well, i finally got two ~newer~ door lock solenoids installed that were shipped to me by one of our members nearly a year and a half ago.
I had bought the 20th back in 2007 and shortly after that the driver side went out then ultimatly the pass side.
i had totally forgotten the feature where when you go from park or revers and then shift into "D", the door auto locked.
not all cougs/birds have this feature, not sure what sub-system is controlling it however thats not mind boggling, i can figure that part out.
im just thinking out loud here,, i like how it works.
on newer cars, the auto lock doesnt really happen until you reach a certain MPH,, this setup is more static and simple,,, simple i like.
thats all,,,, just thought id mention this.
There is a weight sensor under the front seat. As long as a 50+lb weight is in the drivers seat and the shifter is moved past reverse the doors will automatically lock. I've looked at the sensor when I had the front seats in my car out to be recovered. It's basically just a strip of metal under the seat cushion. I know it can be disabled by pressing a certain button after entering your keyless entry code on the door. I'd have to check the owners manual for you if you want to know what button to press to disable it.
I do like the system better than the newer reach a certain speed and the car locks system. Both the Focus and Mustang have this newer system. Did you know that if your Cougar autolocks and you open the door with the car running, get out of the car, leave the door open, and then get back in a shut the door that the car will automatically lock it self again? It also has a fail safe in place to keep you from locking the doors with the car running and in park. If you open the door with the car running, lock it and then shut it the door the car will pop the lock since their is no weight in the driver's seat. Pretty neat eh?
Please look at which button disables the feature, my TC has it and was an auto car but is now a manual and it will lock but not unlock by itself. Kinda sucks because i forget about it all the time and it never fails that when i do i need to open the passenger door.
the weight sensor could actually be made from a riding mower seat engine kill switch
our lincoln has the same anti-lock out feature...plus I believe ours wont lock, if the keys are in the ignition even if the car is off. I never tested it, but it said it did it in the manual.
I disabled mine by unplugging the weight sensor under the seat.
I may have to go that route. I did a search and found out what sequence I needed, but it doesnt seem to be disabling the feature.
I'm going to test the keys in the switch thing with car off and see what happens tomorrow.
something i noticed today,, my son got out on the pass side which was locked.,, car was in park, car was running.....
He came back over to get back in but the door was locked.???????
i just blew it off but i think i saw it happen twice now,, its like the door locked itself when he closed it even though my column shifter was in park.
does this also sound accurate?
I like this safety feature as well. seems like a rather "keep it simple stupid" design.
None of my cars ever had that feature. I never knew it existed. Learned something new today. Thanks
The only lock that will keep itself from locking (with the car running and in park) is the driver's side door lock. Apparently the system doesn't care about the passenger side lock. The system also only works with the engine running. I can lock the car with the keys in the ignition and the car off easily. The system is apparently not as smart as newer systems.
My car does not unlock itself with the car running if I step out with the door locked
Granted you have to intentionally locked the door again but still
So what is broke that I need to fix guys
My car also does not unlock itself with the car off if I leave the keys in the ignition
Mine doesn't unlock itself with the keys in the ignition and the car off. If it's running it won't let me lock the door. The key is that the car must have autolocked itself. If not the system doesn't care. I have no idea how you would fix it, as I'm not quite sure how the system works.
My car won't do it like your car will
My third Cougar has the auto lock feature engaged. The lock solenoids will kick every time I shift through neutral. When I got the car, lock solenoids in both doors were shot. I may be wrong, but I believe that the auto lock feature will cause premature solenoid failure. The solenoids kick whether the doors are already locked or not, and everytime I turn around somewhere or back up, the solenoids engage. I estimate that they are being engaged four or five times more frequently than if I was just locking and unlocking the doors when I get in or out. Due to the price of these things and issues with availability, I would think this feature should not be turned on. Even if you manually lock the doors after getting in, you will still double or triple the life of your solenoids. And to extend the solenoid life even more, you can push the lock down when exiting, and use the key to unlock the door, which will leave the passenger door locked and totally bypass using the solenoids.
thats not the point,
not interrested in life span, more interested in functionality of the orginal features sold.
do your ((or anyones)) car coug or bird ***NOT** let you lock your keys in your car???????????
