Lights stay on (my EX thinks a door is open?)

[shipwreck17]

Since I bought my 2003 Explorer the interior lights have acted sort of funny. I Don't get a door ajar message but when I lock the car via remote the int lights stay on for 10 min. When all the doors are shut and you hit lock the lights should turn off. Also after you park the car and turn off the engine I believe the interior accessories and lights supposed to stay on until you open a door. My car does not do this.

I dont get a door ajar message but both of these seem like some sort of door sensor malfunction. With the old push button type sensors we used to use wd-40 to loosen up a stuck one but these sensors are different.

Any ideas? Its pretty annoying to lock you car at night and all the lights just stay on letting everyone see in.

The only way I can get them off is to manually turn them off w/ the dimmer switch . Then when i get back in my car I have to turn the switch back up if I want dash lights.

Any Ideas?

 

[waskly]

broken wire in boot.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=270081&highlight=door+ajar+boot

check that. it does some funny stuff.

 

[swetrid]

Yep Waskly is correct.

 

[BigRondo]

Ditto what waskly and swetrid said.

In addition to the link that waskly posted,


I had similar electrical issues with my 02 xlt. The dome lights would stay on until the battery saver feature turned them off, 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, etc.

A lot of electrical issues can be traced back to broken/damaged wire(s) in the boot between the body and the door. I found a broken wire and repaired it and all is back to normal!

Could also be related to the door ajar switch.

Here is a great thread for removing the door panel and 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

Hope this helps out. :biggthump

 

[Joe Dirt]

Ditto what waskly, swetrid , and Rondo said... (Sorry, I couldn't help it)

 

[shipwreck17]

Sweet thanks...

Did everyone have the same broken wire. It is usually the drivers door. Ill check it out in a couple weeks when I have all the door panels off for my new audio system.

 

[BigRondo]

Sweet thanks...

Did everyone have the same broken wire. It is usually the drivers door. Ill check it out in a couple weeks when I have all the door panels off for my new audio system.

As far as I know, it's usually the driver's door. If you think about it, the driver's door is used every time the vehicle moves. The other doors only get used if there are passengers. So it stands to reason that the problem would be with the driver's door. I'm just saying.

Maybe look into the WD-40 fix first.

Good luck with the repair and keep us posted. :biggthump

 

[BigRondo]

Ditto what waskly, swetrid , and Rondo said... (Sorry, I couldn't help it)

Joe Money, you are always a help, even if you don't know it!!!:

 

[my1zamboni]

Some members (myself included) have actually found 2 broken wires in there. A thin brownish black wire, as well as a heavier guage black wire, just make sure you take the time to go through real carefully while you have the door panel off.
I actually never saw the black wire broken until I used a flashlight through the speaker opening and looked into the rubber boot that way.
Once the 2 wires were fixed all was back to normal.

 

[shipwreck17]

Spot on guys. I had 1 broken black wire, I never could see where it was broken I just tugged on each wire in the bundle.

 

[BigRondo]

Spot on guys. I had 1 broken black wire, I never could see where it was broken I just tugged on each wire in the bundle.

That's what I did. Glad you got it fixed and thanks for the update. :biggthump

 

[frankcar108]

Interior Lights

Seems I have the same issue with the lights on my 98. Although it doesnt have the boot that goes thru the door, (as seen in pictures posted here) it has a large plug that holds both wire harness ends together with a 10mm bolt. I've had both harnesses open and ends in view and dont see the broken wire, would it most likely be in the door or the body of this 98.
I do get the door ajar light, the interior lights go out sometimes when the truck is in gear. The interior lights do not come on with the opening of the driver or passnger door, but do come on with the rear doors being open. Tried the wd40 already. Thanks in advance...

 

[cpitlock]

I have a 2002 XLT. Two weeks ago, my automatic headlight sensor stopped working correctly. The headlights went on in the daytime. So now I turn the headlights on manually at night. That's what we did in the old days, right? The latest is the DOOR AJAR light is on all the time. My mechanic used WD40 on all the locks. Nothing changed. I asked him if he could reboot the computer. He removed the battery cables. That didn't work either. Is my computer starting to die?