious in the usual access spots like back of glove box or the easy to pull off footwell covers etc.

I'm assuming it's something about the size of a cigarette packet with an FCC id label (like any other RF equipment), if not I could have overlooked it already tbh! 

Hi did you solve your problem has my Kuga has the same problem