door ajar problem

[marvsgt]

The wife's 03 Exp XLT keeps showing "door ajar", and I have checked to make sure every door is closed completely including the glass door and liftgate. The warning light will still not go off and the interior lights and outside puddle lights will stay on until you drive off because it thinks a door is open. Has anyone else had this problem and know of a fix. I just unplugged the battery and gonna leave it unplugged for a few hours in hopes the computer might reset. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Ponyman460]

I see this all the time at the dealership....the switches in the door lock mechanism get caked up with dirt. spray all the door lock mechanisms with a good amount of silicone lubricant and open and close the door several times firmly after doing so. this should fix that prob. if silicone doesnt work, try brake clean, or carb cleaner. if those dont do it, you need new switches.

hope that helps.

Rick

 

[90ranajo]

Might want to try this.

 

[marvsgt]

Hey guys, thanx for the quick response. I'll try that this evening when the wifey gets home for work. Thanks again.

 

[Yamvip]

wd-40 will do the fix,i just did mine yesterday!!

 

[marvsgt]

You guys are the greatest. Problem solved!!!! No more door ajar.

 

[cantspell]

I know this is an ancient thread, but i have the same problem, i'll give this a shot tonight when i get home. Thanks!

 

[summerschad]

Funny thing, having the same prob in 03 EB Explorer and went to spray the latches and noticed the rubber coating on the latch was a bit frayed. Just used some needle nosed pliers to remove the fray and door light is now turning off. Thanks to you all for the advice, these forums are great. Prob saved me hundreds at least for numerous repairs.

 

[joefnh]

I have an 03 4.0L 4x4 I have been dealing with this issue for a few months now. I did intially pull each door panel to see if the switch cleaning would work. When I had each door panel removed I tested each door switch with my ohm meter and found that all doors including the rear glass hatch and door checked out fine.

As an additional test, I would drive to the ~12Mph point until the door ajar light went out and then with my sons help, tried one door at a time repeating the the 12Mph shut off drive, until each door was tested. All doors when opened would activate the door ajar light hence I assumed that the switch was fine if using it would cauase the light to come on.

Any ideas??

I know this an old thread and subject but the cleaning and test mentioned above suggest another problem

Thanks you guys have been a wealth of knowlege

--Joe

 

[zachs03]

Thanks, all. I'm going to try it on my son's XLT - hope it fixes my problem too!

 

[nabz28ss]

wd-40 will do the fix,i just did mine yesterday!!

You were on point with that WD-40. Worked like a charm.

 

[Tbars4]

....This thread found here is more recent with the wd40 fix and options if that don't work...
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=190221

 

[94NJExplorer]

I just traded in my 94 Explorer for an 03 and had the same problem. I wiped down the latch and sprayed in the WD-40. Worked like a charm.

Great info!
Adam