Ledger Articles - 2008 By Steve Young Looking at The 2005 Mustang By Steve Young The latest generation of the Mustang is unlocked exactly like the previous generation. There is no lock on the passenger side of the vehicle, but the latch that Ford has chosen to use is equipped with a lock bellcrank just as if there were a lock on the door. The unprotected bellcrank can be easily attacked with a variety of tools such as the Tech-Train 1000, shown here. 2101 John C. Watts Drive Nicholasville, KY 40356 Tel 859.885.6041 800.654.0637 Fax 859.885.1731 www.lockmasters.com Looking at the 2005 Ford Mustang Ledger Articles - 2008 By Steve Young Unlocking the Mustang Begin by wedging open the weatherstripping near the rear of the door and inserting the long end of the tool. Use care as you insert both the wedge and the tool not to roll the lower layer of the weatherstripping. If the weatherstripping rolls under your wedge, it will make the job harder and may damage the weatherstripping. Lower the tool at least thirteen inches into the door and then rotate it so that the tip points toward the inside of the door. The latch bellcrank is located twelve and one half inches down in the door, so the tip of the tool should now be below the bellcrank. Pull up on the tool to raise the bellcrank and unlock the car. If the car does not unlock, reposition the tool and probe for the bellcrank while watching the inside lock button for movement. Inside the door, you can see how the tip of the tool attacks the unprotected bellcrank. The linkage to the vertical button can also be attacked with the same tool, but the bellcrank is much easier to find inside the door. 2101 John C. Watts Drive Nicholasville, KY 40356 Tel 859.885.6041 800.654.0637 Fax 859.885.1731 www.lockmasters.com Looking at the 2005 Ford Mustang Ledger Articles - 2008 By Steve Young REMOVING THE DOOR LOCK Since there is no lock on the passenger side door, the only door you will likely have to disassemble is the driver’s side door. The panel is held onto the door with a combination of 10mm hex-head screws, Torx head screws and upholstery clips. The triangular cover behind the rear view mirror is held onto the door with two metal upholstery clips. It can be removed with gentle prying and once removed, the electrical connection to the mirror control is easily disconnected. A plastic cover inside the grab-handle portion of the armrest conceals one Torx head bolt that must be removed in order to remove the door panel. The plastic cover is removed by gently prying with a small screwdriver in the slot provided or with an offset scribe. The forward portion of the armrest consists of a pod that contains the power control panel. The pod is held in place by four upholstery clips, two of which point down and two point toward the door. Once again, gentle prying is all that is needed to remove the pod. It is not necessary to remove the control panel; because once the pod is free of the door the electrical connections can be easily disconnected. 2101 John C. Watts Drive Nicholasville, KY 40356 Tel 859.885.6041 800.654.0637 Fax 859.885.1731 www.lockmasters.com Looking at the 2005 Ford Mustang Ledger Articles - 2008 By Steve Young One 10mm bolt is concealed under the forward end of the control pod. This bolt must be removed in order to remove the door panel. Another Torx head screw that must be removed is concealed behind a plastic snap-off panel inside the handle trim. The panel can be removed by prying gently with a screwdriver or an offset scribe. Seven easily visible 10mm screws secure the door panel to the door. Two screws are located along the front edge of the panel, two along the rear edge and three more on the lower edge. 2101 John C. Watts Drive Nicholasville, KY 40356 Tel 859.885.6041 800.654.0637 Fax 859.885.1731 www.lockmasters.com Looking at the 2005 Ford Mustang Ledger Articles - 2008 By Steve Young After all of the fasteners have been removed, the panel can be removed from the door by gently lifting from the lower edge. Two hooks near the bottom of the door panel fit into the door skin and the top portion of the panel hooks over the top of the door. Once the panel is free, you can see the remaining connections that have to be released. The inside handle is connected to the latch by way of a bicycle-style cable. The cable is released by gently squeezing the two plastic tabs on the cable end together so that the cable housing can slide out of the mounting bracket. Once the cable housing is free, rotate the cable until the lug on the end of the cable can be lifted out of the slot in the handle. After the handle cable has been released, you will be able to pull the door panel far enough away from the door to easily reach the remaining electrical connections. The power door lock connection is located just forward of the inside handle. 