Marcus Knight

Mtech... on behalf of everyone who is afraid to brick their truck messing around in the computer I would love a video to hand hold me through the process. I bet it becomes an instant sticky. I did a ton of thread searches before posting and there are write-ups and that's what eventually lead me here but between the models and the GEM and all the little differences and 1,000's of posts a video to follow would be amazing. However thanks for all the help you've already given, I appreciate it.

2010XLTEMS

I have a 2010 XLT that didn't come with keypad. Bought the correct door handle, wiring is in the door. I plugged it in and it wouldn't light up for anything. Took to local Ford dealer and they said they were able to change the line of code but still couldn't get the 5 digit pin or get the door handle to work. Does anyone have any ideas or did I just pay $140 for a keypad door handle that won't function?

mtech

2010XLTEMS, your dealer is incorrect. Every module has a pin, even if the truck didn't come with a keypad. The part number for the GEM module is the same across all trim levels.

If you think your handle is a dud, you can use a scan tool to read the keypad pids. This will confirm if the computer is seeing the buttons being depressed, though the GEM will likely need to be correctly programmed for this functionality to work.

My handle lit up before programming but did nothing else. If I can remember correctly, it only lit up when I pressed the keychain remote unlock button.

I hope the dealer didn't take your money.

2010XLTEMS

Thanks for the quick reply. Thankfully they didn't charge me anything today. They initially said they'd need at max $89 to do it. The tech stated that he couldn't read the keypad pids. I took my door panel off and checked continuity for the wires and they were all good but there wasn't any power going to the plug itself. He said he left the right code in the GEM and told me to check for broken wires between the door handle and the GEM.

mtech

That sucks. They have detailed wiring diagrams in the oem service manual. The GEM module is integrated with the fusebox in the passenger kick panel. I guess you could check for continuity between the wire harness pins in the door with the pins on the GEM harness. There should be around 6 wires total. There was an issue with this model truck with the door wire harness cutting out, but the tsb states this issue only impacted the speakers. I had this issue where the speakers would cut out and the dealer replaced my door harnesses under warranty when the truck was new. It was a simpler time when this thing still had warranty coverage. Only way to know for sure is to check continuity across the complete circuit.

2010XLTEMS

Thanks again. I will do some more digging this weekend and let you know what I find out. My speakers have been good so far (knock on wood).

mtech

I just reviewed the wiring diagrams. There are two wire harnesses in the door that these signals pass through. C500 is the connector where the keypad handle plugs into. There is also another connector in the door, C219. A lot of other stuff passes through C219, so it should be a bigger connector. My diagram states that not all trucks have C219, so if you can't find it, don't worry.

There are three data lines that are pulled to ground when buttons are pressed. Based on the combination of the three wires, the computer is able to determine what button is being pressed. For this to work, you need a good ground.

Breakdown of wires at the keypad:
(warning - the wire colors change after passing through harness C500)

Blue - Illumination power
Black/Green - Illumination ground

Blue/yellow - Button data line
Yellow - Button data line
Red - Button data line
Black - Ground for buttons
-------

Wire colors at the C500 harness all the way to the GEM:

White/green - Illumination power

Gray/blue - Button data line
Purple/green - Button data line
Yellow/green - Button data line

Black/purple - Ground

I find it interesting that you get neither illumination or button presses. They are sort of isolated circuits. The only thing they share is ground. Test for ground on the Black and Black/Green wires (keypad side) or at the C500 harness on the Black/purple wire. If ground has failed, the handle will be totally inoperable.

2010XLTEMS

That will be a huge help! Thank you very much! Now for the fun part of tracking the problem down.

2010XLTEMS

I checked the white w/green wire for power coming straight from the GEM and there is nothing. Checked the rest of the wires and they don't have anything either. I guess I'm kind of at a loss. The tech at the dealer stated that those trucks came with 3 different GEMs and I probably have one that won't work with keypad.

2010XLTEMS

Is it possible that my GEM just isn't going to work with keypad? I pulled it loose and looked at the sticker on the back and the only five digit code I see is 15604... That's just the part number right?