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Interior lights stay on

lrm

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Year, Model & Trim Level
2002 Mercury Mountaineer
My interior lights stay on for more than a minutes, like 15-20 minutes, after I close the door and lock it. This is a pain, drains the battery if you go in and out of the car. I have resorted to pulling the time delay relay in the fuse box, also turning the light dimmer all the way down to off, both are a pain to do.

Does anyone know if this could be a bad electric relay somewhere? There's other electronic stuff not working -
- key alarm always rings when the key is in with the door open or closed when the car is off
- the radio shuts off when the ignition is turned off with doors closed, it doesn't stay on like it used to

Something is awry in the electronics. I was going to start with the time delay relay that controls the interior lights since that's the worst since it drains the battery and I don't always remember to turn them off using the dimmer switch.

Anyone have similar problems before?
 



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I'm having this same problem. It doesn't happen all the time though.

Is you're door ajar idiot light on also. If it is that will cause the radio not to work when the ignition is shut off.

Does anybody know anything about the door ajar light and where the sensors are for it?
 






The door ajar switch is in the door latch inside the door. I thought mine was bad but also the power mirror and door lock switch did not work in the drivers door also. It was the thick black wire was broke in the boot between the door and the body .
 






You may also have a sticky latch if the door ajar light is on. WD-40 fixes this problem
 






The door ajar switches are built right in to the door latches. Sometimes a good douse with WD-40 into the latch will clear the door ajar indicator as shadowless said.

To the OP: I think you're got a busted ground wire in the driver's door or the rubber boot conduit, like ddog said. That causes all kinds of odd behavior from the Security Module, which runs the stuff you're having problems with. Find that broken wire and repair it, or cut it inside the door and splice in another wire to a good ground. Both solutions have been used by others here. Let us know how you do.
 






You may also have a sticky latch if the door ajar light is on. WD-40 fixes this problem

Agreed. I had the same problem and I ended up lubing the latch and my door ajar light went away. Try this cheap fix first.
 






If you look for the broken wire in the door boot , the first time I pulled the boot from the body and could not see it broken. I then pulled the boot from the door and that is where it was broken. I just spliced a piece of wire in and every thing worked.
 






Agreed. I had the same problem and I ended up lubing the latch and my door ajar light went away. Try this cheap fix first.

had this happen to me less then a week after I purchased my Mounty back in may. Did a quick canvas of the forum, bought some WD 40, lubed 'er up and havent had a problem since.
 






SO far...

Sounds like the ground wire is the problem. I don't know where the ground wire is located in the drivers door. I fixed the windows, they wouldn't work when these problems started and I found if I grounded them from the drivers door switch they all worked again. I ran a wire from the drivers door switch ground to the frame in the car and all the windows worked again but only the windows were fixed.

Where is the ground wire in the drivers door ?
anyone have a link with a picture? I could go to my friendly Ford dealer and see if they have one. Or would a Haynes manual have it?

I don't know if I'd know what a rubber boot conduit is if I saw it. It sounds like conduit with wires in it. Is that the rubber cover between the door and the frame near the hinges?

Thanks for the help!
 






Yes it is what you call the rubber cover between the door and frame. Just pull the rubber cover out of the frame and you will see all of the wires. The one that you are looking for is the thickest black wire.It is quite obvious you will see it as it is alot thicker than the rest of the wires. That is the ground wire. Like I said before, I did not see it broke right away, so I would suggest just pull on it lightly towards the door to see if the wire is broke. If it is , just splice a new piece in.
 






Sounds like the ground wire is the problem. I don't know where the ground wire is located in the drivers door. I fixed the windows, they wouldn't work when these problems started and I found if I grounded them from the drivers door switch they all worked again. I ran a wire from the drivers door switch ground to the frame in the car and all the windows worked again but only the windows were fixed.

Where is the ground wire in the drivers door ?
anyone have a link with a picture? I could go to my friendly Ford dealer and see if they have one. Or would a Haynes manual have it?

I don't know if I'd know what a rubber boot conduit is if I saw it. It sounds like conduit with wires in it. Is that the rubber cover between the door and the frame near the hinges?

Thanks for the help!

You may have more than one wire that is broken in there. There are at least 2 black ground wires that run through the door and the conduit into the frame. You need to make sure that all the wires in that bundle are okay. Let us know what you find.

You never did say if your door ajar lamp is lit all the time too. If it is then definately spray a good dose of WD-40 in the slot where the latch is. I'd spray all the doors including the liftgate and glass. Cover all the bases.
 












I have the same problem with my mounty every time it rains or get washed but mine is front he rear hatch door, hadn't looked at it yet, just trying not get it wet...lol..
 






Door ajar

Man so glad I found this site the thing was driving me nutz, The broken wire was my problem. Grounded it, now locks, mirrors work, door ajar light is gone. wooo whooo. Thanks
Only Prob now is my key fobs not working.
 






Have the same issue, Gem mod needs replacement.
 






I have taken the inside door off a few times and haven't been able to find the broken wire. The rubber boot is held on by a couple of wide rubber bands that are in the way. I don't want to cut or break anything in there. I don't have the door ajar light on, just the dome light stays on for 20 minutes, the radio shuts off immediately when the car is turned off, if they key is in the ignition the beeper is going off that the door is open.

It's like the door closed sensor isn't working but the door ajar light isn't on. It works fine, I can open the door and it comes on. So I'm left with the broken ground wire theory.
 












Thanks!

Just wanted to say thanks for the info on the broken wire fix.

My symptoms:
Driver's door would not lock or unlock via remote or button, only manually.
Double-beep when locking doors with the remote (door ajar indicator)
Oddly, no door-ajar warning on the dash.
Lights staying on in the truck for 15-20 minutes after locking doors.
Without totally taking everything apart, I was able to pull the rubber boot out of the door and with a flashlight could see at least one broken wire before diving into the full repair.

Fix:
1. Disconnected negative battery cable.
2. Opened the door.
3. Removed interior door panel.
4. Removed door speaker
5. Pulled rubber boot into the door, through the wires hole.
6. Found one large black wire and one small pink wire broken.
7. Spliced with crimp connectors and then taped black and pink wires with a short piece of speaker wire (3"-4") and electrical tape.
8. Tested locks, everything worked.
9. Taped all of the wires back together in a large bundle
10. Moved rubber boot back into place.
11. Replaced speaker
12. Replaced door panel.
13. Retested locks, windows, speaker, mirror control, etc.

Total time with no previous experience with removing the door panel before, ~2 hours on a leisurely Saturday afternoon.
 






Just fixed mine. It's the black ground wire in the door. Must have split apart in the boot between the body and door.
 



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mine is still broken. no door ajar light but if I spray alot of WD-40 in there it will work for about a day. I dont mind just switching the dome adjuster at night.
 






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