2101 John C. Watts Drive Nicholasville, KY 40356 Tel 859.885.6041 800.654.0637 Fax 859.885.1731 www.lockmasters.com Looking at the 2005 Ford Mustang Ledger Articles - 2008 By Steve Young The speaker wire is the last connection on this vehicle that must be released, but other variations may have more than one speaker connection and / or courtesy lights that must be disconnected before the panel can be removed. After the panel has been removed, put it in a safe place. I usually put it in the back seat so that it is out of the way and out of the weather. Notice the two hooks in the lower portion of the panel that fit into the door skin. The entire panel has to be lifted in order to release these hooks. Attempting to pry the panel free can break the hooks. A clear plastic moisture-barrier is secured to the inner skin of the door with a bead of black butyl-rubber adhesive, which I refer to as “goop.” As you are working on the door, make sure that you do not cut or tear the moisture barrier. This will allow moisture to seep into the door panel causing rot, mildew, and electrical problems. 2101 John C. Watts Drive Nicholasville, KY 40356 Tel 859.885.6041 800.654.0637 Fax 859.885.1731 www.lockmasters.com Looking at the 2005 Ford Mustang Ledger Articles - 2008 By Steve Young Carefully peel the upper rear portion of the moisture-barrier free of the goop, so that you can reach inside the door to remove the door lock. The hole that is exposed just to the rear of the vertical lock linkage is used to access the 10mm screw that secures the lock into the door. The electrical switch on the back on the lock is connected to the wiring harness by a connector that is fastened to the inner door skin. This connector must be disconnected before you can remove the lock. The lock is secured to the door by a single 10mm hex-head screw that is visible through the hole in the inner door skin that I mentioned earlier. After the screw has been removed, and the linkage rod disconnected, the lock must be rotated until the tab on the lock aligns with a slot in the door skin. At that point, the lock will come free of the door and may be removed. The armored cover over the lock does not have to be removed since the lock comes out from the inside of the door. 2101 John C. Watts Drive Nicholasville, KY 40356 Tel 859.885.6041 800.654.0637 Fax 859.885.1731 www.lockmasters.com Looking at the 2005 Ford Mustang Ledger Articles - 2008 By Steve Young DOOR LOCK DISASSEMBLY After the lock has been removed from the door, the disassembly is fairly typical of other Ford 8-cut locks. The cam is secured to the plug with an E-clip, and once that clip has been removed, the cam and the electrical switch slides free of the lock. Make sure that you mark the switch and the lock housing in such a way that you can put the switch back on in exactly the position that it was in before you started. The face cap on the lock is reusable and can be easily removed after the tabs have been carefully pried out. There are no codes stamped on the door locks of any modern Ford. Ignore any numbers that you happen to find on these locks, since they are usually casting numbers and have no connection to the key code. The door lock is equipped with a return-spring that must be removed before the plug can be removed from the housing. It can be released with an offset scribe or a screwdriver. Note the way that the spring is wound so that you can replace it in the same way it came off. 2101 John C. Watts Drive Nicholasville, KY 40356 Tel 859.885.6041 800.654.0637 Fax 859.885.1731 www.lockmasters.com Looking at the 2005 Ford Mustang Ledger Articles - 2008 By Steve Young After the spring has been removed, that lock plug should slide easily out of the lock housing. These locks are designed to operate with white lithium grease, so be sure to replace any grease that you remove while servicing the lock as you reassemble it. This vehicle uses cuts 1 – 6 in the door lock, but later models use cuts 2 – 7 in the door lock. It is very important therefore that you make sure which bitting you are working with if you are decoding the door lock. The door lock uses standard Ford 8-cut tumblers. All of the tumblers are stamped with their corresponding depths. OPENING THE TRUNK The deck lock is recessed behind the trim, which makes the lock difficult to pick. There is no inside trunk release, so if the keys are inside the trunk or the trunk lock has been damaged or malfunctioned, unlocking the trunk can be a problem. However the electronic trunk release can be activated from under the hood. The “Bussed Electrical Center” or “BEC” is located inside the engine compartment on the left side of the compartment, against the fender and just to the rear of the windshield washer fluid reservoir. The cover on the BEC can be removed without tools, by releasing the plastic clips on each end. 2101 John C. Watts Drive Nicholasville, KY 40356 Tel 859.885.6041 800.654.0637 Fax 859.885.1731 www.lockmasters.com Looking at the 2005 Ford Mustang Ledger Articles - 2008 By Steve Young Once the cover has been removed, you will see three rows of plug-in relays. The trunk release relay is the one closest to the front of the car in the center row. Gently remove the trunk release relay out of its socket by rocking it slightly from side to side while pulling up. Make sure that you make a note of how the relay was installed so that you can replace it exactly as it came out once you’re done. Momentarily short the two sockets closest to the front of the car that the relay was plugged into. You can use a paperclip or a short piece of wire as shown here to short