You mean Smart unlock? Newer Fords will unlock if the key is in the ignition. If the door is open and the key is in, they'll lock, but then immediately unlock. I know my keyless entry code, so I don't worry about it.
no, i mean what thunderjet just said.
i tested his described situation on my 20th and the doors stayed locked. i had to press the lock button as i departed the car though then close the door.
the locks stayed locked on both sides.
I wanted to know what is broke on my car.
his will auto unlock his driver door if the car is running.
his description is that the car "must be in a situation where it auto locked itself". So if i depart the car , i am manually unlocking the door via the handle so its already unlocked.. not sure how you can depart the car with the door lock still in the lock position in order for the auto unlock to "unlock".
Mine only locks once. After it autolocks I can shift back and forth all I want and it doesn't keep locking.
Are you opening the door, pushing the lock button, and closing it? When I do that the door shuts and then the lock pops back up. I have no idea if
A: Something is broke on your car or
B: My car is a freak
Now If I could only figure out why the Mark's autolock won't work I'd be happy.
Reading this entire thread I need to thoroughly test mine tomorrow LOL. The only thing anecdotally I can CONFIRM is that I am alwayshiznitting the unlock button every time it autolocks because I don't want them locked unless I say so haha. And I'm so lazy I haven't gone and looked up the keyless entry code to disable it. What a slacker.....
My old 87 bird would constantly pop the locks locked when shifting out of park. It annoyed me to the point I unpluged the lock ijside of the door and did the old fashioned way, with a key. Being 6'5" and only having 2 doors, I really don't understand the point in power locks personally.
Correct, your write up is exactly what i described, thank you for the reply.
so, i conclude as you have to bullet A and B.
need someone else to verify ***THIER CAR DOES EXACTLY WHAT YOUR CAR DOES
Has anybody else noticed that when turning on the interior dome light, the door locks engage?
Maybe the module is different from 87 to 88? I can find the part number on mine and see if it's different than yours.
The dome light thing happens when I turn the dome light off. I am wondering if this has anything to do with wiring mods made by the previous owner when he had an el-cheapo alarm installed.
Yeah...that shouldn't happen. Gotta be a wiring problem.
Still, it does sound as if there could be a difference between '87 and '88 modules here, for jcassity's issue.
I wonder if the 88 module is different as mine doesn't do this. Once it autolocks the first time shifting from park that's the only time it locks. I can move the shifter back and forth from park to reverse after the first lock and the solenoids don't engage.
i agree, once i travel from park to D, the auto locks work , i go back to park , wait and go back to drive and i do not hear the locks do anything.
i think making the doors not lock if the key is in the ign is a worth while cause and mod. Seems like yours does this without a retrofit but my 20th does not.
I deactivated my power locks 4 or 5 years ago, hard to remember. I bugged me a lot, so I unplugged the solinoid or whatever its called when I put a new window in it.
But I do remember it locking with the dome light, and shifting.
According to my manual, the dome light is supposed to activate the locks, but there is no mention of the autolock feature at all. I searched the web fairly extensively, and found a couple of possible solutions, but they didn't work. I did see a post about somebody taking their car to the Ford dealership and hooking up to a computer to deactivate the autolock. SO, if anybody knows the procedure, spit it out!
There are two easy ways to deactivate the autolock. Either enter the code in the owner's manual to deactivate it or just unplug the wiring to the sensor under the driver's seat. That will do it as well.
I noticed THIS too by accident awhile back in my 20th!! WTF, over? :rollin: I rolled the dash dimmer all the way up until it clicked and turned the map lights right behind the windshield on (car has no domelight due to the moonroof) and the autolock activated. I cannot determine the reasoning behind this. So now if it's dark outside and the bad guy now KNOWS you're in there, he can see you and your belongings now and has an even greater incentive to just smash your window, knock you out, take your stuff, and leave you with a PITA mess to clean up? LOL