Electric Problem

[rblais]

Hey All! Has anyone had this particular electric problem on their 2005 Mounty or Ex and was able to fix it without taking it to the dealer?

Out of the blue, but after wet weather, my truck developed a problem where the "Door Ajar" message lights up on the message center and at the same time the dome light comes on and the driver side door lock switch quits working. This happens now every time I open the driver side door. In the morning, I unlock the door, open it, get in and close the door and start the truck. The door ajar message comes up, dome light stays on and lock switch will not function. I get out of the truck and make sure all doors are closed, including lift gate and rear window. I get back in and drive away with dome light still on, door ajar message still showing and lock switch not working. After about 30 seconds, dome light goes out, message disappears and the lock switch works! I get to work, open the door and all the problems return with the dome light staying on and the lock switch not working. The light goes out on its own after about 10 minutes, I think because of the battery saver function.
I know this sounds rediculous and I apologize for the detailed blow by blow description but this is driving me nuts. I sprayed all the locking mechanisms with silicon lube, took the door panel off on the drivers side and disconnected all wires looking for corrosion or faulty grounds. Everything looked clean and dry. Checked all related fuses under the dash and under the hood and disconected the battery thinking maybe it would reset itself, but nothing worked.
So, has anyone experienced this nonsense? If so, please reply before I shoot myself in the head! Rant over, thanks.

 

[humphb08]

Hello, I just had similiar problems. Door lock drivers side wouldn't work, would work at its own will. Radio would turn off with ignition and ding as if the door was open but not. Puddle lights would flicker. With all that being said I fixed it today. I Removed the boot that links the cab to the door and there are two black ground wires in that harness. One of the blacks was broke. I connected the two with a longer piece now everything is back to normal. Just the way I like it. If these problems sound familiar I would look here first as it is common on x's to have this problem. Hope this helps.

Brian

 

[rblais]

Thanks for reply Brian. I'll check out that location for broken ground wires. I'm also going to look into the fuse panel under the dash on the passenger side. There is a protected circuit there that tends to relate to most of the symptons. I discovered this morning that I can turn the "door ajar" message on and off by pressing the rear window defroster switch! I'll check it out this weekend when there is time. Again, thanks for response.
Russ

 

[ecclesj]

rblais: I have an '04 explorer exhibiting the exact same problem you had. Also found that the rear defrost button would turn the "door ajar" message on and off. I found that you can also defeat the problem with the panel dimmer switch by scrolling all the way down into the "off" position. Did you ever find the problem and fix it?

 

[BigRondo]

rblais: I have an '04 explorer exhibiting the exact same problem you had. Also found that the rear defrost button would turn the "door ajar" message on and off. I found that you can also defeat the problem with the panel dimmer switch by scrolling all the way down into the "off" position. Did you ever find the problem and fix it?

Welcome aboard!!

The last post in this thread was 4 1/2 years ago. So those guys might not respond. Keep an eye on the date when replying to posts.

Luckily there are plenty of current threads about this topic. If you do a search for "door ajar" you should find a bunch.

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

Unfortunately the pictures are no longer available in the above thread. IIRC, I believe I unwrapped the wires enough to gain access. When I have gone searching in there I had an idea of what wire I was looking for. I located the the wire I was looking for and gently tugged on that wire on the door side. The wire was pulled toward me and out of the harness. I then went inside the vehicle and gently tugged on the the wire I was looking for and was able to pull it inside the vehicle. I then spliced a length of wire to the 2 ends, completing the circuit. I then gently pulled the excess into the door.

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

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!

 

[ecclesj]

BigRondo:
First of all, Thank You for your service!!!
Second, thank you for the prompt and thorough response. I now have some direction to my search.

 

[BigRondo]

BigRondo:
First of all, Thank You for your service!!!
Second, thank you for the prompt and thorough response. I now have some direction to my search.

You're welcome. Glad to help out.

 

[denniskimsey]

dome lights staying on

My problem is electrical as well. None of the door ajar problems have come into play on this. When I drove home for 30 miles my dome lights stayed on for the entire trip. None of the switch manipulation turned them off. After half an hour from the vehicle being turned off the dome lights turned themselves off. It sounds like a computer glitch to me. I think this will be a dealer fix but hoping it wont be since warranty ran out. Door ajar wasn't on during any of this time.