The Dreaded Drivers Door Module Part Numbers

MY747 said:
Hopefully you can answer this question my car alarm it's only done it twice but kept going off in the middle of the night at least the neighbors didn't hear it cuz I live in a housing complex but is there any other possibility or a cheaper fix that could be the problem I'm currently unemployed but I do have the money to fix it but for how long I don't know so hopefully you can answer this and can help me out
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Check your hood switch see

 
Believe it or not there's no switches sticking out like on the other Town Cars it's like a sheet of plastic to make it look nice and neat for lack of a better term unless there's another place this hood switch alarm could be
 
MY747 said:
Believe it or not there's no switches sticking out like on the other Town Cars it's like a sheet of plastic to make it look nice and neat for lack of a better term unless there's another place this hood switch alarm could be
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Don't the Town Car's have a "position sensitive" switch that turns on when the angle of the hood changes? I recall a thread years ago where someone had problem with it coming on and draining the battery when they parked on a steep incline.
 
Having DDM problems with our '07 Sig Ltd, found that video on Youtube as well, well done. Any idea what search term to use when looking at car-part.com? Have sent a request under 'misc electrical', but don't know if that'll get any results.

Thinking of swapping the '09 Town Car Sig Ltd's DDM into the '07 to see if anything changes (verifying that it is indeed DDM problem).

Edit - is the DDM available from places like Rockauto? Or only a Ford/junkyard item?
 
kdv said:
Having DDM problems with our '07 Sig Ltd, found that video on Youtube as well, well done. Any idea what search term to use when looking at car-part.com? Have sent a request under 'misc electrical', but don't know if that'll get any results.

Thinking of swapping the '09 Town Car Sig Ltd's DDM into the '07 to see if anything changes (verifying that it is indeed DDM problem).

Edit - is the DDM available from places like Rockauto? Or only a Ford/junkyard item?
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I searched for driver door panel. That lets you know at the very least the driver door is (hopefully) still there... don't even bother searching for an electric module. Just look at the pics. Then send a request for the driver door module if it looks like the right year/trim level.
 
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LOL I got mine from Nova Scotia, I’m waaaaay West of there.
 
07-Town Car-SL said:
Just as an FYI to help others I put up a video about replacing my DDM @
Weird Electrical Problems FIXED - Lincoln Town Car
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Thank you I will try replacing DDM on my 05 Ultimate that has same problems you had on your list. Appreciate your detailed video. 👍🏽
 
Nr86 said:
Brian,

I really appreciate how generously you've shared your time and expertise on this issue. It sounded like you may have decided to make this post, at least in part, in response to the problems I was having that you addressed in another thread.

Thanks to your help I was able to get it fixed and at a significant savings.

However, after doing so myself, I'm not so sure this information is complete or it might not lead to the most affordable fix for other DIYers.

It does indeed seem like the product number for the DDM of my year/model town car (03 Cartier Edition) directly through Ford would be 41WZ-15K602-AA

However, when we first talked about this the other week, it was something like 460 dollars on discount from over 600 for the part? New, and programmed, I am sure, with all those wonderful "features."

Today, it says that same part has been discontinued, without looking into it further for a possible replacement.

In any case, good thing I already found one that works.

My first attempt to find a working DDM was with an 04 Ultimate Town Car that was in the salvage yard. The sticker had the (I assume, product/model) number 4W1T-13C791-AA on it. I've included a picture with it on there.

***This following long section is what happens when you use the wrong DDM - skip it by going just past the other heading with asterisks***

Despite being of the similar model year range and seemingly having all the same features - that I could remember - it didn't work. I am pretty sure the only thing that I forgot to check where it was the same before extracting the part was the (driver and front passenger) heated seats and I believe those come standard on the 04 Ultimate, from what I could find. Only today did I learn that they might also have heated rear seats come standard, whereas my 03 Cartier does not have heated rear seats. If the 03-05 DDMs really are that interchangeable, I wonder if that could have made such a difference.

