Door ajar!

[bigred4x4]

All doors are shut, it constantly thinks a door is ajar have to leave battery disconnected because it will die within a week and sometimes the alarm goes off randomly , but I think the problem was intermittent then now it thinks a door is open all the time. Any ideas? I'm hoping this is an easy fix.

 

[toypaseo]

You'll have to check all your door ajar switches. My problem one was the driver door. I swapped it with a junkyard one.

Your alarm going off randomly sounds like a problem I had. My battery was going out, I replaced it, and never had the alarm going off by itself again...

 

[bigred4x4]

Where are the switches located?....I Also just replaced the battery a few months ago I think it went off because it thought a door had opened, is there a way to disable it temporary? The switches I mean.i disconnect the battery so I don't wake up in the middle of the night to the false alarm and a dead battery because the interior lights don't seem to want to go out for awhile every time it thinks a door is open.

BTW it's a weekend driver probably only sees a few miles a week at this point so I don't run it enough to keep the battery charged and o was finding a dead battery when I would leave it connected because the lights stay on go out stay on etc... It also beeps at me going down the road which is annoying and I can't see out of it at night real well with all the lights on until they go off automatically once I start to drive a certain speed.

 

[swshawaii]

MANY faulty door ajar switch threads. Some have had success spray lubing through the outside handle, but most remove the door panel and replace the switch for a long term solution. Do some research, issue is not always isolated to just one switch.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/index.php?search/15336815/&q=door+ajar+switch&o=date&c[node]=100

 

[Mbrooks420]

Open the doors,hatch and window one at a time with the key in. When they are opened it will ding the warning bell. If one door, or hatch doesn’t ding, that’s the switch you have an issue with.

 

[Terkins]

Open the doors,hatch and window one at a time with the key in. When they are opened it will ding the warning bell. If one door, or hatch doesn’t ding, that’s the switch you have an issue with.

I don't know about any bell dinging in my 2000 XLS, but it's aggravating when I stop at the dumpster and can't open the rear hatch or passenger door with my key fob or the door switch with the engine running and the parking brake set! I have to turn off the engine and remove the key in order to "order" them to "unlock"! Who's the dummy-in-charge who designed this system???

 

[Mbrooks420]

If your keys are in the ignition and you open the door it doesn’t ding to warn you?

 

[bigred4x4]

I just remembered my dinger for driver door open is disabled or broke it never chimes with the door open and key in. iirc I bought it that way and actually like not having that annoying ding. Although it beeps once if I open another door. I'm thinking it's my driver door because alot of the time it doesn't even recognize the door is open, so maybe it's broke in the ajar position now.

 

[Terkins]

If your keys are in the ignition and you open the door it doesn’t ding to warn you?

Yes it dings but the dingbat won't open the door locks if I press "unlock" on my key fob. Who's in charge here?

 

[Mbrooks420]

Do they all ding?

 

[CDW6212R]

Yes it dings but the dingbat won't open the door locks if I press "unlock" on my key fob. Who's in charge here?

The key fob only works when the engine is not running. I know, if you lock the doors with it running the fob won't help(I keep the fob and keys on separate key rings).

 

[CDW6212R]

I like the method of checking the doors with the ding the best.

But if that doesn't help much, try one at a time with a screw driver(or any hard rod/stick etc), force a door latch shut, and see if the door ajar goes out.

With all doors/hatch shut, open one at a time, and force the latch(or both at the back) shut, and see if the ajar light goes out. If it does, the issue is not with the latch(s). If the ajar light stays on, then the latch is the problem. I'd lubricate all of them, they need it given 20+ years.

BTW, that door ajar problem is created also if you use the parts store striker assortment. Those are too large, they prevent the door latch from shutting all the way. I learned that about ten years ago myself.