Door Ajar light won't go off

[acatnip]

Lady needs advice please!! Recently inherited a 99 XLT and am trying to trouble shoot this problem. Seems like everything is going at once. (117,000 miles on it) Am looking at a new transmission, just repaired an overheating problem. Took the Explorer in for a computer check to diagnose the trany issue (bad solinoid) and when getting it back, the mechanic said all the electrical system was fine, no problems. BUT- as soon as I started it up, the Door Ajar light came on along with all the interior lights. Figured the guy didn't shut one of the doors properly so drove off. Now the panel light will not turn off and all doors are properly shut. Cannot find any switch in door panel that may be stuck and slamming all the doors shut 500 times did not work (my extent of mechanical repair). Due to the questionable nature of the actions of the mechanic doing the diagnosing (Took the vehicle off site to a transmission shop without my knowledge thinking I was just going to have the trany put in and then "couldn't" return it for a few days) I am reluctant to go back.
Any advice? If I cannot fix the problem myself, I am less likely to get ripped off if I am knowledgable with the problem when going in for repair.

 

[Howard]

Did you also check the glass in the rear hatch?

 

[budwich]

Most of the time when people have this problem, they spray (WD40 or equiv.) the heck out of the door latch areas as the switch is part of the latch mechanism.... one if them is probably stuck.

 

[acatnip]

I checked the rear door glass, shut tight, but will go spray the latches. Hopefully that will fix it. Otherwise the trany guy will check it, but don't need the extra $$$$$ for it.
Thanks guys, any more suggestions appreciated.

 

[mesa 33]

Try disconnecting the battery for a hour or 2.

 

[BeauJ]

Have you closed all the doors?

 

[acatnip]

WD40 did not work, will try the battery suggestion.

 

[budwich]

The other thing that you can check is that the interior lamp relay is stuck. It is in aux relay box #4.

 

[BuffaloXplorer]

Here's what i did to track down my door ajar issue:

Sit in the driver seat with the ignition on while someone else opens the doors, one by one, including the liftgate and glass (seperately). Every time a door opens, you'll hear the chime, until you find the one that doesn't. There you will find the problem!

There are 7 sensors that determine if a door is, in fact, ajar: one at each door and 3 on the liftgate (one at each liftgate latch and one on the glass hatch latch).

Good luck!

 

[SkanlaxJMO]

Back when My mom drove my X the door ajar light stayed on and it had to do with the rear hatch. And the interior light would stay on unless you kicked the rear hatch hard enough so it turned off. This was 98 or so she had it taken in and it was a wirring issue with the rear hatch. The mechanic instead of reparing it cut the wirring to the third brake light along with some of the censors and the problem ceased.

 

[BuffaloXplorer]

If you figure out which door is the problem, PM me and if it has anything to do with the liftgate i'll walk you through the repair - i R & R'd everything back there, 3x, and could now do it blindfolded (if i still had her). Let me know if you need anything - i may have a sensor lying around, plus a latch and wiring harness if needed.

 

[acatnip]

The other thing that you can check is that the interior lamp relay is stuck. It is in aux relay box #4.

Back from transmission shop, all rebuilt there. The guy there did not address the problem,to busy, but he felt this was the problem. When I find this relay box, then what?

 

[wired_af]

I had my door ajar light stay on, turns out the switch in the drivers door latch broke, in order to fix it you have to get a whole new latch mechanism. I went to a junkyard to get a latch but the guy at the junkyard broke the switch while removing it from the door. I got a new latch assembly from the dealer, pretty reasonably price if I remember correctly. They are pretty easy to break right where the electrical connector connects to the switch. Maybe you have a broke switch?

 

[budwich]

The aux box #4 is in the cargo comp. drivers side... access thru the jack storage panel. Is your "door ajar" lamp on the instrument panel lit??? If it is, then the relay is probably being held up by some switch as discussed. Buffalo... had a good suggestion to eliminate which switch it might be.... did you try this trouble shooting. If the "door ajar" light is not lit, then it is a good possibility that the relay is a problem. You can pull it and the lights should go out. A replacement relay is cheap.... thus you can try get a new one and drop it in and see if it fixes (that's the easy way) or you can use a meter and measure things (ie. contacts and such). With all the openings closed, that relay should not be operated. It gets is "commands" (actually ground) from the GEM module based on the GEM detecting that one of your switches is operated on a door. Hope it helps you bit more.

Oops, I see from your first post that it is on (still???).... then buffalo... suggestion is a good one to eliminate which door is a problem.

 

[acatnip]

HUGE THANKS GUYS!!!! I used buffalo's suggestion and narrowed down the door, then really went to work with spray silicone. Took a screwdriver and moved all moving parts and sprayed everything. IT WORKED!!!!! You guys probably saved me tons of money cause you know the repair shop woulda seen me coming. Probably would have had a brand new door and electrical system when it was over.
YOU'RE THE BEST!!!!!!!

 

[kaba]

hello, my door ajar light is on for days after a rain.

 

[garmstrong2007]

My 98 Explorer XL Door Ajar Light Stays on because of the back hatch. I have to literally slam it. But my 2003 Door Ajar Light intermittently stays on, the courtesy lights stay on, both the power mirrors don't work, and all the power windows are inop. So far I have tested the master switch with a simple test light. It has power in and out. All the buttons (toggles) work. I suspect these problems are in fact caused by broken wiring inside the door or rubber boot. I've yet to "tear into it" to visually check the wires. There are lots of discussions with very good information regarding door panel removal, wiring, switches, ect.

 

[BigRondo]

But my 2003 Door Ajar Light intermittently stays on, the courtesy lights stay on, both the power mirrors don't work, and all the power windows are inop. So far I have tested the master switch with a simple test light. It has power in and out. All the buttons (toggles) work. I suspect these problems are in fact caused by broken wiring inside the door or rubber 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 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, 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 and all is back to normal! The first wire I repaired was the smaller black ground wire. Then all my power windows quit and I had to repair the larger black ground wire to get them working again.

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

I recommend being very patient when you are looking for the broken/damaged wire(s). When you think you are done looking, look again!! A bright flashlight will help out.

When I was trouble shooting the power window issue I used a multimeter and checked the power window switch connector for power by checking the voltage between light blue/black wire(power) & the black wire(ground) and got 0 volts. So I checked for voltage between light blue/black wire(power) on the window switch connector and a good ground point and got 12 volts, so I knew the black (ground) wire was bad. Since I had already repaired the smaller black (ground) wire, I knew I was looking for the larger black (ground) wire. Don't assume that you only have issues with the ground wires. Others have had to repair different wires. Like I mentioned before, be very patient when checking the wires and check them all!!

Here is the wiring diagram for the windows. I apologize about the size but I wanted you to be able to read it:

If all else fails and you can't get the power windows working again, here is a great link for troubleshooting the power windows, thanks to theofam for this great link Dead Link Removed

Hope this helps out. Be sure to let us know how you make out!! :biggthump

 

[jremington59]

It's a good idea every now and again to spray the latches and the sensor with wd 40 or something else. This will keep things working smoothly.

 

[ljoe]

Had that Dome Light problem with 2002 Explorer, sprayed WD-40 on key slot and It's been fine for almost two years, fixed the problem, now I have the same issue with my '95 Ranger, will try WD-40 again and will feedback !