Mr. Alligator
Explorer Addict
- Joined
- November 30, 2014
- Messages
- 1,297
- Reaction score
- 1,029
- City, State
- Tampa, Florida
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 1997 XLT Explorer
Just finished fixing that annoying ”door ajar” problem. The door ajar light on the dash stayed lit, and the interior lights stayed on for about thirty minutes after operating the truck. The theft alarm also would not activate. Eventually, a battery saver feature shut down the interior lights, and I can live without an theft alarm, but the lighting issue gets super obnoxious. This is how the battle went….
First, tried spraying penetrant and lubricant into the latches. This seems to be the go-to solution, and is super easy. But after considerable efforts it did not work.
Second, tried removing and testing the door jamb sensors. Ohm meter showed that the door jamb sensors were all working. This task was complicated by the fact that there are seven door ajar sensors: one in each of the four doors, one on the rear hatch glass, and one more on each side of the rear hatch. Testing showed that each door ajar sensor worked, and I cleaned and lubricated each one. But, this did not resolve the problem.
Third, looked several times for broken wires in the wiring bundle/harness/connection that runs through the drivers side door. Focus was on looking for a broken small black ground wire, or any other broken wire. Could not find any problems here, and the battle continued….
Fourth, finally gave up and went to auto electric specialist. They did not have time for service, but kindly hooked up a computer which showed the problem was my “drivers side front door“, and said that the sensor would very likely solve this. I gave them $20 for the computer work and the kindness.
Since they did not have time to look further, I went back into the driver’s side front door jamb sensor, and looking for broken wires. The sensor tested as functional, but I pulled another door jamb sensor from salvage that seemed even smoother.
Still nothing resolve the door ajar issue. I was ready to try a salvage body control module, but it would be necessary to find one of three versions from a 1997…. But I hate buying unnecessary and unhelpful parts.
So back to the auto electric specialist with a scheduled appointment. The auto electric specialist hooked their computer up and said it was showing faults from driver’s side front door and passenger side rear door. They definitely said it as NOT the body control module, and that the problem was the sensors. The electric specialist could order the sensors for about $60 from Ford, but this would take a day, and the next scheduled appointment was in a few weeks.…. So paid for the service, and left.
OK, how could I test these door jamb sensors test so easily, and have them not work at all? Back at my work shop, I figured that was just not reasonable. But what else would keep showing these faults? The door latches!!! The doors closed, but we’re not perfectly lined up with the other panels and doors. With this thought, I adjusted the strikers. Never saw that option in the “door ajar” troubleshooting considerations. But, there it is, FIXED.
The theft alarm works also. Apparently, the truck computer will not or can not activate the ”theft” system while it detects that a door is at least partially open.
Maybe it is the age and mileage on these trucks, but it looks like the door strikers should be added to the list of possible failure points in the “door ajar“ struggle.
Hopefully, this will help someone else….
Good luck, and stay safe.
First, tried spraying penetrant and lubricant into the latches. This seems to be the go-to solution, and is super easy. But after considerable efforts it did not work.
Second, tried removing and testing the door jamb sensors. Ohm meter showed that the door jamb sensors were all working. This task was complicated by the fact that there are seven door ajar sensors: one in each of the four doors, one on the rear hatch glass, and one more on each side of the rear hatch. Testing showed that each door ajar sensor worked, and I cleaned and lubricated each one. But, this did not resolve the problem.
Third, looked several times for broken wires in the wiring bundle/harness/connection that runs through the drivers side door. Focus was on looking for a broken small black ground wire, or any other broken wire. Could not find any problems here, and the battle continued….
Fourth, finally gave up and went to auto electric specialist. They did not have time for service, but kindly hooked up a computer which showed the problem was my “drivers side front door“, and said that the sensor would very likely solve this. I gave them $20 for the computer work and the kindness.
Since they did not have time to look further, I went back into the driver’s side front door jamb sensor, and looking for broken wires. The sensor tested as functional, but I pulled another door jamb sensor from salvage that seemed even smoother.
Still nothing resolve the door ajar issue. I was ready to try a salvage body control module, but it would be necessary to find one of three versions from a 1997…. But I hate buying unnecessary and unhelpful parts.
So back to the auto electric specialist with a scheduled appointment. The auto electric specialist hooked their computer up and said it was showing faults from driver’s side front door and passenger side rear door. They definitely said it as NOT the body control module, and that the problem was the sensors. The electric specialist could order the sensors for about $60 from Ford, but this would take a day, and the next scheduled appointment was in a few weeks.…. So paid for the service, and left.
OK, how could I test these door jamb sensors test so easily, and have them not work at all? Back at my work shop, I figured that was just not reasonable. But what else would keep showing these faults? The door latches!!! The doors closed, but we’re not perfectly lined up with the other panels and doors. With this thought, I adjusted the strikers. Never saw that option in the “door ajar” troubleshooting considerations. But, there it is, FIXED.
The theft alarm works also. Apparently, the truck computer will not or can not activate the ”theft” system while it detects that a door is at least partially open.
Maybe it is the age and mileage on these trucks, but it looks like the door strikers should be added to the list of possible failure points in the “door ajar“ struggle.
Hopefully, this will help someone else….
Good luck, and stay safe.
