Town & Country V6-4.0L (2008)
Power Door Lock Relay: Description and Operation
DESCRIPTION
POWER LOCKS
The power lock system allows all of the doors to be locked or unlocked electrically by operating a switch on either front door trim panel. The power
lock system receives non-switched battery current through a fuse in the Integrated Power Module (IPM), so that the power locks remain operational,
regardless of the ignition switch position.
The Body Control Module (BCM) locks the doors automatically when the vehicle is driven beyond the speed of 25.7 Km/h (15 mph), all doors are
closed, the accelerator pedal is depressed and the door lock actuation had not been previously activated. The rolling door lock feature is customer
programmable.
This vehicle also offers several customer programmable features, which allows the selection of several optional electronic features to suit individual
preferences.
The power lock system for this vehicle can also be operated remotely using the available Remote Keyless Entry (RKE) system radio frequency
transmitters, if equipped.
AUTOMATIC DOOR LOCKS
When enabled, this feature will lock all of the door locks if all of the doors are closed and the vehicle speed goes above 25.7 km/h (15 mph) If a door
unlock has occurred, then the BCM will perform another auto lock, if the doors did not electrically unlock, another auto lock will not occur.
DOOR LOCK INHIBIT
When the key is in the ignition (in any switch position) and either front door is opened, the door lock switches LOCK functions are disabled. The
UN-LOCK functions are still functional. This protects against locking the vehicle with the key still in the ignition. The RKE key fob will still lock the
doors. After the key is removed from the ignition or the doors are closed, the power door locks will operate normally.
REMOTE KEYLESS ENTRY
The Remote Keyless Entry (RKE) system allows the use of a remote battery-powered radio transmitter to communicate with the BCM to actuate the
power lock system.
The RKE transmitters are also equipped with a Panic button. If the Panic button on the RKE transmitter is depressed, the horn will sound and the
exterior lights will flash on the vehicle for about three minutes, or until the Panic button is depressed a second time. Pressing the Panic button also
activates the courtesy lamps. Pressing the Panic button again stops the exterior lamps from flashing and the horn from sounding. However, the
courtesy lamps will remain illuminated until either the BCM times out lamp operation or until the turning of the ignition. The panic feature will
operate if the ignition is ON, but only if the Panic button is pressed prior to starting the vehicle. A vehicle speed of about 25.7 km/h (15
miles-per-hour) will also cancel the panic event.
The RKE system can also perform other functions on this vehicle. If the vehicle is equipped with the optional Vehicle Theft Security System (VTSS),
the RKE transmitter will arm the VTSS when the Lock button is depressed, and disarm the VTSS when the Unlock button is depressed.
The RKE system includes two transmitters when the vehicle is shipped from the factory, but the system can retain the vehicle access codes of up to a
total of eight transmitters. If an RKE transmitter is inoperative or lost, new transmitter vehicle access codes can be programmed into the system using
a DRB lll® scan tool.
This vehicle also offers several customer programmable features, which allows the selection of several optional electronic features to suit individual
preferences. Customer programmable feature options affecting the RKE system include:
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Automatic Door Lock - Customer programmable feature that allows the BCM to perform an automatic door lock if the vehicle speed is above
25.7 km/h (15 miles-per-hour).
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Automatic Door Unlock On Exit - Customer programmable feature that allows the BCM to perform an automatic door unlock if the vehicle
speed is 0, vehicle in park and driver door is opened.
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Flash Lights with Lock and Unlock - Allows the option of having the park lamps flash as an optical verification that the RKE system received a
valid Lock request or Unlock request from the RKE transmitter, or having no optical verification.
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Programming Additional Transmitters - Allows up to a total of four transmitter vehicle access codes to be stored.
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Remote Unlock Sequence - Allows the option of having only the driver side front door unlock when the RKE transmitter Unlock button is
depressed the first time. The remaining doors unlock when the button is depressed a second time within 5 seconds of the first unlock press.
Another option is having all doors unlock upon the first depression of the RKE transmitter Unlock button.
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Sound Horn on Lock - Allows the option of having the horn sound a short chirp as an audible verification that the RKE system received a valid
Lock request from the RKE transmitter, or having no audible verification.
