Power running boards works when it wants to

[lricaud81]

My driver side only does this. When opening the door sometimes it fully deploys and sometimes it comes out about halfway and then closes back. Same thing when closing it'll close about halfway then open back out. I went to car wash set them to out and sprayed the hinges and motors and all thinking maybe it had mud somewhere. Well it still does it. Has anyone else had this issue and what was your fix.
Thanks in advance

 

[Rob6805]

Besides keeping the hinge points clean they also need periodic lubrication.

 

[lricaud81]

I just bought it last weekend so I dunno what previous owner did or didn't do. But I cleaned them real good and sprayed kroil in all hinge points.
If anyone is not familiar with kroil it's some really good stuff we used on pipelines and oil rigs. Its about a billion times better than wd40

 

[GlennSullivan]

I just bought it last weekend so I dunno what previous owner did or didn't do. But I cleaned them real good and sprayed kroil in all hinge points.
If anyone is not familiar with kroil it's some really good stuff we used on pipelines and oil rigs. Its about a billion times better than wd40

Let it work in by opening and closing and continuing to coat with spray penetrant / lubricant and see if it improves.

 

[DieselMonk]

Probably you should have used a much thinner oil first, then the thick stuff after the board works correctly.

 

[lricaud81]

Let it work in by opening and closing and continuing to coat with spray penetrant / lubricant and see if it improves.

I did that prolly open and closed door 20 times to work in

 

[lricaud81]

Probably you should have used a much thinner oil first, then the thick stuff after the board works correctly.

This isn't thick. It's a spray just like wd40 just a better formulation

 

[DieselMonk]

Hmm… there is the motors, bushings and pins. You may have to take them bushings and pins out, clean & lube and reinstall.

 

[lricaud81]

Are they removable. I didn't look at them extremely close I thought the cleaning and lubing would've done the trick.

Hmm… there is the motors, bushings and pins. You may have to take them bushings and pins out, clean & lube and reinstall.

 

[BigOleFordFan]

Are they removable. I didn't look at them extremely close I thought the cleaning and lubing would've done the trick.

Well, if they are anything like the ones on 3rd Gens, yes, they are removable for cleaning. IIRC correctly there are 4 bolts on each hinge and 2-4 more on the motor mount, plus 1 wiring connector to disconnect, which you may also want to clean both ends with some electrical contact cleaner, and then apply some dielectric grease before reconnecting, to keep out any moisture, dirt ect...

And while you have them on the ground, it's a good idea to clean & lube the motor shafts as well, just to be safe

HOWEVER, be warned that the whole assembly might be somewhat heavy, so it might be a good idea to have someone to help you get them on the ground & then lift 'em back up while you reattach 'em, or have something underneath them that is high enough to sit them on once they are free

 

[lricaud81]

I'm bringing back to dealership for detail and odd and ends I'm gonna see if they'll look at it before I dig to far into it. But if they don't I'll definitely do this

 

[ZigZagFred]

I've discovered that issues with the power running boards have more to do with the door switches than with the boards themselves. To verify your issue, try opening and closing both front and rear doors and see what the boards do.

 

[Fizzy]

This video has helped lots of people - me included. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaAvrIoViK0

 

[lricaud81]

I've discovered that issues with the power running boards have more to do with the door switches than with the boards themselves. To verify your issue, try opening and closing both front and rear doors and see what the boards do.

I dont think its a door switch issue because it doesn't matter front or back door it does it. It'll go about halfway then go back .

 

[lricaud81]

This video has helped lots of people - me included. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaAvrIoViK0

Thats a good video. I'm gonna see what the dealer says and or does and if I gotta do myself ill definitely be doing that.

 

[Fizzy]

Thats a good video. I'm gonna see what the dealer says and or does and if I gotta do myself ill definitely be doing that.

Dealer won't replace them - only spray lube in and send you on your way. I forget the price, but it's about $800 per running board motor... why this much makes no sense to me.

Some background on my situation... Year 3 and with all the salt/sand/pickle mix they cover the roads with here 6 months of the year, both running boards gave up. Partially down, and then froze - or would retract.

Did that video exactly as described (exact same products), and the running boards haven't skipped a beat in 2 winters. I was expecting to have to do them again last winter, but they worked like a champ even when it got to -35c here.

 

[lricaud81]

Yeah I figured they wouldn't but it's worth a try. I just bought it from them so I found a few little things they said they'd look at for me so I'll see what they say. No matter what they do I'm sure I'll do what the video says .

 

[lricaud81]

Dealer won't replace them - only spray lube in and send you on your way. I forget the price, but it's about $800 per running board motor... why this much makes no sense to me.

Some background on my situation... Year 3 and with all the salt/sand/pickle mix they cover the roads with here 6 months of the year, both running boards gave up. Partially down, and then froze - or would retract.

Did that video exactly as described (exact same products), and the running boards haven't skipped a beat in 2 winters. I was expecting to have to do them again last winter, but they worked like a champ even when it got to -35c here.

I see your profile pic you have a roof carrier. Did your expedition come with the roof cross bars. If not where'd tou get yours.
What roof carrier is that. I'm not sure if we'd still need to go that route since we have the max now but I'd like to check into things for just in case

 

[Fizzy]

I see your profile pic you have a roof carrier. Did your expedition come with the roof cross bars. If not where'd tou get yours.
What roof carrier is that. I'm not sure if we'd still need to go that route since we have the max now but I'd like to check into things for just in case

Platinum came with the roof cross bars. The Ford OEM pair of crossbars on Tasca parts are $144.

The box is a Yakima Skybox 21. It’s the only roof box I could find that can use the roof bars at their furthest spread position.

The front roof bar is fixed. But the rear one can be in 2 positions. For stability and spreading the load better I wanted the furthest back position so the box is sitting on the widest span.

All the Thule boxes need to be on the closest together bar settings which I felt wasn’t stable.

On our short wheelbase the trunk opens with ¼” clearance to the box. On the Max you’d have plenty of clearance.

 

[lricaud81]

Platinum came with the roof cross bars. The Ford OEM pair of crossbars on Tasca parts are $144.

The box is a Yakima Skybox 21. It’s the only roof box I could find that can use the roof bars at their furthest spread position.

The front roof bar is fixed. But the rear one can be in 2 positions. For stability and spreading the load better I wanted the furthest back position so the box is sitting on the widest span.

All the Thule boxes need to be on the closest together bar settings which I felt wasn’t stable.

On our short wheelbase the trunk opens with ¼” clearance to the box. On the Max you’d have plenty of clearance.

Well of course I'd get 1 trim level down that they don't come with vehicle. Lol. We had the short wheelbase and we were definitely gonna need that setup bit now have the max so I'm not sure her if we will or not. I'm gonna look into it tho for just incase. At the least I think I want to get the crossbars never know when you will need them