Remote fob not working, key tested with signal detector

[shogran]

Hi guys,

Bit of an annoying one, in the process of camper conversion so have had the front of the cab stripped while I insulated and added in some remi blinds. I also had seats our and replaced with new ones which involved the battery being disconnected for a few days. On putting all back together I've noticed by key doesn't remote lock/unlock it any more.

At first I thought I'd just missed the connector in the headliner shelf but I've checked and it's all plugged in, key is lighting up an RF detector when pushing the buttons so that works and it still starts the van okay. Can unlock the door with the key from the outside, and the internal central locking buttons work to lock/unlock all doors. I've checked the fuse for the GPS/Sync/Receiver and that's fine. If I put a multimeter to the cable that connects to the receiver I see voltage where expected.

This lead me to believe the unit was faulty, so got a replacement from breakers but same issue. I've plugged ForScan in and can't see any obvious errors.. Not tried going through the PATS to delete and relearn the key as it correctly shows 3 keys are linked and I can start the van. Nervous about breaking that.

Can any body offer any suggestions for things I may have overlooked or things to try? Is it worth trying to relearn the keys in ForScan?

[Altransit]

Is it worth trying to relearn the keys in ForScan?

No, if it starts the van, then the system is aware of the key.

[shogran]

Thanks for the clarification! Rules one thing out!

[Altransit]

Do all three keys behave the same way

[shogran]

Unfortunately the other two keys aren't remote unlocks, just standard keys. Only thing I can think of currently is I got really unlucky and the receiver from the breaker is dead too. Or potentially something is killing the receivers when I plug it in.. But not seeing any spikes anywhere. Unsure how to test the receiver itself now I've confirmed the key battery appears to be okay.

Don't suppose anybody has a wiring diagram where the receiver connects to the loom?

IMG20240524200526.jpg

[shogran]

Small update, I think this has been not working for longer than I first thought. Last year I replaced the loom that runs from the driver pillar all the way around the van to all the lights etc. I have a video of me checking all the lights work as expected but not testing the remote fob (most likely as I hadn't put the headliner back in). But content that the lights worked and the central locking worked didn't forsee an issue.

Fast forward to now, I've found a wiring diagram for the receiver and if does not match what I'm getting from the connector on this loom at all. It also doesn't match the wires shown in this thread https://fordtransit.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=216834

My van is the base spec with no extras so I (incorrectly) assumed that any loom for the high roof jumbo would work for me. As it turns out literally everything else seems fine with the exception of the remote receiver wiring.

Here is what I have (reference the photo in post above):

YELLOW - 0V
GREEN AND VIOLET - 0V
VIOLET AND BLACK - 0V
BLUE AND VIOLET - 11.55V
WHITE AND ORANGE - 12.35V
RED AND WHITE - 12.35V

All permanent, none switched

Whereas I should have this:

Screenshot_2024-05-27-13-18-07-20.jpg

This suggests to me the connector I have is intended for something else, I've no idea what. But I definitely can't find the twisted pair for CAN that I'd expect. Short of replacing the entire loom, I think I night end up trying to correct the pins on the connector so that they match up with the correct pins on the van end using the wiring diagram.

[shogran]

In the interest of closing this up and helping anybody else that finds this, I have got my remote locking working again with the original receiver and no reprogramming of anything.

If you are also having issues and have found this thread, there is a very slim chance that the issue you are having is the same as what I experienced, unless you have replaced any looms with ones that were not for your exact spec of van.

So it turned out that the connector I had above my headliner, exactly where the connector for the central locking on my original loom was; was not for central locking on this new loom. I've still not worked out exactly what it was for, but presumably vehicles equipped with optional extras such as tacograph etc. I could not find any other connectors on the loom that would fit the remote receiver or matched the pinout, I wasn't aware that remote unlocking was an optional extra but maybe it is.

In the end I paid for access to full wiring diagrams via the Ford Motor Works website, I paid for one hour and saved PDF copies of all areas I thought would be relevant. I was also able to obtain the full pinouts of all relevant connectors and their locations which enabled me to identify the signal cable for the remote receiver.

I depinned this from the van side of the loom and ran it to the connector using some wire from an old loom I had lying around. I used the +12V and Ground from the existing connector above the headliner, and connected to the MS CAN high and low using the unused connector under the dash that I believe is for access to test the network. This is all run in such a way that the original connectors could be easily repinned/unplugged and used for their original purpose with no cutting/splicing to the main looms.

Lessons learned: Don't try to save money by buying cheaper looms online from a similar vehicle and hope for the best, don't assume everything is working just because most things are without thoroughly testing and stop photograph everything before and after changes!