the contacts. As soon as you make the connection, you should hear the trunk release, and the trunk will pop open. Do not short the contacts any longer than necessary to release the trunk. Use this method at your own risk. Any time you jump an electronic connector, you run the risk of blowing a fuse, which is why I recommend that you carry an assortment of replacement automotive fuses with you. 2101 John C. Watts Drive Nicholasville, KY 40356 Tel 859.885.6041 800.654.0637 Fax 859.885.1731 www.lockmasters.com Looking at the 2005 Ford Mustang Ledger Articles - 2008 By Steve Young REMOVING THE DECK LOCK Once the trunk is open the lock can be accessed relatively easily. A removable plastic shell surrounds the latch mechanism and the lock. The shell is held in place with two metal clips that grip two plastic tabs on the shell. Use care as you pry the shell free; the plastic tabs would be very easy to break. Once the shell is free, you will have to disconnect the wire from the courtesy light if equipped. The lock is equipped with a microswitch that must be disconnected before the lock can be removed from the deck lid. 2101 John C. Watts Drive Nicholasville, KY 40356 Tel 859.885.6041 800.654.0637 Fax 859.885.1731 www.lockmasters.com Looking at the 2005 Ford Mustang Ledger Articles - 2008 By Steve Young The tailpiece of the deck lock drives a cable that releases the latch when the key is turned. In order to remove the lock, you will have to disconnect the cable attachment. This unit snaps over the end of the lock and can be released by gently bending the plastic tabs up as you pull the unit free of the lock. The lock is secured to the deck lid with two 10mm bolts. Once the bolts have been removed the lock will come free of the deck lid. DISASSEMBLING THE DECK LOCK The face cap of the deck lock is concealed by a plastic trim ring that snaps over the front of the lock. The trim ring also has a foam ring that seals the lock against the deck lid. Remove the trim ring by carefully prying the tabs loose from the lock. 2101 John C. Watts Drive Nicholasville, KY 40356 Tel 859.885.6041 800.654.0637 Fax 859.885.1731 www.lockmasters.com Looking at the 2005 Ford Mustang Ledger Articles - 2008 By Steve Young A small gasket is sandwiched between the trim ring and the face cap. The gasket may fall out when you remove the trim ring, so be careful that you do not lose it. The face cap is reusable and is held in place by several small tabs. In this photo, the tabs have been partial bent out so that the cap can be removed. The plug must be turned before it can be removed shell. If you do not have the key, you will have to pick the lock. When the lock is turned to the proper position, it will pull out of the shell easily along with the spring and tailpiece. Pay close attention to how the tailpiece and the spring are attached, so you can reassemble the lock the same way it came apart. 2101 John C. Watts Drive Nicholasville, KY 40356 Tel 859.885.6041 800.654.0637 Fax 859.885.1731 www.lockmasters.com Looking at the 2005 Ford Mustang Ledger Articles - 2008 By Steve Young The deck lock contains tumblers 3 – 8 and uses standard Ford 8-cut door tumblers. Once again this lock is designed to operate with grease as a lubricant, so be sure to replace any grease that you remove while servicing the lock. THE GLOVE BOX LOCK The glove box lock is secured to the door with three Phillips-head screws. Once the screws have been removed the lock will come free of the door. When seen from the rear the back of the lock plug is easily visible. 2101 John C. Watts Drive Nicholasville, KY 40356 Tel 859.885.6041 800.654.0637 Fax 859.885.1731 www.lockmasters.com Looking at the 2005 Ford Mustang Ledger Articles - 2008 By Steve Young The plug is held in the housing by an active retainer located at the rear of the plug. Once the lock has been removed from the door the retainer is visible in both the locked and unlocked positions. When the retainer is depressed the plug can be removed from the housing. The glove box lock contains tumblers 6 – 8, but uses different tumblers than the door and deck locks. This is a typical glove box tumbler. These tumblers are also used on most stowage compartments on Ford vehicles equipped with the 8-cut lock system. Notice that the depth is stamped clearly on the tumbler. 2101 John C. Watts Drive Nicholasville, KY 40356 Tel 859.885.6041 800.654.0637 Fax 859.885.1731 www.lockmasters.com Looking at the 2005 Ford Mustang Ledger Articles - 2008 By Steve Young REMOVING THE IGNITION LOCK The ignition lock used on the Mustang is made by Strattec (P/N 708556) and is the same ignition found in the Montego, 500, Freestyle and the new Taurus and Taurus X as well as other Ford vehicles. The lower portion of the steering column shroud is secured to the column with two Torx head screws. After the screws have been removed, the lower portion of the shroud can be unclipped from the upper portion and removed to give access to the ignition lock. 2101 John C. Watts Drive Nicholasville, KY 40356 Tel 859.885.6041 800.654.0637 Fax 859.885.1731 www.lockmasters.com Looking at the 2005 Ford Mustang Ledger Articles - 2008 By Steve Young The poke-hole for the active retainer is now easily visible from below the steering column. This lock cannot be removed intact in the locked position, so if you cannot turn the lock, you will have to drill out the lock. Once the lock has been turned to the “ON” position, an offset scribe or an ice pick can be used to depress the retainer. With the retainer depressed, the lock will pull easily out of the steering column. It is not necessary to remove the transceiver ring from around the ignition in order to depress the retainer or to remove the lock. DISASSEMBLY OF THE IGNITION LOCK This lock cylinder is loaded from the rear of the housing and the lock plug must be removed in the same way. The face of the lock shown here can only be removed after the plug has been removed. 