Door ajar door ajar door ajar

UPDATE.... Resolved temporarily for now. No more Door Ajar Ding and Lights!!!!! Read on to see how I spotted the problem.



Before you all tell me to read all the very informative posts on this subject I would like you to hear me out .
I have an 03 Limited V8 AWD, I have had this problem since I have owned this truck for about 3 months or so. Made my 1500 mile trip almost unbareable, well that and the friggin IAC crapping out half way. I did the wd-40 trick, NO LUCK. I am trying to simulate the problem but am having no luck. Turned the key on, opened all the doors and hatch, manually closed the latches to simulate the doors closed. dome light goes off. Now just so ya know, This is a very intermittent problem but when it happens it is the most annoying thing in the world. It will beep and flash door ajar in the message center for around 10 mins of driving. Happens so quickly the light doesn't have time to come on. Anyway with all doors open and latches latched, dome light off, I cannot get it to do this. I am jiggling all the latches, squeezing and moving the harnesses, even tapping on the door in the latch area with a rubber mallet, NOTHING. Jump in the truck after unlatching and closing all doors, drive around the block and it happens twice. Does anyone have a clue what is going on here? Please don't say wd-40, this does not work in my case. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I am beginning to think it is what ever module controls all this, including anti-theft.

When you say you opened and closed the rear hatch did you do both as the window opens separately from the hatch. Had this with mine a few years back and discovered that I had in-advertently unlocked the "window hatch" within the rear hatch. Also it is common to have a problem with the switches within the door locks. Can be a bear trying to figure out which one. I would think that a broken wire in the door jamb harness could cause this as well.

Had the same issue w/my rear hatch window when I first bought the truck. Somehow managed to unlock the rear hatch window and didn't know it. Light would flash so quick I couldn't figure out what it said. Stopped at a gas station and checked the rear hatch and sure enough, it was unlocked enough to jiggle and cause the light to flash.

Hope that's your problem and not something more involved.

Thanks guys. Don't think it is the rear hatch because when the hatch is open the message center will say liftgate ajar. It is flashing door ajar and dinging at random. Very annoying.

Is this flashing right after going over a bump or on a rough road? I had a similar issue with mine where it would throw the "door ajar" for a split second and it turned out to be a wire where the insulation was just scuffed enough to short when going over a bump. Right after the door boot (in driver door) is where mine was.

I am Having the same problem with my 03 Mountaineer.... I bought it about a month ago and as I was driving it home i noticed that the door ajar wouldn't go off... after reading all the threads on this site, I started with the wd40. then I read that wd40 isn't really a lubricant but more of a rust remover or water distiller.... so then I started with the Heavy Lubricant spray and started to notice that the door ajar went away.... thinking it was fix, I then woke up to my Alarm going off in my Suv. after turning my alarm off, walking back into my house the alarm started going off again. Reluctantly I had no choice but to leave the doors unlocked so i could go to bed.. the next morning after doing some troubleshooting I came the to conclusion that the Door lock was somewhere in between fixed and broken. the door ajar light would only come on after i started driving and would beep and DING and keep going on and off and then would stop but then ding and BEEP again.... after doing some more research i came across changing out the door ajar switch Part #1L2Z-13713-AA. Which was a Pain in the ass but I was able to do it. after that, the door ajar light would only come on if any of the doors were open. and the Rear hatch would only come on if "IT" was open. it too would say "REAR HATCH OPEN" but then 4 hours later, it happened. the DING started going off again. "SMH" So now i'm back to square one. I know i've made Progress but it's still not Fixed... What Else Could it Be??????

This happened again last night and this time the door ajar light was staying on. That was a first. The dome light was not on I guess because we were driving and the battery saver shut it off, it was daytime, never noticed the interior lights on. Opened all doors while the door ajar light was still on, after pulling over of course. Did not shut the truck off or anything. Now I had the family open the doors one by one. I was taking notice of which doors made the interior light come on. To my amazement, the pass. front door did not make the dome lights come on when opened. All other doors did. Make sense??? If I am correct in my thinking, I think I found my bad switch... I am gonna go yank it out and jump it and see if that is my problem... What do ya think???

UPDATE... Found the bad switch!!!!!!!! It was the pass. front. Pulled the door panel off, took the latch out and unplugged the switch. I jumpered the plug out and all is perfect. Now until I get to the dealer to replace the bad switch, the truck will think the pass. door is always closed. No problem with me at all, no more ding ding ding. Just for the hell of it, while I had everything apart I plugged the switch back in and problem started immediately. Finally figured it out!!!!!!! YAY!!!!

2002 Ford Explorer

"DONT READ ANY FURTHER... IT'S A DOOR AJAR SENSOR"

While your car is on... bang on each door one by one. When you bang the door with the bad sensor... the door ajar light and dome light will flicker. It's most likely the rear hatch!!!!! The rear hatch has 2 sensors... 1 for the hatch and 1 for the rear hatch window. EASY FIX: remove rear interior panel. Locate sensors and unplug them. Buy those staples you put into a staple gun that are curved and for stapling television cable to a wall. Insert the staple into the plug holes on the connector. That will close the circuit and result in the door ajar sensor always being off even though you open the rear hatch. Who needs a door ajar sensor anyways. Just make sure you close your door properly. Even though you replace the sensor with a new one... the latch gets bent over time and the sensors will never work the same. You can thank me when you fix yours!!! WHOOOOPIIII!!!!!