Door ajar light stays on??

[Eric1249]

I am new to this site and this is my first post.

I have an 04 Explorer. The door ajar light stays on. (most of the time) I had to turn the dimmer switch off otherwise the interior lights stay on. I learned to live without the interior lights, but at times it will go on and off and the chime/buzzer drives me nuts. Is there something to check or disconnect to fix this?

Thanks
Eric

 

[sethmorgan]

Lots of posts on here about the popular broken wire in the weatherproof boot between the door and the body. There's also solution involving spraying the lock down with WD-40. Independent from both of these solutions, sometimes my back hatch glass will become unsecured for no apparent reason, and any vibration encountered while driving will cause the door ajar light and inside dome light to come on/off/on/off. I have to pull over and reshut the glass to get it to stop.

 

[Exproblems]

, sometimes my back hatch glass will become unsecured for no apparent reason, QUOTE]>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

My rear hatch window pops open sometimes when I have to tap the door unlock button on the remote numerous times to get the drivers door unlocked. I'm having an issue with the drivers door not unlocking by the first or second tap of the button. Don't really know why the rear hatch window would pop open, since I didn't touch the rear hatch button on the remote just the door unlock button, but it does on occassion. I start the vehicle up and the message screen says "tailgate open". I get out of the truck and sure enough, it's open. I'm wondering if I should try to re-program my remote to the vehicle with the instructions in the owners manual.

 

[BigRondo]

I am new to this site and this is my first post.

I have an 04 Explorer. The door ajar light stays on. (most of the time) I had to turn the dimmer switch off otherwise the interior lights stay on. I learned to live without the interior lights, but at times it will go on and off and the chime/buzzer drives me nuts. Is there something to check or disconnect to fix this?

Thanks
Eric

Welcome aboard!!

I had similar electrical issues with my 02 xlt. The dome lights would stay on until the battery saver feature turned them off, the accessory delay wasn't working, the driver side puddle light didn't work, the keypad on the door would set off the alarm when I pressed it, the door ajar light would flash and beep at highway speeds, the radio would shut off as soon as I turned the key off, the delayed accessories didn't work, etc. Most recently all 4 windows stopped working.

A lot of electrical issues can be traced back to broken/damaged wire(s) in the boot between the body and the driver's door. I found 2 broken wires and repaired them. The thin black ground wire was broken and after repairing it all was back to normal. When the windows stopped working, I repaired the thick black ground wire and the windows now work like a champ.

Could also be related to the door ajar switch.

Here is the thread for removing the door panel: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums//showthread.php?t=303524

Here is a great thread for checking/replacing the door ajar switch, thanks to borland for the awesome write-up: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=249253

That is a great write up.

On a side note, before going through a complete replacement of the switch, you can spray WD40 into the door latch opening on each door, as these become stuck sometimes....and this can alleviate the issue.

This worked for me, after going for more than a year of the "door ajar" light coming on occasionally...mainly after a car wash, high humidity, or rain....making me unable to lock/arm the vehicle from the door keypad and keeping the dome lights on. Worth a try....it worked for me

Here is a great thread for checking for broken/damaged wires, thanks to synyster for this awesome write-up: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums//showthread.php?t=270081

Be sure to take your time when looking for broken/damaged wire(s). Check all the wires for breaks/damage. When you think you're done looking, look again, and again, and again. A bright flashlight can be very helpful.

Hope this helps out.

Please keep us posted as feedback helps others reading this post looking for a fix to the same or similar issue!

 

[Eric1249]

I first sprayed wd-40 in the latches. (as I was leaving for work) That didn't help. The nex day I checked the wires in the drivers door. The ground was connected with a butt connector. The wire was slidingin and out. Problem solved.

Thanks guys. These sites are great when you have problems like this.
Eric

 

[miker104]

Thanks guys. These sites are great when you have problems like this.
Eric

And even better when you come back and tell us what fixed it

Thanks

 

[truckmister]

I was so happy when I fixed mine mine was the bigger black ground wire in the drivers door and I owe it all too u guys on this great site again thank u....

 

[JLindley]

I just sprayed some wd40 in there and pushed the latch all the way in with a pin a couple of times and that has fixed. No problems since! been mabie a year

 

[stevetamacc]

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!!!!!

 

[woollmm]

2004 explorer

Had door ajar light on also. The drivers side door locks wouldn't work and the dome light would stay on. Just fixed it. There was a broken black ground wire inside the boot of the drivers side door. When you open the door there is a rubber boot between the door and the body of the vehicle. The boot can be pulled back to see the wires. The broken wire was inside this boot. Easy fix.

 

[WerkSpace]

We had the 'Door Ajar' issue. The alarm system would go off at random and drive all of our neighbors crazy when we weren't around.

I finally got fed up with this nonsense and found the electrical schematic for the system. I clipped off each and every door sensor wire at the security system module and soldered them all to ground.

The vehicle was purchased for $2,000 and I'd rather have happy neighbors and a vehicle without a dead battery than a flaky security system.

 

[coolmoss]

Door ajar alarm

This is my first time on this site. Door alarm ajar alarm and light have been on for weeks. the WD40 worked but i had to work it in. Especially on the rear glass. many thanks for saving me a bunch of money and time.