2003 Explorer door ajar problems

[colbowman]

I have a 2003 Ford explorer that just recently started having problems with the door ajar alarm beeper. All the doors will be shut but as soon as you put the key in it starts to ding, but the door ajar light does not come on. Also the driver side door lock button does not work when vehicle is off. Also the dome light and mirror lights will stay on for almost an hour after turning the vehicle off

 

[BigRondo]

I have a 2003 Ford explorer that just recently started having problems with the door ajar alarm beeper. All the doors will be shut but as soon as you put the key in it starts to ding, but the door ajar light does not come on. Also the driver side door lock button does not work when vehicle is off. Also the dome light and mirror lights will stay on for almost an hour after turning the vehicle off

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 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.

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Could also be related to the door ajar switch.

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

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Good luck getting it sorted.

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