Fixing stuffed smartlock modules - How To - For FREE

[theboss290]

will locking the two red/ blue wires work on a EF blue bcm ??

[theboss290]

ok seeming i had no responce i did it any way end result im going to go and get a new one as it now causes the fuel pump to work when it feels like, not when its going , just at prime when you turn the key, It does go eventualy but can take 20 or so turns of the key before priming .

[monkeykplunk]

This is an old thread I know, but I joined the 2 red/blue wires as stated here, and all I got was no response. As if the module has gone into full protect mode.

The light flashes twice, stops, flashes twice, stops, flashes twice, stops, then continuously flashes.

I'm currently leaving the ign on, to see if the ECU needed to "relearn" the smartlock module, but does anyone have any other ideas?

[89.SVO]

i worked for RACV and all we did was bridge the red w/ blue trace (i think, can't 100% remember) wires. Fixed every one. Even had to do it on my Dads partners EB at one stage

[Tramp]

My 93 EB 111. 5.0 v8 auto
is giving me 4 flashes on the smartlock. It has been running fine without missing a beat until last night... midnight. Engine now cranks, had plenty of spark at all plugs, fuel pump working and you can smell fuel at the front after trying a few times to start but still will not fire up. it had a couple of moments of almost firing but then wont.

cant see anything obvious... all connectors connected

had replaced natural safety switch a couple of weeks ago. could the problem be related??

has new battery in remote

[XR_Lightning]

Got sick of banging the dash to start my car, used to only do it when it was warm, but recently it has been doing it more frequently in the cold weather. Was gonna try the cutting & joining the wires trick, but I wanted to do it properly and actually investigate what the problem is with these crappy modules. SO I ended up ripping out my smartlock module, opened it up and found dry solder joints around most of the relay pins through the circuit board and the big blue capicator in the middle (which was also quite noticably loose). Resoldered all the relays and the capicators and any others joints that were starting to look abit dodgy, and so far so good. Havn't had to thump the dash once yet . And car hasn't ever cranked over so easily before like it does now, was quite surprised at the difference it has made.

[67rce]

My 93 EB 111. 5.0 v8 auto
is giving me 4 flashes on the smartlock. It has been running fine without missing a beat until last night... midnight. Engine now cranks, had plenty of spark at all plugs, fuel pump working and you can smell fuel at the front after trying a few times to start but still will not fire up. it had a couple of moments of almost firing but then wont.

cant see anything obvious... all connectors connected

had replaced natural safety switch a couple of weeks ago. could the problem be related??

has new battery in remote

Check the Signal Earth at the ECU. My EB XR8 woulldn't start, shorting Signal Earth to the body solved it.....

[XR_Lightning]

Got sick of banging the dash to start my car, used to only do it when it was warm, but recently it has been doing it more frequently in the cold weather. Was gonna try the cutting & joining the wires trick, but I wanted to do it properly and actually investigate what the problem is with these crappy modules. SO I ended up ripping out my smartlock module, opened it up and found dry solder joints around most of the relay pins through the circuit board and the big blue capicator in the middle (which was also quite noticably loose). Resoldered all the relays and the capicators and any others joints that were starting to look abit dodgy, and so far so good. Havn't had to thump the dash once yet . And car hasn't ever cranked over so easily before like it does now, was quite surprised at the difference it has made.

Been just over a week since I did this, all is looking good! Havn't had to whack the dash once yet. Looks like its fixed! If it was gonna feck up, it would have done it by now.

[XR_Lightning]

This is still yet to play up once since doing the fix I did. Safe to say that its fixed I reckon!

[RosauraFreeman]

Thanks for sharing one. I know that this work is not simple yet these tips could really help a lot.

Palatine Locksmith

[XR_Lightning]

Thanks for sharing one. I know that this work is not simple yet these tips could really help a lot.

Palatine Locksmith

Bot or scammer??

[HIKFRD]

And how is it going now ... Again old thread revisited

[Rollin]

The original car? It's fucked. Got crashed and is now probably part of a Great Wall or something.

[TFORD8]

Its just one of those things thats gonna happen, one day, eventually... Least most of you guys are capable to do things yourselves.

I just wanted to add it can be worth checking the connections on starter motor, and the relays in eng. Bay too... When mine first started doing this, replacing the relays helped, but it ended up being cracked solder joints. Still, its all connected/related.

[EBfalconDrift]

I doubt I’m gonna get a reply on this 10 yr old thread but just to clarify you join the two red with blue striped wires? Building a eb that’s had a motor swap and smart lock is buggered got a j3 chip just need to override the starter cut thanks for this thread tho been a life saver

[NoFordElectrics]

This is a fantastic thread. Seems that most Falcon EA to ED owners have fallen off the perch or moved to greener pastures !

