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Door AJAR Switch Replacement on 2002XLT

Bummer. I replaced the drivers side sensor this afternoon. Problem is not resolved. Moving on to the other 3 sensors, then possibly the hatch sensors.

So I have a USED (115,000 MI) driver door sensor for a forum member sitting on my work bench.

Mark
 



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Bummer. I replaced the drivers side sensor this afternoon. Problem is not resolved. Moving on to the other 3 sensors, then possibly the hatch sensors.

So I have a USED (115,000 MI) driver door sensor for a forum member sitting on my work bench.

Mark

Same here - though I did discover that it's easier to get to the front door-ajar switches in my '03 by simply removing that lower rear window track (2 Torx bolts through the rear of the door, just like the latch).

The hunt for this electrical gremlin continues.
 






Bummer. I replaced the drivers side sensor this afternoon. Problem is not resolved. Moving on to the other 3 sensors, then possibly the hatch sensors.

So I have a USED (115,000 MI) driver door sensor for a forum member sitting on my work bench.

Mark

Same here - though I did discover that it's easier to get to the front door-ajar switches in my '03 by simply removing that lower rear window track (2 Torx bolts through the rear of the door, just like the latch).

The hunt for this electrical gremlin continues.

Have you guys looked for broken/damaged wires in the boot?

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.

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 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! :biggthump
 






Great post, Borland.
I have been very annoyed with this door ajar alarm going off at anytime, my neighbors started to get upset with this alarm in the middle of the morning. Tried several times WD40 but did not work out in my end. Finally yesterday i took the car to a shop they run a diagnostic of all inside instruments finding that the door jamb switch was not working properly. Got it from the Ford dealer and replaced and everyone had a nice sleep last night.
Thank you again for this great post in the ford explorer ajar door false alarm.
 






Thanks for you post and pictures

I just completed replacing my door ajar switch. Thanks for the post and pictures. I have a 2003 Explorer XLT. I tried the WD40 thing, but it only worked for a month. My wife drives the truck, and she has been driving the "Disco" truck for a couple of days. Lights and beeps all the way to work. It took me under an hour to complete. Thanks again.
 






Excellent write up borland:thumbsup:.Thanks.Was pretty easy out side those yellow clips.Took several mins to figure em out;)
 






The front passenger side door ajar switch on my 02 Explorer quit working. Tried the WD40 trick but that didn't work. Checked with NAPA auto parts and that switch is no longer available. They are still able to order the switch for the driver's side. Checked with my local Ford dealership and they have the front passenger door ajar switch in stock but they want $102.00 for it... no way I'm paying that much! So I cut the wires to the ajar switch, twisted them together, taped it up and that problem has now been solved, thank you very much!!!
 






I like your solution. Wish I'd thought of it. FWIW, if you want to, you can swap the rear passenger with the front....they are the same.
 






The Door Ajar lamp is a safety feature, that warns of a door latch which is not fully engaged. Not a good idea to disable the warning feature.

The dealer must have looked up the wrong part when they gave you a quote. Door ajar switch is much lower in price. Here's a screen capture of from one of the Ford Dealers that sell parts online.

14djztc.jpg
 






I’ve had the false “DOOR AJAR” warning lamp on my instrument cluster for some time. This is on my 2002 XLT.

This problem is intermittent, but seems to be reoccurring more often now than before. Often enough that I've been leaving the courtesy dimmer switch in the off position for about a year.

From searching the prior posts, apparently it can be either a bad switch or a broken ground wire at the door. Since mine is intermittent, the switch is the likely problem.

If you think your switch is bad, wait until you have the warning lamp and then immediately do the following troubleshooting to isolate the specific door causing the warning, using the alarm and wireless remote entry to set the alarm:

A. With all the windows in the down position, activated the alarm and waited about 30 seconds. Then open one door only from the inside door handle. If the alarm goes off that means that door switch tests OK.
B. Reset the alarm again, trying this on each door. Unfortunately, you can’t do this test on the rear liftgate and rear glass. At least not on my truck.
C. If no doors sounded the alarm, you probably have a problem not related to the switches on the doors or door's ground wires.

On my car, the driver’s door switch tests to be the problem area.

If you think your problem is the ground, checked the wires in the rubber sleeve between the door frame pilar and the door. If any damage is found it should be repaired.

The door ajar switch is attached to the bottom of the latch mechanism. The latch assembly is held to the door by 3 screws and two rods. The screws you could access from the outside of the latch. The rods are hold in place by two yellow plastic clips.

This assembly has two electric plugs one for the lock actuator (the biggest of the two) and another for the ajar switch.

There are several post claiming spraying wd40 through the outside door handle fixes this problem. The switch appears to be sealed so not likely that the spray could get inside the switch. If the warning lamp is intermittent, the spray repair may just be coincidental and actually have no affect. So I suggest replacing the switch.

Here’s how I removed the door panel and the AJAR switch.
1. Remove the plastic cover around the door handle. There are two forward clips, so use a putty knife as shown to pry from the front and then pull out.

doorajar001.jpg


2. Lift up the door switch panel from the front and remove. Disconnect the electrical plugs.

doorajar002.jpg


3. Remove three screws holding the door panel in place. One screw at the top, two along the bottom.

doorajar004.jpg


doorajar005.jpg


4. Lift the panel enough to reach the electrical connector to the outside mirror switch. It helps to insert a small flat blade screwdriver between the switch and the plug so as to relieve the detent holding the plug locked in place.