2101 John C. Watts Drive Nicholasville, KY 40356 Tel 859.885.6041 800.654.0637 Fax 859.885.1731 www.lockmasters.com Looking at the 2005 Ford Mustang Ledger Articles - 2008 By Steve Young The E-Clip on the rear of the lock cylinder can be removed with snapring priers. Take note of how the clip is installed, as you will have to replace it in the same way that it came off when you reassemble the lock. The Strattec 381944 assembly tool is the easiest way to disassemble and reassemble this lock. If you do not have this tool, you will have to cut a mechanical key to the lock, and then cut off the head. When the headless key is inserted and turned it will allow you to turn the plug and push it out the rear of the housing. To use the Strattec 381944 tool, you insert the two prongs on the end of the tool into the lock as shown here. 2101 John C. Watts Drive Nicholasville, KY 40356 Tel 859.885.6041 800.654.0637 Fax 859.885.1731 www.lockmasters.com Looking at the 2005 Ford Mustang Ledger Articles - 2008 By Steve Young Once the tool is seated into the lock it has the effect of shimming the plug so that it will turn. Using a pair of needle-nose pliers, you can turn the plug and pull it out of the housing. Most of the published information on this vehicle indicates that the ignition lock should contain tumblers 2 – 8. On this vehicle however, the lock contained tumblers 3 – 8 and there was an empty slot where the number one tumbler might have been. This vehicle was fresh from the dealership when I took the photos, so I know that this lock is the way that it was when it left the factory. The moral here is not to assume that any particular lock is set up as some book says it should be, but to always check to make sure. 2101 John C. Watts Drive Nicholasville, KY 40356 Tel 859.885.6041 800.654.0637 Fax 859.885.1731 www.lockmasters.com Looking at the 2005 Ford Mustang Ledger Articles - 2008 By Steve Young The black rocker on the front of the plug does double duty as a shutter and as a device to push the lock plug in as the key is inserted. The rocker is held in place with a small plastic clip, one end of which is visible in this photo. Make sure that you grease this part very well when you reassemble the lock, so that it will work smoothly. After that plug has been removed from the housing the face-plate will fall out of the back of the lock. The tab on the back of the faceplate mates with the slot on the side of the lock plug. Notice also that there are two slots on the rear of the face-plate that link to the groove around the edge of the face-plate. When the face-plate is inserted back into the housing these slots will have to align with two tabs in the housing. The two tabs on the front of the lock housing are different sizes to match the slots on the face-plate. This assures that the face-plate can only be installed in the proper position. 2101 John C. Watts Drive Nicholasville, KY 40356 Tel 859.885.6041 800.654.0637 Fax 859.885.1731 www.lockmasters.com Looking at the 2005 Ford Mustang Ledger Articles - 2008 By Steve Young After the face-plate has been re-installed into the lock housing, the Strattec 381944 tool is placed over the end of the housing with the prongs facing away from the lock. The tool has a notch to make sure that it will only fit onto the housing in the correct position. With the tool in place, the lock plug can only be inserted in the correct manner because of a tab on the plug and a matching slot on the tool. Once the plug goes in as far as possible, you will usually have to rotate the face-plate slightly to align the parts so that they seat completely. The lock can be reassembled without the tool, but the tool makes the job much easier. KEY GENERATION There are many ways to generate a new key for this vehicle, ranging from obtaining the key code from a key code service to removing and disassembling the locks. The most common method in use when the key code is unavailable is to decode the door lock, deck lock or both and then progression any cuts that are still unknown. The door and deck locks can be decoded with a variety of methods including impressioning, try-out keys, and specialty decoders. The three most popular decoders are the Determinator, EZ-Readers, and Kobra Readers. The EZ-Readers and the Kobra Readers read the individual tumblers to determine the exact depth, while the Determinator uses a system of half-depths and impressioning to decode the locks. Each system has its own advantages and disadvantages, and I personally use all