Approach Lighting Randomly Turns On 14th Gen F150

[72RangerXLT_Baker]

Morning Folks! I have a repetitive issue with my approach lights turning on while driving and when truck is parked turned off and fob is 20yds+ away and inside. I’ve tried the faraday bag, turning off the approach setting, turning off all zone and lighting settings, replaced the bed switch, and ll doors and tailgate are firmly shut. Is there a solution for this?
I've gone through 4 dead batteries in 8 months...not to mention my kids being late/missing school because the truck won't start. First occurrence was in Aug ‘24, then in late Feb ‘25 and started again this week with the battery fully draining overnight last night. I’m having to keep a trickle charger on it nightly.

Model: 2021 F150 King Ranch
SW Version: 20262_PRODUCT, Revision: 229. Automatic updates are enabled.
Symptoms: Approach lights randomly come on and stay on. Then randomly go off on their own or when battery is drained. Key fob is inside house, 30yds+ away.
Troubleshooting Steps:
- Put key fob into a faraday bag - no change
- Turn off "Welcome Lights" - no change
- Open and firmly closed all doors and tailgate - no change
- Double-clicked lock on key fob with horn honk confirmation - no change
- Called dealer, possibly a faulty bed switch, replaced - no change

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I contacted Ford-Corp, but they said to call dealership. Dealership can’t find anything wrong…yet my truck dies each night without a charger on the battery.

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[72RangerXLT_Baker]

***UPDATE on this issue…

What I’ve observed each time is that this behavior only lasts a few weeks, then goes away for several months. I thought it may be a short, but that doesn’t ring true with what I’m seeing. Possibly software related to an update schedule, but I can’t find where Ford publishes those to confirm if it aligns with that timing.

I’d appreciate any advice the community may have.

 

[Kanuck]

Is it approach lighting or door being opened lighting? I would be checking for a door switch that is, what I call knife edging. Almost off, but not quite. You could try wiggling the doors when locked, and see if the lights come on. Check the adjustment of the door closed switches or a defective one. I believe they are all part of the door latch. The worst possibility is there is a wiring harness not plugged in tightly. This could be hard to find.

Passing thought...does the lights come on when on the charger? If not, possibility the battery is toast. May electrical issues are battery related. If OEM battery, change it. Get at least a H7 or H8 AGM battery.


FYI..... your software was installed on the 262nd day of 2020 and is way behind. I also think it is one of the versions that is problematic in updating. Not to say it can't be done. You will have to do it yourself. There are many members on here that will guide you through the process. If you're planning to keep the truck for a long time, I highly recommend you do update. You're missing a lot of improvements and features. Possibility of fixing your lighting issue as well. Unless you can prove it is a software issue, the dealer will not do any updates, as they don't get paid for it.

Updating requires a laptop, borrow or buy a Mongoose adaptors and a charger power supply.

 

[dmeyer302]

Is it approach lighting or door being opened lighting? I would be checking for a door switch that is, what I call knife edging. Almost off, but not quite. You could try wiggling the doors when locked, and see if the lights come on. Check the adjustment of the door closed switches or a defective one. I believe they are all part of the door latch. The worst possibility is there is a wiring harness not plugged in tightly. This could be hard to find.

Good thought. @72RangerXLT_Baker do you lock your doors at night? If you do, and the truck is doing with Kanuck describes, you should be getting the panic alarm. If you don't lock, you may be getting the "approach lighting" situation.

I had to replace one of my door latch modules. When it warmed up on a sunny afternoon, it would sit in the parking lot at work honking.

 

[Kanuck]

The first few pages will give you an idea what is required to update your truck....
https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/ecu-module-programming-guide-using-fdrs.8249/post-645892

Also, there are very knowledgeable members in your state, maybe close by that would help with updates.

 

[72RangerXLT_Baker]

The first few pages will give you an idea what is required to update your truck....
https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/ecu-module-programming-guide-using-fdrs.8249/post-645892

Also, there are very knowledgeable members in your state, maybe close by that would help with updates.

Thanks for the feedback @dmeyer302 and @Kanuck. It is in fact the approach lighting as no interior lights come on.

Unfortunately, I believe I’m one of the many ‘21 F150 owners from the Job 1 deployment that have a faulty APIM. I’ve done all the “fixes” from YouTube to no avail. I’ll call my local dealer and see what they quote me. I expect I have roughly 8-10 hrs of updates since I’m about 5 yrs behind at this point.

I’ll also post to see if any of the community is nearby and willing to help me with updates.

Thanks again for the info!

 

[Mosey]

If you have an extended warranty from Ford, there is a TSB concerning some modules not being updated correctly. It would cost you $100 but the extended warranty should cover the rest.

 

[72RangerXLT_Baker]

If you have an extended warranty from Ford, there is a TSB concerning some modules not being updated correctly. It would cost you $100 but the extended warranty should cover the rest.

Thanks for that. I’ll inquire this morning.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Thanks for the feedback @dmeyer302 and @Kanuck. It is in fact the approach lighting as no interior lights come on.

Unfortunately, I believe I’m one of the many ‘21 F150 owners from the Job 1 deployment that have a faulty APIM. I’ve done all the “fixes” from YouTube to no avail. I’ll call my local dealer and see what they quote me. I expect I have roughly 8-10 hrs of updates since I’m about 5 yrs behind at this point.

I’ll also post to see if any of the community is nearby and willing to help me with updates.

Thanks again for the info!

It'd be far cheaper just to buy the Mongoose cable and get a short term FDRS license and do it yourself. Fairly sure there's plenty of members who could lend a hand with the process. You could always sell the cable on here after your done and recoup most of your expenses too.

 

[72RangerXLT_Baker]

***UPDATE

Ended up going the dealer route since they quoted me a max $500. After 2 full days and 33 updates, the truck is now on v23291, rev1049.

I’ll keep an eye on the approach lights and see if all these updates fixed that along the way. Thanks again for the feedback and assistance!

 

[72RangerXLT_Baker]

Well, it’s been 2 weeks of no issues and then tonight, they struck again. Came home from a restaurant around 6:45p and at 7:15p noticed the zone/approach lights were on. I unlocked and locked the truck with the fob, and the lights immediately came back on. I unlocked, opened/closed all doors and tailgate, no change. Double locked with fob and heard the horn, no change. Its now 11:32p and the lights have been on continually for almost 5 hrs.

I’m not going to repeat all troubleshooting shooting steps I’ve done for the past year, but this is getting absurd. If it’s not software, and it’s not fob detection, if I’ve replaced the bed switch, if it’s randomly happening, it must be ______. I’m perplexed and have been unable to speak with a mechanic that is familiar with this issue or able to offer advice. I don’t know what to do for next steps but hook up to the trickle charge every night.

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