pilotdog68

I actually just found the "T taps" this morning and ordered them.

 

I'll just place the T tap over the wire and clamp it and then on the longer side of the T-tap put a wire to the new reed switch and the other side of the reed switch to the ground screw.

Just FYI you should be able to find them at any hardware store or auto parts store. They're very common.

Yes the t-taps are great because they should not damage the conductor itself, so if you accidentally tap the wrong wire just remove the tap and wrap it with electrical tape to seal it back up and you're fine.

Where is that huge bundle of wires under the door sill going?I just assumed there was an auxiliary computer or something by the rear quarter panel that all the door sensors connect to, and then that computer tells the door alarm to sound, and the dome lights to come on, and the radio to shut off.

And again, it may be a difference in model year or we may be talking about two different wires altogether. All I know for certain (and illustrated in my video) was that I found a green wire with purple stripe in that bundle, and grounding it fixed my problem.

Maybe it varies by model year, but I definitely had to take off the sill trim to even be able to take off the kick panel and access and wire wrap. I just grabbed it by hand and lifted straight up and it pops off. Then when you put it back on take care to line up the clips with their slots.

I also just used a t-tap in my fix and then my own wire to ground, because one end of that wire goes to the computer, and the other end goes to the switch in the latch, not directly to ground. You have to bypass the faulty switch by making your own connection to ground. (unless you were planning on using a different wire/solution than I did.)

I gather from your response to him that you used the fix I described, but that it works consistently for you? If so, could you tell me what reed switch you used?

My installation is illustrated in post #11 if you wanted to compare, though it sounds like your reed switch is just sticky (or maybe you have some stray magnetism around it?). I harvested my switch from this model security alarm, which I just had sitting around.

As I said, I haven't been having any issues with it. Although I'm annoyed my Edge had this problem in the first place, I'm quite happy with the fix.

Edit: Looking back at your pictures, I think the magnet in the door speaker may be close enough to your reed switch to cause some issues.

I'm not dbender, but I'll chime in.

Mine was an '07 and the fix is working great. My magnets came unglued once and flipped themselves to a different part of the door, so I just glued them there and they have been fine since. The only downside is there's no warning if the door is mostly closed but not totally latched, mine starts chiming after the door is 2"+ open. That's not a problem for the drivers door, it's easy enough to tell by feel and sound. It could be an issue for the rear doors though.

I use 87 but avoid ethanol blends whenever I can.

Just FYI there are a few threads here that give different ways to resolve the issue (other than taking it to the dealer). If you search just "door ajar" you'll find the threads. I'd post a link but I'm on my mobile

Head rest angle? You use the headrests?

I've tried adjusting my profile settings, etc but I can't seem to get the long list of stuff that shows up on all my posts, under my username/avatar. Any help?

I'm not sure how to make you not see it, but rest assured the rest of us don't see all that stuff. All that's under your name is Region, Location, and Edge Year

I just signed up to report. Looks like a great service

Man, that's pretty. I like the looks of that generation much better than the new ones. I wish I had a bigger budget when I bought mine, but I'm still happy with my 2007.

congrats!

I just thought it was a little strange to not have an indicator in the instrument panel. Every other car I've had always had an indicator up top.

Is it the opposite on the 07-08's? I have the indicator next to the gear shift, but nothing up on the dash.

mact is an expert with the Edge, especially the early models, he put more than 250k miles on his.

I've read a lot of his posts, I've got my fingers crossed I'll get another reply from him/others. This forum is a little slower than a few others I'm on.

Ford recommends 10W-30 in our region (Arabian Gulf / Middle East) where temperatures in the summer easily exceed 120F.

 

Oil - Middle East.JPG

The plot thickens!

Also, my manual calls for Mercon V for tranny, but Mercon for steering. I know the Mercon V fluid was adapted or something so that Ford could discontinue the standard Mercon, but would I be better off with an aftermarket Mercon equivalent instead of Mercon V for the steering?

Welcome,

First thing is:

1. replace ALL transmission fluid by exchanging at 100 percent of the fluid not just a drain and fill.

2. use Mercon V fluid only as it was designed to operate on this type fluid (don't get inventive)

3. Only use the oil recommended!! the VVT requires the viscosity to operate the timing of your engine. Thickening it up will lead to other issues, plus lower fuel efficiency.

