What's up with the light up numbers on the side of my door?

[RS1]

We have 4 security code cars. I take a picture of the card with car model written on it. I was told many moons ago (2002?)that if service department unhooked the battery my custom code which is on all the vehicles would revert back to factory code. Some here have mentioned currently not the case but I feel more comfortable betterer having a pic of factory codes.

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[Jrl]

We have 4 security code cars. I take a picture of the card with car model written on it. I was told many moons ago (2002?)that if service department unhooked the battery my custom code which is on all the vehicles would revert back to factory code. Some here have mentioned currently not the case but I feel more comfortable betterer having a pic of factory codes.

A picture is a great idea , never thought of that and I have had the same key code since 1986 on about 10 plus cars .

 

[sajohnson]

This is the first higher tech car I have owned and I noticed those noises right away. I have also had warnings on the screen and phone that the battery is getting low. What I have learned is this is our new normal. It should not be a problem as I let my BS BL sit for a month and all I get is a warning on Ford Pass that the remote start won't function. I do carry a Jump Box as I have a refrigerator that can lower a battery to the point of No Start, but I have not used it enough on the BS to see if it drains the battery to No Start overnight.

It appears these new higher tech autos use a lot of battery staying alive, but I don't think we will have a no start problem. I wish Ford would have used a dual battery system, but I figure they are smarter than I am and so far I have gotten use to the cars living noises after it has been turned off. Enjoy

One concern I have is that lead-acid batteries like to be maintained at full charge, 100% SOC. Anything less shortens the life of the battery due to increased sulfation:
https://www.power-sonic.com/blog/what-is-a-sulfated-battery-and-how-do-you-prevent-it/#:

I've been putting a Battery Tender on our BS BL to keep the battery at full charge.

It will be interesting to see what the average lifespan of BS batteries turns out to be.

 

[Glamdring70]

We have 4 security code cars. I take a picture of the card with car model written on it. I was told many moons ago (2002?)that if service department unhooked the battery my custom code which is on all the vehicles would revert back to factory code. Some here have mentioned currently not the case but I feel more comfortable betterer having a pic of factory codes.

Go all in and get a custom vanity plate with the default code. No one will ever try it!

I don't even know why many Sports have the door code. It has all the same foils as the intelligent access. It takes 500% more effort to use the code over the IA. Using the code to unlock or lock all the doors or open the liftgate is nifty, but not actually super helpful. The one and only thing it could be good for is the people that like to lock the key in the car. Which feels about as secure as hiding the key up inside the rear bumper. It doesn't even work on a base-10 code so it's a false sense of how secure and varied it is. 1 in 10,000 or fewer Fords worldwide have the same code. Though it might be more secure than the number of hard cut key varieties there are.

 

[sajohnson]

Go all in and get a custom vanity plate with the default code. No one will ever try it!

I don't even know why many Sports have the door code. It has all the same foils as the intelligent access. It takes 500% more effort to use the code over the IA. Using the code to unlock or lock all the doors or open the liftgate is nifty, but not actually super helpful. The one and only thing it could be good for is the people that like to lock the key in the car. Which feels about as secure as hiding the key up inside the rear bumper. It doesn't even work on a base-10 code so it's a false sense of how secure and varied it is. 1 in 10,000 or fewer Fords worldwide have the same code. Though it might be more secure than the number of hard cut key varieties there are.

I was just saying to my wife that because it's a 5-digit code, I'll bet many people use their zip code.

Not us. We use "11111".

 

[Wazzat]

Best trick is… add a contact in your address book named “Bronco,Sport” or “Sport,Bronco” - in the “info“ section add your keyless entry code. Sounds silly, but I work at a Ford dealership and we share this with our customers all the time and they love it!

 

[Wazzat]

I was just saying to my wife that because it's a 5-digit code, I'll bet many people use their zip code.

Not us. We use "11111".

Can you use repeating numbers?

 

[Jmuns]

Can you use repeating numbers?

Have you read the manual lol

 

[sajohnson]

Can you use repeating numbers?

I have no idea (I was joking about "11111").

 

[Glamdring70]

Can you use repeating numbers?

You could make it 1-2-1-2-1 instead

 

[MJE]

While some just prefer the conversational nature of the forum for questions, I think we’re seeing more questions just due to the complex nature of vehicles & the difficulty of writing a relevant manual for them. The manuals seem written to satisfy regulators & lawyers, with you learning to operate your vehicle better as a secondary audience.

I’m an RTFM guy. But. By the time you get past a 1/4” thick section on doing up your seatbelt, the rest of the manual starts to feel a little irrelevant. It’s about then you get into the meat of things, but everything is tagged with ‘if so equipped’.

How do I know if my vehicle is supposed to be equipped or not? It used to be easy back in the day. The button either existed or it was filled with a blank. Now everything is buried so many menus deep.

In my case for example, this is now my 2nd Ford with the center screen instrument cluster. The first vehicle where I understood how to actually set it up to display what screens you want. On my last one there were no tire pressures showing. All the manual could tell me was ‘if so equipped’. With no indication how to tell if I was supposed to have it or not. No explanation of how to actually choose & setup the screens. None of them were showing as I was stuck on the 2nd page of the menu options which lists oil life & speedometer units & not much else. No indication that scrolling up & down with the clicker switch would pull up the first page where you selected screens. Ugh.

Of course a good sales person would lead you through everything, as mine did with my 2nd purchase. But we know more on the forum than most sales people do and not all of them will take the time. Particularly I think as these vehicles hit used car dealers & the lesser quality ones.

 

[TEdison]

One thing to mention about Securicode is that there is a factory code, which comes on a card. It can also be displayed on the screen in the car when you follow a procedure in the manual with two already programmed keyfobs.

Via the Sync 3 settings (again, see the manual), you can program a custom Securicode entry code. This is particularly handy if a code is more memorable to you, or if you own multiple Ford vehicles with Securicode. My experience has been that this is stored in a non-volatile way (namely, if the battery dies, the custom securicode isn't wiped out and still works.)

The code can also be found on a sticker attached to the BCM and, on some older model Fords, stamped into the trunk hinge.

 

[gatornek]

The code can also be found on a sticker attached to the BCM and, on some older model Fords, stamped into the trunk hinge.

Another good answer to the original question of this thread. It was always about how do I find out what the code is, rather than how to operate it. I wonder if the location of the code is in the owners manual, as many on this thread would let out a loud 'guffaw' for you to go find.

 

[TEdison]

Another good answer to the original question of this thread. It was always about how do I find out what the code is, rather than how to operate it. I wonder if the location of the code is in the owners manual, as many on this thread would let out a loud 'guffaw' for you to go find.

Being "guilty" of reading the f*&%$#g manual, I can say that I've never run across anything other than look at the included card and call your dealer.

 

[Glamdring70]

Another good answer to the original question of this thread. It was always about how do I find out what the code is, rather than how to operate it. I wonder if the location of the code is in the owners manual, as many on this thread would let out a loud 'guffaw' for you to go find.

Yes. Well. Mostly yes. Maybe 90% yes. It tells you exactly how to get the code, but the visual that goes with it is obscenely wrong. At least, it is wrong in my 2021 book. The pad to put the key on is under the rubber mat by the 12v port in the phone cubby, not in the console as demonstrated. Putting it in the console will do nothing to display the code.

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