2003 V70 Non-Turbo Base Model, 152,000 Miles.

There is a fuse #8 in the rear cargo fuse panel that controls the rear door locks and fuel door Lock. Activating the door locks blows the fuse. Operating the fuel door lock release does NOT blow the fuse. I have not gotten into the rear doors yet to isolate whether the problem is in the LH or RH door. I'm assuming there are places to disconnect the harness once I'm inside the doors so that I can isolate each one individually and hopefully determine which one is shorting. I would really like to disconnect the harness before it enters the door at all if there's a place.

The rubber boots between the pillar and the door appear be in good condition on both port and starboard sides of the ship. Is there a "typical" thing that shorts out that I should look for?

BTW - it's a bummer when you can't open the fuel door to pour in some of that $3.68 gas.

Pull the D pilar cover on the right side and unplug the tailgate. This will eliminate the possibility of a short in the harness. Tailgate harness problems are common

"...Pull the D pilar cover on the right side and unplug the tailgate..."

Do you mean left side? My car runs electrical through the left hinge and wash water line through the right hinge. Good to know I can find a disconnect there though - much appreciated. That may help me solve one of my OTHER electrical issues - constant "TAILGATE OPEN" message at the DIM.

In the mean time, the rear locks have been working properly the last few days. No blown fuses. Go figure....

Will put the car to work today moving my daughter out of her college apartment. That thing will be stuffed to the gills. Why consumers gravitated from wagons to SUVs, I can't understand.

Yes, the left side is where the tailgate wiring is routed. You can unplug it at the connector behind the panel. If memory serves, the back door harnesses can be unplugged by removing the B pillar panels, so you can isolate things 1 at a time.

Ah, cheap gasoline! And no ability to do errands via public transportation.

You might also have a problem with the trunk lock which runs at the same time as the door locks. Check the wiring at the trunk hinge for pinches and rubbing.

Klaus
--
Always willing to listen, just not able to take direction.

It's a wagon but I catch your drift about the rear lock. As a matter of fact.....

I have a case of the perpetual "tailgate open" annunciation at the DIM which I was investigating last weekend. I got into the tailgate latch assembly expecting to find a bad micro switch or loose wire or ? But the switch checked out OK and the lock solenoid functioned properly, etc. Nothing appeared awry in that area. I also opened up the plastic boot that protects the wires past the tailgate hinge. Everything looked good there also. Hmmm, I wonder if I might have pinched a wire in the process - was pretty darn careful not to. It was intersting to see the latch open/close micro switch is wired in series with the tailgate glass breakage sensor. Normally, the circuit is closed, running to ground after the glass sensor. If either the latch sensor micro switch opens OR the continuity to ground through the glass sensor is interupted, presumably it's displayed on the DIM and triggers the alarm.

Anyway, you just gave me a third place to investigate for a ground. And as much as I hate to admit it, anywhere that I've recently been probing and prodding becomes the most suspect.

Whoever sells fuses loves me about now….

Here’s what I’ve learned so far:

I'm looking at the REM on the LH side of the cargo compartment. My car has identical relays in RMI slots 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, and 23. If I pull the relay from the RMI-20 slot I stop blowing fuses, but neither rear doors will lock/unlock as commanded. Also, when the relay is removed, activating the lock button on the driver’s door triggers the gas door, and pushing the gas door button triggers the rear door locks – the rear door lock buttons will actually go up and down when this happens. If I re-insert RMI-20, it only blows a fuse during “LOCK” action, not “UNLOCK”, but neither rear door locks will move in either action. Also, the fuse will blow during “LOCK” action regardless of whether I use the key fob or push down on either door’s manual button.

I'm "pretty sure" I swapped relays around in a way that eliminated the relay itself as a likely cause, but I'm starting to doubt my procedure - I may re-verify that.

The rear hatch locks/unlocks properly without blowing a fuse.

Any ideas?