4. Flush or exchange the power steering fluid with MERCON V

5. Bleed and replace the entire fluid from the brakes since it should go no further than 5 years you will need to bleed and replace the brake fluid with DOT 3 or better brake fluid.

6. Flush out and replace the coolant remember that you need to pay attention to the color and type. The edge's have went through three coolant upgrades since your model year. Use the coolant for your model year.

What part of Iowa? I am in Davenport.

Thanks for the reply

1. I've read many places that you should not immediately do a full tranny flush on a car that has never had one done (something about suspended particles actually being beneficial to clutch plates short-term, removing them could cause slipping). Do you not agree with this? I wouldn't take it to a shop anyways, so it would be multiple drain-and-fills.

2. So you're saying don't use the valvoline synthetic? The only reason I was considering it was because it does list Mercon V on the spec sheet, and I wasn't sure of the quality of SuperTech products.

3. Alright, I'll skip the Rotella. My thinking was just that the minuscule difference in density would be beneficial in the summer months.

4-6. Got any video tutorials on how to do these? Edit1: Looks like I can use a turkey baster for the power steering. I've done a brake bleed on my mtn bike before, but I'd be a little nervous about getting bubbles in my Edge.

I'm in the Des Moines area

There are a few threads out there on this topic, but not much recently. I just bought a 2007 SEL FWD at 111k miles and unknown maintenance history.

1. I'm going to swap out 5-6qts of transmission fluid. Am I better off using SuperTech Mercon V, or Valvoline Maxlife synthetic (which is now formulated for Mercon LV, but the recently updated spec sheet also lists Mercon V)?

2. I'll be doing an oil change for the upcoming summer. I was planning on one qt of 5w40 Rotella T6, then fill the rest with 5w20 Pennzoil Platinum. I will probably put a little Seafoam in a couple hundred miles before changing. Anybody see any issues with that plan?

3. I just changed the spark plugs and air filters, and ran some Techron through the gas tank. What other little maintenance things am I forgetting that should be done on a used car?

Thanks

(add disclaimers, risks and caveats here about what damage you could do or warranties you could void by doing a trick mod like this)

 

As promised..

 

I built and put a switch inline that allows me to switch off all internal lights with 1 push.

 

I removed the 15a fuse #9, took the 15a fuse and modified and cut open the fuse (no need for the fuse function as I need the circuit to NOT be complete at that fuse, but up stream at the inline fuse, I just needed it as a means to make a connection into the fuse box) and soldered onto it the 2 wires so the fuse box connection is more clean and precise then jamming 2 wires into the open fuse holes, put an inline 15a fuse (exactly what is removed, this way, still have a fuse in case and it completes the circuit), attached a nice black 20a rated rocker switch which blends in perfect.

 

Here are photos. Enjoy

 

Here is the entire mechanism. Switch, wires, modified fuse to plug into the fuse box. Maybe ugly, but like everything under the dash, it works.

 

Picture_3.jpg

 

Here is the switch just in the area I 'think" I will be mounting it down by the fuse box/feet area. I have not 100% decided if I will mount it there or not. This was proof of concept, and it worked just as I expected it would. So, I will, when I decide just where I want it (I have not decided if I want it obviously seen like up near the dash dimmer roll switch or hidden and kind of out of the way known only to me) I will drill the .75" hole needed and install it with the nice included trim piece that will make it look like a factory all black matching rocker button. UPDATE: I ended up flush mounting the switch down below the fuse box panel. Cannot even see it unless you go looking for it. I decided I did not want people accidentally pushing it and it makes it known only to me to activate and initiate the light cut off. Next, I will likely do a puddle lamp switch as well and mount right next to it as if you leave the doors open or trunk open, the puddle lamps stay on at night so as wickedstangs said, fuse #10 also needs addressing to make this a complete system.

 

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Old post but this was very helpful info for me since once of the reasons we bought an SUV instead of a car was so that we could take it to the drive-in. I copied Lex's example almost to the 'T'.

1. Purposefully blow or cut-out fuse

2. Trim down top of fuse to access metal pins

3. Solder wire to one, and ATM fuse holder to other ($3 each at walmart)

4. Attach female slide connectors

5. Mount rocker switches to kick panel.

(repeat)

voila! top switch toggles dome light fuse, bottom switch for the puddle lights.

