08 Liberty Door "LOCK" not working from buttons, FOBs, or at speed auto-lock. Unlock works.

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purple_submariner

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I've got a new(ish) to me '08 Liberty. It's had a couple of electrical quirks that I've dealt with up until now but it's progressed to a point that I have to do something with this one.

The door LOCK function has worked for the most part up until recently. As of a couple of days ago, LOCK no longer works at all. Neither door panel button works. The auto-lock at speed function doesn't work. The key fobs only honk the horn and flash the lights. The doors do not attempt to lock. Unlock works fine from both door panels and FOBs.

If it matters, it has been really cold the last couple of days and they worked up until then but it has warmed up today and still nothing. Also, the cruise control hasn't worked since I got it but it is all plugged in. I've been into the column to verify. I'm not worried about the cruise but I'm including it in case they may be related.

I would just manually lock them but the hatch doesn't even try to lock and that I know of, there's no way to manually lock it.

Is there something I can look at or does this just come down to a body control module? I know what it "feels like " to me (I do electrical troubleshooting/repair/engineering on machinery so this is kinda my ballpark) but I don't want to taint any replies with what I'm thinking and since I don't knoiw this system at all.

Thanks!
 
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lfhoward

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Check for a frayed/broken/grounding out wire in the door jamb area, inside the rubber tube. Enough opens and closes of the drivers door can eventually wear through wires. I fixed my in-laws’ 04 WJ that had this problem. The door locks and windows did not work and their battery was constantly going dead.
 

NavyStore

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Are we sure it is a door switch that is broken? The key fob shouldn't be affected by a bad door switch, and even then, those switches are sealed so the actual switch lever can break off (has happened to me twice in 12 years) but the switch itself still works. My remote start and locking/set alarm functions only work within about 20 feet of mine, so I'd think this is either a defective RKE module or a fault in the wires to the TIPM. The testing instructions start on page 7824 of the Jeep Liberty Service Manual (links in other posts) and that should help you figure this out.
 

purple_submariner

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Are we sure it is a door switch that is broken? The key fob shouldn't be affected by a bad door switch, and even then, those switches are sealed so the actual switch lever can break off (has happened to me twice in 12 years) but the switch itself still works. My remote start and locking/set alarm functions only work within about 20 feet of mine, so I'd think this is either a defective RKE module or a fault in the wires to the TIPM. The testing instructions start on page 7824 of the Jeep Liberty Service Manual (links in other posts) and that should help you figure this out.


I don't think it's a door switch. That's why I asked before. My key fobs are received because they flash lights and honk the horn. They are factory fobs. My remote start locks the doors after start (for some reason) and it doesn't lock them either but the horn honks and lights flash so I know the function still works. But, I haven't gotten any other suggestions so I'm not sure what to do other than go to a dealer and have them diagnose. I don't particularly want to but I want my hatch locked.
 

Jeremy-WI

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Does the key in ignition ping sound when you open a door when the key isn't in? That wouldn't prevent the auto lock though. Likely something wrong with whatever controls the locks, BCM?
 

Michael Noland

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I was having the same type of problem. The only way to lock and unlock was with the key and manually pushing down the lock buttons. Which didn't work for the rear hatch. My mechanic charged me $175, for nothing, and told me I'd have to replace the master in the right rear door and then have it rekeyed. For about $1200. On the way home I noticed the radio wasn't working either. I replaced the fuse for the radio, and suddenly the door locks all worked.
On another thread, someone mentioned that his rear window wiper quit working, but would draw current until he removed fuse 19. Hook up an ampmeter and remove fuses until the draw stops. Good luck, and be sure and let us know the solution.
 

purple_submariner

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I was having the same type of problem. The only way to lock and unlock was with the key and manually pushing down the lock buttons. Which didn't work for the rear hatch. My mechanic charged me $175, for nothing, and told me I'd have to replace the master in the right rear door and then have it rekeyed. For about $1200. On the way home I noticed the radio wasn't working either. I replaced the fuse for the radio, and suddenly the door locks all worked.
On another thread, someone mentioned that his rear window wiper quit working, but would draw current until he removed fuse 19. Hook up an ampmeter and remove fuses until the draw stops. Good luck, and be sure and let us know the solution.
Thanks for the tip. I scheduled service but it isn't until Friday the 18th so I have some time. The only other thing that doesn't work on mine is the cruise but I'll get out my fuse block map and ammeter out and start pulling fuses and see if it changes anything. I'm putting in a backup cam and front and rear dash cams so I'll be poking around in there anyway. I'll post results good or bad.
 

purple_submariner

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Does the key in ignition ping sound when you open a door when the key isn't in? That wouldn't prevent the auto lock though. Likely something wrong with whatever controls the locks, BCM?
No. I don't get the ping without a key in it. This is along the line I was thinking though. Thanks for the tip. I have service scheduled for Friday the 18th but before then I'm going to be putting in a backup cam and front and rear dash cams so in the process of that I'm going to do some poking around. I'll post any update I have good or bad.
 

purple_submariner

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I was having the same type of problem. The only way to lock and unlock was with the key and manually pushing down the lock buttons. Which didn't work for the rear hatch. My mechanic charged me $175, for nothing, and told me I'd have to replace the master in the right rear door and then have it rekeyed. For about $1200. On the way home I noticed the radio wasn't working either. I replaced the fuse for the radio, and suddenly the door locks all worked.
On another thread, someone mentioned that his rear window wiper quit working, but would draw current until he removed fuse 19. Hook up an ampmeter and remove fuses until the draw stops. Good luck, and be sure and let us know the so
It ended up being the TIPM module. Not a cheap fix but one I felt needed done due to the systems that module controls.
 
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purple_submariner

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Hopefully anyone interested will get a notification that I posted (an update)... ended up being the TIPM module. Not a cheap fix but I ended up doing it due to 1) not being able to manually lock the hatch and 2) the other systems this module controls and can effect. I tried new door switches, looked for odd current draws, and looked for broken wires. I guess one bonus is the dealer replace the drivers door lock assembly and since that didn't fix the issue they aren't charging me for it.

Thanks for the suggestions.
 

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