A little over a year ago I purchased a complete dash and 2 door wiring harness for my 1994 F150 XLT 5.0 5 speed that had keyless entry and power mirrors. The wiring came out of a 1995 F150 XLT automatic with keyless entry, power locks/mirrors/windows. And I didn't realize until today, it also came with the plugs and control module for electronic 4x4. I have no interest in using the electronic 4x4. But the module is there, and it is plugged in. The plug for the 4x4 switch is not plugged in because I don't have one.

Today my buddy and I did the swap - I had thought I had gone over every single connector before I pulled the old one and put the new one in, but lo and behold, there is a different one. It s one of the connectors that runs down the back of the aluminum bracket on the dash, driver's side. I have provided pictures of both connectors below, with tags - pretty sure it is a floor harness plug but I might be wrong:


Plug on my stock 94 harness - the two big bundles in the background are the two big connectors that go thru the firewall.





Different angle of plug on my stock 94 harness - also shows the other connector that is on this section of wiring.






New plug on the 95 keyless harness - this has replaced the plug in the first picture - you can see the connectors for the two plugs from pic 2 in the background


Right now the one plug is disconnected. The truck starts and runs fine, and the power windows and mirrors work flawlessly. But the locks are having problems, specifically the drivers side. When I engage the lock with power, it sounds like it is trying to rapidly actuate the motor, and it will not stop unless I unplug it. We hooked up a spare motor and same problem. We switched out the plugs and same problem. Yes, both ground on both sides of the dash, behind the kick panels, are secured.

Other weird things - we actually ended up getting the keyfob programmed, but for some reason when you open the passenger door it causes the security light to flash. When you close the door it goes away. The driver door does not do this, but both door switches work and activate the dome light properly.

So I need to figure out how to connect that connector, even if it means ripping out the entire floor harness. And I need to know from someone with knowledge of the wiring schematics of this truck what I am dealing with here. The old plug also looks to have less wires than the new plug,,,,so I am confused at the start.

Also, what to do with the electronic 4x4 module - as of now it is plugged in, but since I do not have a switch or any of the stuff needed for the conversion, should I leave it unplugged?

Finally - when I switched out the blinker stock to one that actually works, I accidentally turned on the hazards, but I didn't know because I did not have a flasher for the hazards in - and it would not let me start my truck. Just crank crank crank but no turn over like it wasn't getting fuel. Figure out the hazards were on, turned them off, and it fired right up. Normal?

 

No, you're encountering a few of what I expect will be a continuing stream of freaky problems from mixing harness years. Even though MOST of the connectors are the same shapes, and WILL physically connect to each other, they're NOT necessarily wired the same. So when you mix them, you can get dangerous results. I recommend you put the original harnesses back until you figure out something different. When I do this (and I've done it a few times on several vehicles), it takes me dozens of hours of planning & organizing to figure out how to deal with each affected circuit, and dozens more of re-wiring the harnesses & re-pinning the connectors to make them fit & work properly.

The ESOF system can remain unplugged if you don't plan to put in an ESOF transfer case.

The switches for the dome lights are NOT the same as the switches for the THEFT system that triggers the horn & lights. If you're talking about some aftermarket security system, I can't help you.

The RKE system makes the locks work VERY differently from non-RKE PL. And there are several changes to other circuits due to RKE that may not be obvious. I don't expect you'll ever get it to work right without changing several more harness sections to match the dash (main).

I can't even imagine why the hazards interfere with the engine running. There are too many differences in those harnesses for me to guess which circuits are mismatched.

 

The wiring from the dash and doors are out of the same truck, so the only harness left to replace would be the cab harness.

I figured out all of the quirks except for the rapid lock actuating. And everything runs properly otherwise. I can drive it with no issues.

I contacted the original seller and he is going to get ahold of me this weekend. We will see how it works out. For now I am just running with the fuse disconnected for the power locks.

 

As easy as aftermarket power locks are, you might consider just letting that part dangle, and running an aftermarket keyless or an alarm with keyless entry. Be cool if you can get it working properly, but there is a plan B.

 

I've got everything working correctly now except for the driver's power lock. I even have the keyless entry working.

Went to a yard today and all of the trucks that were there had the round plug like mine except for one - a 1997 F250 Extended cab - it had the cab harness with the square plug. And it also had keyless entry.

So I am on the path to figuring it out. It's never easy. I really REALLY do not want to tear apart the dash again if I don't have to. I know that the original plug in my truck was just the speaker wire harness - because I have no audio now, and I compared the colors of the wires to those going into the speakers. The new plug has a few more wires in it, which makes me wonder what those are for. So I am on a diagram hunt....

 

I was really wanting to have the remotes on mine too, but after seeing these pics, I think I'm happy just using the key...

 

My oldest son was at one time an installer at a car stereo shop, he made the Alarm install look pretty easy. The only thing I don't like is the lack of a button on the dash for unlock, Since it locks with engine on, you have to lean across to pop the door to take on a passenger, once you have the engine running, or shut it off.

 

I never would have attempted this if I hadn't pulled a few dashes before. It is not an easy job and definitely one that is 500x easier with a friend helping. It would be much much easier to get an aftermarket system. You could probably just pull the kick panels and splice into the power lock wires and be done with it. I went this route because I also wanted power mirrors, and the only way to do that is to pull the dash to run the crossover harness.

 

We had to pull my dash when we first got the truck. There were a few bad wires & when installing my stereo head unit, my son kept getting incorrect readings. So out it came, and as you say there are easier ones, but not too bad with a helper and a magnetic parts tray. Fortunately with his experience in harness rebuilding, the fix was about as good as it gets. I did kill my ashtray, but I don't use it so if I find one cool, if not it will just be that way.

 

There are several harness sections in the cab. The dash (main), at least 1 on the floor (if not 3), the B-pillar/dome/cargo, and potentially more depending on the truck's options that aren't in your sig. Which ones? Did you check that link? To help, I need to know EVERYTHING about the truck that the harness or connector came from: year, options, which harness section, and exactly what circuits you're having problems figuring out.They don't have the neat features & capabilities of the factory RKE module, like courtesy light management, battery saver, & memory seat/mirror integration (if you ever add THOSE features). For instance, it's VERY easy to add a KE keypad to the door, which is super-convenient. I can leave my truck (A/C) running, lock the doors, go into a store, come back out, punch in the code, and keep rolling.


(phone app link)