On the TI Performance sight the experts say this:

Other Starting Related Issues
We often have people contact us about EA-AU Falcons that are not starting. Not all issues are smartlock related, for example:

No fuel pump – Smartlock does not affect the fuel pump.
No relays / ignition power – Smartlock does not cut ignition power.
Can randomly stops – Smartlock can not stop a running vehicle.
In these situations we suggest going over all fuses and relays to make sure everything is working. Also check all vehicle earths (battery to body and battery to block where fitted).

My Ford Ed has a habit of totally turning off whilst driving. In other words ALL electrics fail including smartlock. However the car also does not start at times until you kick the dash in! This indicates I could have a smartlock problem plus another....
Could it be the PCB under the ignition key? No one seems to pay much attention to that but on other forums it has been called in as possibly guilty.
Can it be removed/bypassed?

Hope to get some old Ford ghosts to reply....

[teztink]

This is a fantastic thread. Seems that most Falcon EA to ED owners have fallen off the perch or moved to greener pastures !

On the TI Performance sight the experts say this:

Other Starting Related Issues
We often have people contact us about EA-AU Falcons that are not starting. Not all issues are smartlock related, for example:

No fuel pump – Smartlock does not affect the fuel pump.
No relays / ignition power – Smartlock does not cut ignition power.
Can randomly stops – Smartlock can not stop a running vehicle.
In these situations we suggest going over all fuses and relays to make sure everything is working. Also check all vehicle earths (battery to body and battery to block where fitted).

My Ford Ed has a habit of totally turning off whilst driving. In other words ALL electrics fail including smartlock. However the car also does not start at times until you kick the dash in! This indicates I could have a smartlock problem plus another....
Could it be the PCB under the ignition key? No one seems to pay much attention to that but on other forums it has been called in as possibly guilty.
Can it be removed/bypassed?

Hope to get some old Ford ghosts to reply....

When you need to thump the dash to get the car to start, the issue is bad solder joints in the Smart lock.
Pull module out, resolder the pcb plugs and large component legs, taking care not to short out the components with stray solder spill and then reinstall.
100% fix rate so far, keeps smart lock functionality and prevents you needing to do by pass etc.
Cheers

[NoFordElectrics]

SOLVED



Thank you for the input Teztink.
What you said is correct. and I had already looked over the BEM board for bad contacts ,especially the relays.
The BEM does NOT stop the car when it is running. My problem was a BLACKOUT that left you sitting in the middle of the road.
TI performance that sell smartlock bypass modules state,


OTHER STARTING ISSUES
We often have people contact us about EA-AU Falcons that are not starting. Not all issues are smartlock related, for example:

No fuel pump – Smartlock does not affect the fuel pump.
No relays / ignition power – Smartlock does not cut ignition power.
Can randomly stops – Smartlock can not stop a running vehicle.
In these situations we suggest going over all fuses and relays to make sure everything is working. Also check all vehicle earths (battery to body and battery to block where fitted).

So, to cut a very long story short, I finally went under the steering wheel and the fuse box. There is a thick YELLOW wire that goes from the back of the ignition lock assembly to a plug that is tied down in the most hard to reach location between the fuse box and the steering column. Focus on that thick gauge yellow wire!
I took apart that rectangular plug which has 6 (or 8?) female/male connectors. A close look at THE YELLOW FEMALE CONNECTOR (the part that connects the loom to the relays) showed that the metal clip that is crimped on the yellow wire was partly showing from the bottom of the connector. Yes, this wire was not sitting correctly and I had to use nose pliers and considerable force to push the wire crimp back in the connector so that it would mate with the male wire that is housed in the top part of the connector (the one that connects the wires to the ignition assembly). The ford ED has not faulted since!



This yellow wire connects to the green relay UNDER the wiper tank (NOT next to it) This wire was not pulled by mistake.....THE FLAW WAS PRESENT SINCE THE CAR WAS BUILT> This explains why many owners had the same problem. The connector and the loom was well bound to the steering rod by a metal clip which I had to open to access the connector. The car suddenly stops when you are driving along. Many concluded it was the Smartlock, NOT SO! The Smartlock cuts in because messing with that arcing yellow wire is equivalent to trying to hot wire the car. So the Smartlock cuts in.
This was a factory flaw. The person that made those connectors bacl in the early 90s must have had a bad day and did not insert the YELLOW wire properly in the case housing. maybe mine was a Friday car....