Sorry for being a little long-winded about this, but I started out trying to resolve a little problem and in the process seem to have found all kinds of little issues. Since I'm kind of a stickler for wanting things put back "right", and just a knowledge junkie in general, I'm hoping someone can answer some of these questions about my 99 Ranger. I think it's called a "super cab" (2 door, w/ little jump seats in the back)... 2.5L 5-speed.

The initial issue was that the dome light didn't come on when you opened the driver's side door (worked fine on the passenger's side), and also the speaker in the driver's door was not working. Two other issues that may or may not be related are that the warning chime never sounds when either door is opened w/ the engine running, keys left in the ignition, lights left on, etc., and the high-beam indicator doesn't light on the instrument cluster when the high beams are on, although the bulb does seem to be good.

When I disassembled the driver's door to see what was going on, I also disassembled the passenger's side for a reference. I found that the wiring in the driver's door was not conected to the door jamb sensor on the latch, nor to the speaker. Neither of the two connectors visible on the driver's door wiring appeared to fit the speaker, which I thought was really wierd, even though the back of the speaker said "Ford Premium Audio" on it, and it apepared nearly identical to that of the passenger's side. I say "nearly" identical, because one difference between the two speakers was that the driver's side on had a rectangular connector on it, while the passenger's side has a round connector. The other oddity was that the wiring in the driver's side door didn't seem to look like that of the passenger's side; The two connectors were very close to each other, and the whole thing wasn't long enough to reach the door jamb sensor.

My first thought about all this was that someone tried to replace the speakers (or more) in the door with parts from another Ford of maybe another year, had hacked up the wiring somehow, and now nothing fit right. My intention was to get a new wiring harness for the door, replace it, and then get a speaker to match what was on the passenger's side.

I got the wiring harness in the mail yesterday, and when I went to replace it, I realized that, although it did have the same connector configuration (at least on the door-end) as the passenger's side wiring, it was, in fact NOT the same as the driver's side. To make a long story short (less long), When I got the wiring out of the door and back down by the firewall to pull it out, I discovered that the cab-end of the wiring harness was completely different than the one I'd ordered, and that there was a little rectangular connector that fit the speaker perfectly (and worked when I hooked it up!).

When I pulled the wiring back through the wiring loom and into the door (this time with the speaker connector I'd "found"), the wiring was sufficiently long to go to the door jamb. What I now have is a wire in the door w/ one speaker connector and two connectors on the end of it... One w/ a yellow/green wire + black that goes to the door jamb switch, and another connector w/ (I think) a violet/green + black that I wasn't sure what it's for (more about that one in a moment). So I hooked up the yellow/black connector to the door jamb switch... Viola... The dome light comes on. Unfortunately, when I closed the door, the darn thing didn't shut off.

I searched around on the forum for a while and found this latest item is not uncommon. I sprayed WD-40 in there to try and clean it up / free the sensor to no avail. I eventaully took out the two Torx screws that hold the door latch in and took the whole thing out so I could examine it more closely and take off the door jamb switch and replace it (FYI.... LMC Truck has the door jamb switch.. I remember seeing it there when I was looking for the wiring harness). I played with the latch for nearly an hour, trying to figure out how to get that sensor off of it, tapping on it, spraying cleaner in it, etc... Anything to try and free it, to no luck... and then, one more discovery....

The door latch itself has one more electrical connector on it! I connected that "other" plug to it.. The one w/ the violet (I think) wire... The connector seemed to fit, but I can't tell its purpose. This did nothing to solve nor aggrevate the problem.

So now my questions....

What is the DEAL with this truck? I mean, why is the wiring in the two doors different? Is this standard? Has someone wrecked this or something and replaced the door w/ one that had power locks? That second electrical connector doesn't look like a lock solenoid (usually when I've seen them, they're attached to the lock leve itself, not the actual latch assembly anyway).

I didn't disassemble the firewall / kickplate on the passenger's side to see what the in-cab connector looks like on that side. The wiring that I received had a scarlet and grey plug (Go Bucks!) w/ four female pins in it. The connector on the driver's side is a 16-pin connector that was not completely filled. I thought it was some kind of generic after-market thing at first, but it does say Ford on it, so I guess not. The harness is wired to pins 9-12 + 16; The in-cab connector does not have a wire going to pin #9. Two of the wires in the harness are black, and it looks like they're connected together where the harness splits at the speaker wire connector, which is why there are six wires (two blacks) in the wiring to the door latch connectors, but only five at the harness.

Why would the speakers between the left and right sides be identical except for their connectors?

What is that second connector on the door latch for (it's near the top of the latch). I didnt' remove the assembly on the passenger's side, but I don't remember feeling a second connector on it?

How do you get that door jamb sensor off of the door latch? I wiggles, but I can't feel, see, nor find anything on it that would seem to indicate a way to remove it. The whole assembly doesn't have any screws or anything visible.

If you need pictures, I can take some and add them, although it will require disassembling the door again (not that I haven't done this a thousand times already).

Thanks for any info!

-- James