Help needed to solve a small problem

[rawb4291]

It seems that my dome lights stay on like there is a door open but i dont get the door ajar light on. I opened all of the doors with the truck running and found out that the only door that doesnt show the door ajar light was the hatch glass. I unplugged the sensor switch and lost the operation of the rear wiper. when plugging back in the sensor i regained the rear wiper. So the sensor seems to be working (im guessing that it wouldnt work when unplugged because the truck thought that the glass was open )like i said before i dont get the door ajar light all i get is the dome and puddle lights always on and the never ending ding ding ding even with the doors shut. what stops it is i have to turn off the dimmer switch. Any help on the cause of this would be very appreciated.

 

[BigRondo]

I had an issue with my hatch sensor. It was stuck "closed". I removed it and cleaned & lubed it and now it works great. I love having the dome lights come on when i open the hatch.

Having said that:

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.

Be sure to keep us posted.

 

[rawb4291]

Bigrondo What " ajar" sensor was bad in your hatch? was it the glass 1? i think thats the one that i need to look at but its not the easiest thing to get to.lol. i believe mine might be stuck shut like yours. Im going to have to wait for warmer weather to fix it because it is way too cold to be working on my truck these days.Thanks for your input .

 

[Number4]

Well, starting with the most obvious/simple fix. On the headlight switch, the rheostat that controls how bright the dash lights are, is it all the way in the 'locked on' position. I think that is up. Either way rotate it to the middle. Hope this is it.

 

[BigRondo]

Bigrondo What " ajar" sensor was bad in your hatch? was it the glass 1? i think thats the one that i need to look at but its not the easiest thing to get to.lol. i believe mine might be stuck shut like yours. Im going to have to wait for warmer weather to fix it because it is way too cold to be working on my truck these days.Thanks for your input .

Sorry about the delay in responding.

My ajar sensor for the glass was sticking in the "closed" position so the dome lights wouldn't turn on when I opened the hatch. I removed it and cleaned it up with WD-40 and made sure it was operating correctly, then re-installed it and it has been working great ever since.

 

[rawb4291]

Boston I'm going to try the same thing that you did to fix your problem and see if that works.hopefully that's all it is

Sorry about the delay in responding.

My ajar sensor for the glass was sticking in the "closed" position so the dome lights wouldn't turn on when I opened the hatch. I removed it and cleaned it up with WD-40 and made sure it was operating correctly, then re-installed it and it has been working great ever since.

 

[BigRondo]

Let me know if you need info on removing the sensor.

Good luck and be sure to keep us posted!