2002 Buttons on driver's door stopped working

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phoeg

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Jun 10, 2018
Thunderbird Year
2002
I have a 2002 Thunderbird, and recently the trunk lid release, driver's side window, power door lock control on driver's side do not work. The key fobs work and still open the passenger door, but you have to manually unlock the driver's door. When you lock the car using the fob you can't activate the alarm. Also, the headlights don't work, but the panel lights come on when you turn the headlight switch.

Past issue still unresolved: after a period of use the headlights would go on and off by themselves whilst the panel lights stayed on. (Drivers were mad thinking I was flashing at them.) Also...the intermittent wipers won't work. You turn to "INT" and nothing. The wipers work at high or low speed. Additionally, sometimes the wipers will come on intermittently...when the selector is in the OFF position.

So now I have all those issues. AT one point I suspected the multi-function switch had a short as the intermittent lights and phantom wiper problem appeared at the same time, but that's only theory. I thought maybe some connector in the driver's door was loose, and would explain the buttons on that door not working, but why the headlights?

Checking fuses? the manual uses all sorts of abbreviations that are then nowhere to be found, so I have no idea which ones I might check.

Any ideas based on these symptoms?

Paul
 

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phoeg said:
I have a 2002 Thunderbird, and recently the trunk lid release, driver's side window, power door lock control on driver's side do not work. The key fobs work and still open the passenger door, but you have to manually unlock the driver's door. When you lock the car using the fob you can't activate the alarm. Also, the headlights don't work, but the panel lights come on when you turn the headlight switch.

Past issue still unresolved: after a period of use the headlights would go on and off by themselves whilst the panel lights stayed on. (Drivers were mad thinking I was flashing at them.) Also...the intermittent wipers won't work. You turn to "INT" and nothing. The wipers work at high or low speed. Additionally, sometimes the wipers will come on intermittently...when the selector is in the OFF position.

So now I have all those issues. AT one point I suspected the multi-function switch had a short as the intermittent lights and phantom wiper problem appeared at the same time, but that's only theory. I thought maybe some connector in the driver's door was loose, and would explain the buttons on that door not working, but why the headlights?

Checking fuses? the manual uses all sorts of abbreviations that are then nowhere to be found, so I have no idea which ones I might check.

Any ideas based on these symptoms?

Paul
Click to expand...
I am curious. Did these problems just start or have you just bought the car? Is the check engine light on? Did you put an analyzer on it?
 
After reading your post again, I had that exact same issue. The wipers and headlights along with the dash lights are symptoms of the FEM (front electronic module) going bad. Do a search of this forum for FEM. I had mine replaced at the Ford dealer and all is well. Other issues are the radio will not go off after taking the key out and opening the door. The driver side window will not operate. The top will not go up and the steering remains in freeway mode after you get off the freeway. You are looking at an 1100 dollar repair.

People are going to tell you to disconnect the battery to reset the computer. Some will tell you that the battery is old and not putting out enough power. I change out the battery. That did not fix the problem. I checked fuses and did all the trouble shooting you are about to do. When you replace the FEM they will be all gone.
 
I'm convinced it's the FEM. Elsewhere online I read of another symptom I'd forgotten about: my power steering suddenly felt stiff. Others reported this a problem along with all the other odd symptoms I have.

I'll probably be asking more questions in the next day or two.
 
Dave182 said:
Did these cars come standard with Gremlins in the trunk?
Click to expand...
The REM is in the trunk, or actually in the back someplace. The FEM is down by the drivers feet. So,I guess you could say the gremlin is in the driver's seat.
 
Gus Gutz said:
...when the headlights went out on the way to work at 0400 hrs, it was time to replace the FEM.
Click to expand...

Ours went out near sunset, and it was a 30 minute drive home. As my original post said, I made drivers mad thinking I was flashing at them. It has since been a daytime car. Maybe this fix will change that.
 
Mine started with all sorts of random things. Right after I got the car, I had an oil light come on. I checked it and the oil was fine, but did an oil change anyway. Then one day, the window on the driver side did not drop. I forced the door open. When I started the car, the oil light issue was back. It cleared up after a second start. After driving the freeway the steering would stay stiff after getting off freeway. That cleared up after restarting.

One day the wipers would just wipe once. That happened a few times driving down the freeway. Then it started to rain and turning on the wipers did not work. Things started to get worse. I took my daughter out for ice cream with the top down When we returned the top would not go up and the radio would not go off even after taking the key out and opening the doors. About 30 minutes later, the top worked and the radio went off.

A few weeks after those problems, I had the issue with the lights. I drive to work at 0400 hrs. They just went off. I pulled over and restarted the car. The lights worked again. Later that week, I got to work and the lights just went out as I was parking. The radio would not shut off. I had to pull the battery to shut the radio down. A few times during the day, I connected the battery and the radio came on.

That evening, I took it to the Ford dealer. They said it was not showing any codes and everything seemed OK. I asked about the FEM from reading this forum and they said the symptoms were consistent with the FEM going bad. I asked them to replace it. The part is about 700 from the Ford dealer and they were able to find one. They gave me the core and someplace else on this forum I posted pictures of labels showing the part numbers.

Since the FEM was replaced none of the above issues have shown up. Other strange issues seemed to have cleared up too. If you are not going to get it fixed, check your brake lights and make sure your brake lights work.
 
Thanks for the brake light tip. I may have the codes checked just to see if anything is showing. Oh, I just had the oil light show up after replacing the battery, and likewise, it has full oil.

Did you install the unit yourself? It doesn't look too hard to access based on some graphics I saw elsewhere. Also wondering if the unit has to be programmed at the dealer prior to installation or is it something they hook up the unit is in? (Maybe a dumb question, but one never knows the process.)

I'm going to call some dealers in a few minutes. That should be..."interesting."
 
I had the dealer do everything. There is a place online that you can send it to and they will reprogram it. No sure how reliable they are. I will fix the mechanical stuff but I did not want to deal with the computer stuff.
 
I'm now very worried. I called my favorite local Ford dealer (where always get good service) and the parts guy said he shows them as available from Ford. I read somewhere else online that the supplier to Ford went belly up and thus went the source of parts. Maybe Ford got someone else as this may be common to other models.

Anyway, the price was...$704. (I didn't get a labor estimate, but seeing it's a fairly easy part to reach it shouldn't be too bad.) I saw other modules online selling for $1000+ from aftermarket providers!

So why am I worried? When things start going right for me I get suspicious! That just doesn't happen! LOL
 
phoeg said:
I'm now very worried. I called my favorite local Ford dealer (where always get good service) and the parts guy said he shows them as available from Ford. I read somewhere else online that the supplier to Ford went belly up and thus went the source of parts. Maybe Ford got someone else as this may be common to other models.

Anyway, the price was...$704. (I didn't get a labor estimate, but seeing it's a fairly easy part to reach it shouldn't be too bad.) I saw other modules online selling for $1000+ from aftermarket providers!

So why am I worried? When things start going right for me I get suspicious! That just doesn't happen! LOL
Click to expand...
My Ford dealer had no problem getting it. It took a few days and was shipped from Ontario California to San Diego. (about 100 miles) I paid about 700 and the dealer put a warranty on the part, I think 4 years.

I attached a pdf on what the manual says about removal.
 

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