Well that at least says for all 4. This schmuck said per rim. Maybe he was new ?! Ugh

Ehhh, reads like it's per rim to me. If it's for a set of 4 then I can't blame him for making that mistake.

This thread has a video for an alternative solution by a member. You can see which wire is responsiblef or the warning light & just cut it or short it to ground, depending on how it works.

I added some notes to that other post. Yes, you can just forget the magnets and ground the wire to disable the door ajar warning.

I figured it out and made a simple video, just in case anyone else is intimidated by all the wires in the kick panel. Sorry for the Portrait orientation, I didn't think about it at the time.

Some notes:

1. There are also green wires with RED stripes that at first I thought was a VIOLET stripe. The correct wire will have a dark purple stripe.

2. The car is looking for the wire to be grounded when the door is closed, so you could just forget the magnetic sensor and ground that same wire and it will disable the door ajar warning altogether.

3. Here is a link to the exact alarms I harvested the sensor from. I already had one laying around, but you can just buy the sensor itself online (Normally-open magnetic reed switch) or these security alarms are available most hardware/home improvement stores.

 

Yes. It's called the owner's manual.

that's no light reading

I've never even heard of "global open". I'll have to try this on my edge today. Is there a list somewhere of these little obscure features?

I was having the same door-ajar issue but mine was the front passenger door. I have come up with a pretty simple work-around that should last the life of the car. I was thinking about finding a push-button type switch that I could mount in the main door post but I knew that would involve drilling into the post, something I really didn't really want to do as it's pretty intrusive. But then I thought about using a magnetic switch instead.

 

A magnetic switch is something easy to find. They are used in lot's of security alarm systems for monitring doors and windows. They are usually designed with pin-outs for both normally-open (N.O.) and normally-closed (N.C.). They have a a magnetically sensitive reed switch that moves open or closed when a magnet is close by.

 

The Edge door-ajar switch is looking for a GND when the door closes. Placing another switch in parallel with the door-ajar switch is all you need to do. There are two wires that come from the switch inside the door on the door latch mechanism. For the passenger door the wire you want to find is the white 22 AWG wire in the bundle coming out of the door. you can get access to this bundle by removing the (door sill plate) the plastic trim covering the front pillar area of the door opening. This will allow you to see the wiring bundle where it enters the car from the door up next to the glove box. There are two white wires in the bundle, a 20 AWG and a 22AWG. Look for the thinner of the two. This is the wire you need to splice into. (At this point if you don't care about the interior lights coming on when you open the door and you just don't want to see the door-ajar warning any more you can simply add a simple normally-open switch with one side of the switch attached the the white wire and the other to a GND. Turn the switch and the door-ajar warning will go away as you've now grounded the sensing wire at the Body Control Module. I simply added the switch so the warning went away and I left it that way until I was ready to install the magnetic switch.

 

When I was ready to add the magnetic switch I just paralleled the new switch across the switch I'd previously installed. I placed the magnetic switch inside the plastic trim just beside the top fastener clip. I afixed the switch with some decent double-sided tape. I reinstalled the trim. Then I then took a small but powerful neodymium magnet and moved it around the outside of the trim near the area where the switch was installed behind the trim until I could tell it was closing the switch. (I had a DVM across the switch at this point so I could see when the switch was closing) Once I was confident I had the right spot using some silicone adhesive I glued the small magnet to the plastic door trim directly across from the switch. Now when the door closes, the magnet is brought close enough to the magnetic switch that the door sensor receives a GND and the door-ajar warning is gone. It works perfectly and only cost a few bucks. If anyone is interested I will provide some pictures. BTW, for the driver's door the wire you'd be looking for in the the driver's door wiring would be the 22 AWG Green with a Violet stripe.

The brake cleaner/WD40 method isn't lasting for me, and I'm tired of not having interior lights (I took out the fuse). I'm going to attempt this on the drivers' side.

1. has anyone else done this? Can anyone draw a crude diagram of how to connect the wires? I just want to understand it better before cutting into stuff.

2. Obviously there are a ton of wires in that vicinity because of the fuse panel being right there in the driver's wheel well. What are the chances there is more than one "22awg green with a violet stripe"?

Is there a reason why you all decided on those monroe's vs any other brand/model? I'm thinking mine need done to and this is cheap enough to justify it.