door light not working

[magneti]

on driver's side. other side works (on a 97 explorer).

is this simply a fuse? also, the keypad light does not work either. both on same side.

possibly the bulb is out but that seems unlikely.

 

[iwannabamedic]

I would guess that the switch in the door latch is bad, I had to replace the entire latch in the driver door and the light still stay lighted, the rear door switch for the lights was rusted togather, it was replaced and it goes out now.

I would guess that your door switch is bad, needing to be replaced, if you have not taken the latch apart then you may not know where the switch is to spray wd-40 or whatever.
good luck

 

[magneti]

I would guess that the switch in the door latch is bad, I had to replace the entire latch in the driver door and the light still stay lighted, the rear door switch for the lights was rusted togather, it was replaced and it goes out now.

I would guess that your door switch is bad, needing to be replaced, if you have not taken the latch apart then you may not know where the switch is to spray wd-40 or whatever.
good luck

so you think its the switch since mine is not coming on?

the passenger door lights when the doors are open though not the drivers side.

 

[abrasowski]

The minute you said "the keypad is also not working" I realized what your problem was.

Mine is a 2002, but I can imagine it has a similar design as Ford doesnt seem to like to fix known problems from year to year :frustrate
Open the driver door and find the rubber tube on the inside hinge that goes from the car body to the door. It houses all of the wiring for window motors, power locks, keypad, PUDDLE LIGHT, etc. Go ahead and pull back that tubing and I will guarantee you will find at least 2 wires disconnected, possibly more. There is not enough slack in that group of wires so it receives constant pressure, and what happens over time is single wires will pull until they snap one by one. it just seems the most popular are the puddle lamp and keypad power wires.

Let me know how it goes. I'm 99% positive thats the issue

 

[magneti]

The minute you said "the keypad is also not working" I realized what your problem was.

Mine is a 2002, but I can imagine it has a similar design as Ford doesnt seem to like to fix known problems from year to year :frustrate
Open the driver door and find the rubber tube on the inside hinge that goes from the car body to the door. It houses all of the wiring for window motors, power locks, keypad, PUDDLE LIGHT, etc. Go ahead and pull back that tubing and I will guarantee you will find at least 2 wires disconnected, possibly more. There is not enough slack in that group of wires so it receives constant pressure, and what happens over time is single wires will pull until they snap one by one. it just seems the most popular are the puddle lamp and keypad power wires.

Let me know how it goes. I'm 99% positive thats the issue

on the right facing the car? almost looks like a vacuum hose about 4 inches long or so? looks like its glued on there pretty good.

 

[abrasowski]

...whoops double post
---------------------------

yep should be on the "right" side of the door when it is open.
Mine was pretty tight in there too, except I don't think it was glued. Raterh part of the rubber tube extended into the door and car and gripped the wires further in the door.

It is that 4 inch rubber grommet you see. If you squeeze it you should feel a bundle of wires.
I suggest pulling back one side of the tube (whichever is easiest) to gain access to the wires and see if there are any that are snapped. Check all the way around, but the ones which break are usually somewhere on the outside of the bundle

 

[magneti]

...whoops double post
---------------------------

yep should be on the "right" side of the door when it is open.
Mine was pretty tight in there too, except I don't think it was glued. Raterh part of the rubber tube extended into the door and car and gripped the wires further in the door.

It is that 4 inch rubber grommet you see. If you squeeze it you should feel a bundle of wires.
I suggest pulling back one side of the tube (whichever is easiest) to gain access to the wires and see if there are any that are snapped. Check all the way around, but the ones which break are usually somewhere on the outside of the bundle

i pulled back the body side end and pulled back as far as I could (i had to cut the end to detach where it had adhesive) yet saw nothing but the wires intact.

 

[budwich]

wow... you digging right into it... of course, you did the "easy checks" first.... checked both bulbs???? It is unlikely that the bulbs are connected together so it is more likely you have two problems.

 

[magneti]

wow... you digging right into it... of course, you did the "easy checks" first.... checked both bulbs???? It is unlikely that the bulbs are connected together so it is more likely you have two problems.

neither bulb lights in the drivers door but no i havent checked anything physically. i was saving pulling the door panels off when i installed my speakers which i assume is the only way to check the bulbs.

Ill have to dig up a thread on that before my attempt.

 

[budwich]

well I would go for the "easy one" on the door panel... I don't think you need to remove the panel (that would be a dumb ford design to check a $1 dollar bulb for those who are maintenance challenged). At least on 96, you just "pop" off the plastic.