At least with the new, partially-functional DDM, I was able to control my seat and thus not have to use a booster seat of sorts (a thick cushion from a sectional couch) to sit forward far enough to safely reach the pedals and steering wheel, albeit still uncomfortably and looking quite ridiculous as well as being less capable of controlling my vehicle as I normally might. I was also able to regain control of my sideview mirrors.

At first, it seemed as though the door locks worked, once? It seemed like after programming the key fobs that had failed many months ago (that I had gotten used to), they briefly worked except for not being able to control the power trunk. After getting in and driving for the first time, the locks all triggered immediately - a feature I've noticed on other cars, but that mine didn't do.

I think the keyless entry pad also worked once or twice to unlock and lock the vehicle.

However, later, after the power locks stopped working, I manually unlocked the rear door from the inside and went to grab something through it from the outside, at which point the alarm was set off.

After turning the key in the driver door as if to unlock the car, it stopped happening, but I would still make sure I did that first if I might have done anything besides manually lock or unlock any of the doors to open other doors.

It worked as a band-aid, but not a long-term fix.

I suppose I could have learned how to use Forscan and to get the right adapter. I originally wrote it off because I thought Forscan required one of those fancy new, heavy duty touchpad scanners that cost thousands, but I guess there are OBD2 to USB adapters that would allow you the full power of Forscan for something like $25 or $30 dollars - without looking into it that much - and possibly allow me to flash a similar, but differently programmed part? I like learning new things on occasion, but there are diminishing returns.

I also suppose the salvaged DDM could have been bad as well. Based on the wear and tear of the salvage vehicle, it had many, many miles more than mine. I can't disprove that another 4W1T-13C791-AA or similar numbered part wouldn't work perfectly for my car from the one failure.

*** End wrong DDM experience ***

Before I went to the closest salvage yard with a relatively similar year/model, I had been looking online for DDMs, and after that failed, I decided to pay more for an identically numbered part - still much cheaper than a new one.

But, I decided that for under $100, I'd give a used and tested DDM a try.

The original part number on the sticker, shown as attached, was 3W1T-13C791-AF

When I first searched for a replacement, I saw plenty of AE and didn't notice the AF, and somehow just assumed that the bottom part of the E rubbed off or faded or something. Now I am pretty sure AE and AF are different somehow.

There are all sorts of part numbers for these, such as the 4W1T-13C791-AA above, there are several "suffixes" so to speak such as -AA, -AB, -AH, -AE, -AF, but not all combinations for each year, if the 3 or 4 is related to the model year or a version of the DDM itself. I thought maybe the first number (3 in 3W1T) had to do with the model year and/or or when it was manufactured, but it could have been coincidence based on my limited searches.

Being a panther platform vehicle, and, as I understand it, the Town Car being basically being an upgraded Crown Vic/Grand Marquis, the DDMs in those other vehicles are quite similar and some also have -13C791- in the middle, with some of those popping up as suggestions, although they sometimes have different prefixes and suffixes like 4W7T- and -BB and model years around 2006 or so appear to have different shapes (if not connectors as well) and (sometimes?) the middle 6 digits are different.

Anyway, I've attached what my original DDM sticker looked like, and the new (used) one also is 3W1T-13C791-AF. The seller wrote "03TC" on it, plus the new keyless entry code directly on the sticker worked right away, as did all the button combinations to control the locks and trunk.

I was able to program my key fobs again, which I thought had gone bad - when they were actually the very first symptoms of the failing DDM over a year ago (very glad I didn't buy new ones after all) - as well as control everything I could think of that involved the DDM and, without driving it for a while to be sure first, it appears that the identical part number works in all ways I had hoped, whereas the similar, albeit mismatched one, only provided slightly more functionality.