5. Slowly pull back the window liner from the bottom corner enough to permit working inside the door as shown in the photo. Use one of the window wiring plugs to grip the corner to hold it back as shown.

doorajar006.jpg


6. Disconnect two latch rods (one vertical, one horizontal) by disconnecting the ‘yellow’ clips. Here's a photo showing the AJAR switch way in the back using an inspection mirror. Annotated is (1) AJAR switch, and (2) the AJAR wiring harness and connectors.

doorajar008.jpg


Here's the latch mechanism pulled out enough to allow removing the AJAR switch. I've annotated with the (1) marker pointing to the switch.

doorajar009.jpg


7. The AJAR switch can be removed by rotating it 90 degrees toward rear of the latch.
8. Reinstall in reverse order.

After removing the switch, I found I was sent the wrong part. The part they sent is very similar but has a rectangular electrical connector, while the one I need is square. So I have reassembled everything and will wait for the correct part.

Hope this helps anyone with this common problem.

borland
2002 XLT

GREAT WRITE UP,
I wonder if any one explain, where the door switch installed at lift gate as well as rear glass panel door ??
Regards
Mateen
 






I just completed replacing my door ajar switch. Thanks for the post and pictures. I have a 2003 Explorer XLT. I tried the WD40 thing, but it only worked for a month. My wife drives the truck, and she has been driving the "Disco" truck for a couple of days. Lights and beeps all the way to work. It took me under an hour to complete. Thanks again.

I agree what a great post by borland. That's a Marine for ya. I am going to add a few things since I just finished this exercise WITHOUT seeing the borland post. Gezzz. Would have been much easier had I seen it.
Anyway..... consider these few ideas.
1. The Ajar switch is held in my a "tab". Twisting it CW might just damage the tab. I chose to pull the whole latch assembly out to get at the tab. Putting a very small flat bade under it allows easy turning of the switch CW about 90deg. Then it pulls right out. Note the tab actually has "tab" labeled on it.

2. All this use of WD40 worries me. WD40 is not a lubricant. It is a water displacement agent that works great on loosening rust. It attacks the grease used to lub the switch internals. It turns it gummy and sticky. That's why it only works for a month (as mentioned above). A better solution is contact cleaner. With the switch out note how slowly the ball end of the switch moves in and out. (mime was over 10sec to fully deploy). After pushing the ball in add some contact cleaner and work the ball in and out till it flies in and out fast.

3. There are yellow plastic retaining clips that hold the rods in (per borland) note some of these clip at 90deg to the rod end but the one the holds the rod from the outside door handle works differently. Find the narrow end of the clip. That is the side to unfasten. If necessary look at it with a mirror from the back you see the narrow end has a flange. Fling it toward you (drivers side door works this way).

4. I am very disappointed in Ford. Not just for this very unreliable part but many unreliable parts on this 2003 Explorer. I am saddened by this. The plastic intake manifold is a complete disaster on this vehicle. I've seen plastic used reliable on intakes. This one is not one of them.

I may post pics of the switch after a bit.
 






I am having so much trouble on detaching the vertical yellow clip. How do you guys remove it? I played with the yellow part, but it doesnot move. It seems glued to the rod.
I copied Borland's pic. You can find the location of the vertical yellow clip.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Here is how it is done. See where your yellow arrow tip is? Just to the right of that is the tab you want to pull on. Reach in and put you thumb on the left (wide part) side of the part and pull back with you index finger on the right side of the part. (your right hand) If you feel the back side of the right side of the part you can feel the tip of the tab. Do note how many threads are shown on the rod that is held by the yellow clip so you can get it back right later.

Also borland shows wiring (1 and 2) as the Door Ajar swithch and plug. I don't think it is. The plug for this is lower and to the left under the lock assembly.
 






Replaced the drivers' door switch today, not that difficult...but much easier with the pics in this thread. Thanks for posting.

...now if I can just figure out why both rear doors speakers don't work...
 






Just replaced the drivers door switch on my '04 and I still have the door ajar light on! ANyone got another idea?
 






Just replaced the drivers door switch on my '04 and I still have the door ajar light on! ANyone got another idea?

Welcome aboard!! :salute:

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 alarm would beep twice when I armed it. Recently all 4 windows stopped working. Most recently the driver door lock actuator 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 3 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. I had to repair the pink/black wire to fix the driver door lock actuator.

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 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. :biggthump

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






Just replaced the drivers door switch on my '04 and I still have the door ajar light on! ANyone got another idea?

Never fear. Just do the passenger side too.
Mine needed both replaced. I only found this by putting a
switch in parallel with the normal switch. I did both doors this way.
When the suspect switch in the lock mechanism acted up
I simply flicked the switch and saw the dome light go out
on the suspect door. THATS when I found out it was BOTH
doors.
 






I hardly ever have anyone else in my Explorer. How would the passenger door switch effect the driver side?
 






I hardly ever have anyone else in my Explorer. How would the passenger door switch effect the driver side?

Did you do any of the steps I outlined in my previous post?
 






I hardly ever have anyone else in my Explorer. How would the passenger door switch effect the driver side?

I don't really know how to explain this. I'll try.
Every door including the back hatch can make the ajar light come on.
The way the switches fail is that they fail to "relax".
When the door is closed the spring has to push out all the way
and it fails to.

Try this to isolate. With the ajar light on.
Go to each door and slam it shut hard.
The one that makes the ajar light go out is it.
But again, there is no reason at all that more than one
door could not be failing. Mine did and I too rarely have a passenger
anymore.

Good luck.
 



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I have not looked into the possibility of broken wires yet.
I am going to try cleaning and lubing all the other latches.
 






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