three. Depending on the amount of wear on the locks, and the physical condition of the lock system, I will use the tool that I think will do the best job on that particular car. 2101 John C. Watts Drive Nicholasville, KY 40356 Tel 859.885.6041 800.654.0637 Fax 859.885.1731 www.lockmasters.com Looking at the 2005 Ford Mustang Ledger Articles - 2008 By Steve Young KEY PROGRAMMING Regardless of which system you use to generate the new key you will still have to use a diagnostic device in order to program the transponder key into the on-board computer. All Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury passenger vehicles from 1999 and up, with the exception of the Escort, are equipped with a transponder system. Duplicate keys can be added with on-board programming only if two working keys are available and there are less than eight keys already programmed into the vehicle. In some cases the “Spare Key” function that allows on-board programming for duplicate keys may also have been turned off. The three most common tools used to program Ford vehicles are the NGS tool from Hickok, one of the Advanced Diagnostic tools: T-Code, T-Code Pro, MVP or Code-Seeker, or one of the Silca tools: the SDD or the TKO. The NGS tool is designed strictly for Ford vehicles and at one time was the official Ford programming tool used in dealerships. For that reason, the NGS tool is capable of some diagnostic and programming functions that are unavailable with any other locksmith tool. But for simple key programming when the system is working properly, all three systems work equally well. Regardless of which machine you choose to use, you will first have to plug in to the OBD port. The OB port on the Mustang is easy to find, near where the driver’s left knee would be. All of the diagnostic devices are powered from the vehicle. They should come on as soon as you plug your cable into the OBD port. If not, check for blown fuses, a low battery or other electronic problems. If you are using the NGS machine to program your key, the first thing you will have to do is select “Service Bay Functions.” If you are using a different device, you will most likely have to select “Immobilizer.” 2101 John C. Watts Drive Nicholasville, KY 40356 Tel 859.885.6041 800.654.0637 Fax 859.885.1731 www.lockmasters.com Looking at the 2005 Ford Mustang Ledger Articles - 2008 By Steve Young After selecting the make and model of the vehicle, you will then have to select the module that contains the programming for the transponder system. In the case of the Mustang, that module is the PCM module. Once in the PCM module, you will have to enter the “Security Access Delay.” This is a ten minute delay that is built into the system to prevent theft. Studies have shown that if you can slow down a would-be auto thief for even a few minutes, the number of successful thefts will be greatly reduced. After the security delay has passed, you can select several different options regardless of the machine you are using. You can erase all of the keys that are currently in memory and replace them. You can add one or more keys to the system without erasing the existing keys – up to a maximum of eight keys. Or you can turn the “Spare Key” option on or off, which will either enable or disable onboard programming for duplicate keys as I mentioned earlier. 2101 John C. Watts Drive Nicholasville, KY 40356 Tel 859.885.6041 800.654.0637 Fax 859.885.1731 www.lockmasters.com Looking at the 2005 Ford Mustang Ledger Articles - 2008 By Steve Young The machine will let you know when the programming process is complete, and at that point you can add additional keys by inserting them into the ignition and turning them one after another up to the maximum of eight keys. The system is designed to operate with a minimum of two keys in memory, so if you erase the existing keys, you will have to add at least two keys for the system to work properly. If you leave the programming mode with only one key programmed into the system, you will usually have some type of intermittent problems popping up with the security system. In addition, on some vehicles there is a setting inside the programming menu for “Unlimited Keys.” If this is selected you can program in an unlimited number of keys. This is usually done for fleet vehicles and will require a NGS machine for the programming. QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE: VEHICLES: 2005 – 2008 Ford Mustang DIRECTION OF TURN: Counter-Clockwise (driver side) LOCK SYSTEM: Ford 8-cut LOCK MANUFACTURER: Strattec CODE SERIES: 0001X – 1706X SECURITY SYSTEM: Ford CAN encrypted transponder system PROGRAMMING: Duplicate keys can be added with on-board programming as long as there are two working keys available, and the system is not already programmed for eight keys. All other programming requires a diagnostic device. MAXIMUM NUMER OF KEYS: 8 TRANSPONDER KEY BLANK: Strattec 599114 REMOTE HEAD KEY BLANK: Strattec 692395 (Ford logo) SERVICE KEY: H75 BITTING: Ignition: 2 – 8 (in most cases), Deck 3 – 8, Door 1 – 6 (later models use positions 2 – 7) Glove Box (if equipped): 6 - 8 2101 John C. Watts Drive Nicholasville, KY 40356 Tel 859.885.6041 800.654.0637 Fax 859.885.1731 www.lockmasters.com