All that to say, making sure I got another 3W1T-13C791-AF seemed to do the trick and would be my suggested course of action for anyone else looking to swap their failing/failed DDM out for a different one, rather than hoping the features (and therefore programming) are identical enough.

Thanks again for all your help!
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Thanks for your very detailed explanations of fails and success on the DDM finding the right one. I have two 05' Town Car, one basic and other ultimate that fob still works on the basic but the ultimate fob stopped working first, then key pad, and seat memory is intermittent. Also if I try to program key it lock recycles on 4th ignition cycle instead of 8th but still not program. All these seem to have started after I did a PCM reset by disconnecting battery terminals and removing respective fuses for 20-30 min, then replacing. Did something surge I'm wondering when I did the reset?
 
Hi folks,
Just bought a 2004 Town Car Ultimate with a dead DDM. I'll post the part number of what's in it now and some P/N's I've tried with 0 success, ie, nothing worked at all, which is my present situation. Seat, mirrors, adjustable pedals, remote locks or interior lock button, nothing from the DDM works.

Now, here's the twist that I haven't seen in this thread: The black connector to my DDM only has one wire going to it. I have an '04 wiring manual, and it clearly shows a black/white power lead and a red wire for the remote trunk release (my car has the trunk release button on the door panel) in addition to the blue wire that I have.

We had noticed that the units in the junkyards all had three wires going to them, where ours had only one, the blue wire. So I spliced the black/white out of one of those connectors (fun fact - you can take those connectors apart to re-use the spade connectors) into the black/white lead going to the larger grey connector, which is exactly how the wiring manual shows the connection. Still no joy.

So now I'm wondering if the entire driver's door was replaced at some point, and the wiring harness along with it, so that I have the wrong harness in there? Not to mention likely the wrong DDM. I'm at a loss after trying five junkyard modules. Admittedly, only two of those were the right year, but I was out to try anything at that point. Now that I have the wiring manual, I'm starting to get suspicious.

If anyone has a wiring manual for any year other than 2004, please post the color of the power trunk release wire, and whether or not it goes to the black four spade connector (connector 501c in the manual). Also, if there's a connector somewhere that breaks the door harness from the rest of the wiring harness in the car, that would be great to know. I'd pull another harness from a junker to try that.
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OK... here we go...
For 2002 thru 2003 it's as you said... Red wire on four pin connector C501C.

For 2006 and up the four pin connector appears not to exist and the release output (from a different connector) goes to the Trunk Pulldown Module.

The real clue is the 2004 & 2005 which shows both. As in earlier years the red wire of C501C goes to the solenoid but there's also a wire for the Pulldown Module as in later years.

Here's the interesting part - The 2005 diagram shows power to pin 3 of connector C501C marked as "Power Striker Only" which makes me think that's the power to the release solenoid circuit. On the 2005 that power is from fuse F8 in the battery junction box via a WH-LB wire which also feeds the DDM at pin 2 of connector C501A (a 22 pin connector). The 2004 shows the same except the wire is BK/WH as you mentioned.

I have no idea whether a DDM from a car with the power up-down trunk would or would not connect pins 1 & 3 of C501C as would be required to open the pulldown only trunk.

Now that you have power to C501C 3, I'd jumper C501C pins 1 & 3 and see if the trunk opens. If it does you might be able to add a relay to connect those two and trigger the relay from the LG/RD wire that is supposed to go to the Trunk Pulldown Module. I wouldn't try to drive the solenoid directly from the LG/RD as that circuit likely won't handle the current of the solenoid.
 

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etinpa said:
OK... here we go...
For 2002 thru 2003 it's as you said... Red wire on four pin connector C501C.

