[JoeCamaro444]

Originally Posted by ember1205

Hmmm.

My process for all locking and unlocking was via the button on the door handle. I will try again later today with they key fob and see if it behaves any differently. I did it multiple times with the Driver 1 fob in my pocket and the Driver 2 fob in the house, three rooms and 30' away (car in the garage). Car was built Summer of 2019, bought early June 2020, and has only 4k miles on it. In other words, the batteries are not 100% brand new, but usage has been extremely low. And for the last five months, the Driver 1 fob and the car have been over 20 miles apart (storage - not sure what being in proximity of the car does to any sort of battery drain on the fob).

Would you try using the handle button as well and we can compare notes? Maybe also try with your primary remote far away from the car and having the secondary remote close by? If you start getting different results, maybe try the lock with the secondary remote and see if it also leaves the lights on for a long time?

I’ll see what happens with the door lock LEDs if I use the door handle button to lock the car. I may have to wait til this weekend to do this, but I’ll let you know what that shows. Got a crazy few days ahead of me, but I’ll report back soon. 👍🏻

[JoeCamaro444]

Originally Posted by FarmerFran

Just and FYI...

If those LEDs stayed on full time it would take nearly a year for it to run down your battery. Fran doing quick math off the top of his head. Probably longer.

As far as the draw on the battery, that is pretty much what I figured. I mean, I wasn’t worried about that being an issue, but it still concerned me if they weren’t supposed to be on for that long after it was locked and armed. It just seems like it may be an indication that something is wrong, that’s if they shouldn’t stay on that long. A couple of people in this thread have indicated that theirs behave the same way as mine, which is only more confusing, if others do not. These cars are enigmas! ��

[ember1205]

Originally Posted by Petrol Head

The red LEDs on the door lock buttons are really only there to indicate door lock status while you're in the car and/or driving it. It's because you no longer see the physical, mechanical door lock switch like you do in older cars to indicate whether the door is locked or unlocked by looking at it. Also, since these doors will open when you pull the handle twice (as opposed to older cars which will not open at all if the lock is locked) if it weren't for an LED indicator people wouldn't know if the door is locked or unlocked at all.

Just for clarity for others that may be seeing this... Pulling on the handle, releasing, and pulling again will open the door when locked, but only from the inside. This doesn't do anything with the external handle.

Originally Posted by FarmerFran

Just and FYI...

If those LEDs stayed on full time it would take nearly a year for it to run down your battery. Fran doing quick math off the top of his head. Probably longer.

I don't think anyone is worried that the lights remaining on will cause a battery issue. I think it's more that -IF- the lights stay on indefinitely, it could indicate another issue being present and THAT could be drawing down the battery.

Originally Posted by JoeCamaro444

I’ll see what happens with the door lock LEDs if I use the door handle button to lock the car. I may have to wait til this weekend to do this, but I’ll let you know what that shows. Got a crazy few days ahead of me, but I’ll report back soon. 👍🏻

I did some more testing as well as digging through the manual.

First, the light in the center of the dash should come on SOLID when the car is locked and remain that way for about 30 seconds before changing to a one blink every two seconds pattery. The solid light would indicate that the car is fully secured and the alarm is ready to arm. The change to what the manual calls "slow blink" mode indicates that the alarm is armed.

If the dash light comes on in a fast blink pattern (what I had observed) for 30 seconds, it is an indication that the car is NOT properly secured. In my case, the hood was not latched but similar would happen if the trunk were open or a door.

When I tested again last night, I could not seem to get the light on door handle to go out in under 10 minutes although the day before it went off every time at the 90 second mark. Not sure what has changed as in both cases the car hadn't been driven. The ONLY difference was that the battery was fully topped off during the first test as the car had been connected to a tender. For last night's experimenting, the battery was not at 100% as I had not reset a fault that would allow the tender to go back into operation.

There seems to be zero information in the manual as to how the lights on the door should work (or that they even exist).

[Petrol Head]

Originally Posted by ember1205

Just for clarity for others that may be seeing this... Pulling on the handle, releasing, and pulling again will open the door when locked, but only from the inside. This doesn't do anything with the external handle.

Thanks for clarifying that.

At least it requires 2 full pulls. Starting in the late 1960s on Fords when you locked the doors they could still be unlocked and opened with one pull from the inside.

[ember1205]

Originally Posted by Petrol Head

Thanks for clarifying that.

At least it requires 2 full pulls. Starting in the late 1960s on Fords when you locked the doors they could still be unlocked and opened with one pull from the inside.

Didn't realize it was that far back! I remember a few different vehicles that the door would open with a single pull whether locked or not. I think that was mostly from the 90's, maybe?

[Petrol Head]

Originally Posted by ember1205

Didn't realize it was that far back! I remember a few different vehicles that the door would open with a single pull whether locked or not. I think that was mostly from the 90's, maybe?

Yeah right around ‘68-70 Ford started using single pull/unlock mechanisms in their doors. The “selling point” was that they started using smooth, rounded lock buttons that pushed down flush with the door panel for theft prevention and thus were impossible to pull up with a coat hanger, so they were also impossible to grab and pull up with your fingers.

It was the Lincoln Mark series coupes that first used it as auto theft was rising. Then by the mid-70s all Fords/Lincolns/Mercurys had it.