Now that you have power to C501C 3, I'd jumper C501C pins 1 & 3 and see if the trunk opens. If it does you might be able to add a relay to connect those two and trigger the relay from the LG/RD wire that is supposed to go to the Trunk Pulldown Module. I wouldn't try to drive the solenoid directly from the LG/RD as that circuit likely won't handle the current of the solenoid.
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Thanks etinpa!
So I can't figure out why my car would be missing the red and black/white wires. It has both the trunk release (which I assume is for the solenoid) and the pulldown motor is what I think is hanging down in the trunk under the package tray next to the driver's side trunk hinge. One of the two connectors we took from the yard had the WH-LB wire as well. The WH-VT wire is there on the C501b connector.

The module in my car is P/N 3W1T-13C791-AH. I tried an identical P/N from the junkyard (from a 2005 Town Car), but that car was VERY high mileage (had been a Yellow taxi, then repainted white to re-enter civilian life) that didn't work. I also tried P/N 4W1T-13C791-AA from the junkyard from a 2003 Town Car, which also didn't work.

According to the local Ford dealer, I need P/N 4W1Z-15K602-AA, which I'm guessing is an improved later release of the same module? Or do I just have the wrong module altogether? The wiring diagram lists 13C791, but no prefix or suffix.

I'm thinking of cutting the connectors out of one of the bad modules that I have with the pins on the backside intact so I can easily jumper the pins and adjust the seat as a temp fix. Think that will work?

WRT to finding a source for these modules, I emailed support at both circuitboardmedics.com and rapidtransitservices.com, both of whom repair many Ford electronic components, and both said they weren't doing these modules at this time. The latter said they might get back to me in the near future, since I am local to them and offered my car and any help I could provide. I suggest some of you with the same issue email both of them and ask if they will start doing these modules.
 
Your car should not need the RD wire from the DDM. As I said the 2004 was available with the power open-close trunk and the release only unit. The unit under the package tray is the open-close motor. The pulldown motor is mounted just under the trunk latch. The terminology in the wiring diagram is "Luggage compartment lid closing motor" (the pulldown motor at the latch) and "Luggage compartment lid motor" (the lid open-close motor under the package shelf).


Since you have the open-close motor, you have a power trunk and, thus, the DDM does not directly actuate the trunk release solenoid. The DDM sends a signal to the Trunk Pull Down Module (located near the open-close motor) which actuates the release solenoid and then the trunk open-close motor. The wire from the DDM to the Pull down module is the LG/RD wire I mentioned above. In this system, the RD wire to the solenoid (the RD wire you can't find) originates at the pull down module, not at the DDM
 
lassetexan said:
Have you done the DDM Module config AS BUILT with Forscan?
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Appreciate the thoughts from you and raider. I guess I need to break down and buy Forscan this week. I had understood that only the 2006-up DDMs needed to be programmed beyond the ignition switch on/off 8 times procedure. Is that correct?

Does Forscan offer some capability to program the DDM? Or is what you're suggesting going to give me some info from the PCM that might give some insight into which DDM is the right P/N?
 
Vinci said:
Appreciate the thoughts from you and raider. I guess I need to break down and buy Forscan this week. I had understood that only the 2006-up DDMs needed to be programmed beyond the ignition switch on/off 8 times procedure. Is that correct?

Does Forscan offer some capability to program the DDM? Or is what you're suggesting going to give me some info from the PCM that might give some insight into which DDM is the right P/N?
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Forscan does allow you to program the ddm to your specific model. This is what @lassetexan meant when they said you need to load your "as built" data to the ddm. You can download the "as built" file directly from Ford using your vin number. You then take that file and load it into Forscan and you can program the replacement ddm. I recommend you learn how to use Forscan first as it's a handy tool in general.
 
raiderfan247365 said:
Forscan does allow you to program the ddm to your specific model. This is what @lassetexan meant when they said you need to load your "as built" data to the ddm. You can download the "as built" file directly from Ford using your vin number. You then take that file and load it into Forscan and you can program the replacement ddm. I recommend you learn how to use Forscan first as it's a handy tool in general.
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Thanks raider. If I understand the Forscan site correctly, I have to have the Forscan Extended License to program the DDM. Is that accurate?
 
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