Strange Dimmer switch Dome light/Door problem

[tfurst86]

Hey guys, I'm new to this forum but I have asked around various places on ideas of my problem.

I have a 03 Explorer XLT V8. The problem is if i have the interior Dimmer switch set to anything but OFF, the interrior dome lights will not turn off after I turn the car off. In addition the alarm will randomly go off which leads me to believe the computer thinks a door is still open( althought no door ajar light is on). IF the dimmer is set fully to off, the alarm works fine, and dome lights are off. In reality it's not a huge issue as I just turn dimmer to full off everytime I get out of the car, but I'm looking to sell it and I don't want any minor electrical issues to make me lose the sale. I'm just selling it because I live in Brooklyn and simply don't need a car at all anymore(I bought the car when I lived in NJ). If anyone has ANY insight on why this could be happening, please let me know. BTW I am an electronics engineer, I design & repair Alarm, CCTV, Access and Fire components, so I know what I'm doing with electrical components, but I just can't seem to find the right schematics to make this issue logical to me.(Why the dimmer switch would be the controlling factor)

Thanks and I hope to hear from everyone soon.

 

[stuartr]

I hate to be "that" guy that simply tells you to search for the problem on teh board. But there is a really great thread on here maybe someone has the link to it. I have lost it. The short of it is you have a wire broke in teh boot that goes from the car body to the door itself. Mine was a maybe 18ga black wire seems to be the common one. Must be a bit too short or something. I fixed it and the problem goes away. I bet your radio goes off as soon as you cut the key off too, instead of staying on till you open a door. Mine done this along with the int. light issue and something else can't remember.

STU

 

[ckmieciak]

tfrust86,

Bought my truck from the dealer with the "EXACT" same problem, Truck was still under warrenty. They fixed it, took them a couple of trips but they said it was: a loose/brooken wire in the door sensor.. stuartr can have the exact location pin pointed. But i did not fix it, the dealearship did. So i would check your "driver side front door" that was my problem and work from there. any loose,cut, broken wire check them all

 

[BigRondo]

Welcome aboard tfurst86!

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, etc. Most recently all 4 windows 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 2 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.

Could also be related to the door ajar switch.

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/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

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

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.

Hope this helps out! :biggthump

 

[phxmotor]

Strange dimmer switch dome light / door problem

Simple Solution: works everytime

We own 2 Explorers.
Both had this problem and both were fixed the same way.

1) Locate relay box inside the car... under the drivers right knee.
2) open the relay box. You must lay down upsidedown on the drivers side floor. The factory puts black tape around the box, it also has a plastic latch holding the top shut.
3) The bad relay is the 1st small relay from the end. There are 2 small relays in the 2nd row. A big relay is at the end and fills the 1st row.

Find the bad relay by turning on-off the dimmer switch. The relay will make a "flickering sound".

Pull it out, replace it.

Relays are only 4-5 dollars at the dealer. $1at a wrecking yard. If you get one from a wrecking yard get 2! And leave the extra in the glove compartment.

EZ fix! Works everytime.

BTW: Cars are a hobbie for me, and I am living way up in the mountains 30 miles to the nearest grocery store. Sometimes I have time to give a small bit of advice if you think a shop is trying to scare you into an unneeded repair.

If anyone has a specific problem that the dealer (or a shop) has had trouble figuring out feel free to contact me. I am not a shop (I work with electric motors and used to be from Phoenix - hence my email name) I am not a shop but cars are a hobby and I HATE to see people get gyped.

My biggest (well not actually my biggest) happyness is helping people NOT get "taken" with unneeded repairs. I've been doing this hobby since I was 15 years old (Im 58 now)and the numer of people who get "taken for a ride" with bad shops doing bad things is astounding! All I like to do is to help people get the repairs they need, without getting cheated.

If you are starting to feel as if you are wasting $ and getting nowhere...
If you already have a diagnosis... but it didnt work OR it is turning out to be a way too costly a fix, feel free to contact me. Sometimes I can help, other times I won't be able to.
BUT:
Only contact me if you already have a diagnosis
you feel as if things "arn't quite right"
and you just want a 2nd opinion.
Then let me know. If I can help and if I have time I'll see what I can do.
No charge, this is just a hobby.
Hey, cars are supposed to be fun... if repairs are kept to what only needs to be repaired, then they are a whole lot more fun. A whole lot more fun!

 

[Charlie321]

Simple Solution: works everytime

We own 2 Explorers.
Both had this problem and both were fixed the same way.

1) Locate relay box inside the car... under the drivers right knee.
2) open the relay box. You must lay down upsidedown on the drivers side floor. The factory puts black tape around the box, it also has a plastic latch holding the top shut.
3) The bad relay is the 1st small relay from the end. There are 2 small relays in the 2nd row. A big relay is at the end and fills the 1st row.

Find the bad relay by turning on-off the dimmer switch. The relay will make a "flickering sound".

Pull it out, replace it.

Relays are only 4-5 dollars at the dealer. $1at a wrecking yard. If you get one from a wrecking yard get 2! And leave the extra in the glove compartment.

EZ fix! Works everytime.

BTW: Cars are a hobbie for me, and I am living way up in the mountains 30 miles to the nearest grocery store. Sometimes I have time to give a small bit of advice if you think a shop is trying to scare you into an unneeded repair.

If anyone has a specific problem that the dealer (or a shop) has had trouble figuring out feel free to contact me. I am not a shop (I work with electric motors and used to be from Phoenix - hence my email name) I am not a shop but cars are a hobby and I HATE to see people get gyped.

My biggest (well not actually my biggest) happyness is helping people NOT get "taken" with unneeded repairs. I've been doing this hobby since I was 15 years old (Im 58 now)and the numer of people who get "taken for a ride" with bad shops doing bad things is astounding! All I like to do is to help people get the repairs they need, without getting cheated.

If you are starting to feel as if you are wasting $ and getting nowhere...
If you already have a diagnosis... but it didnt work OR it is turning out to be a way too costly a fix, feel free to contact me. Sometimes I can help, other times I won't be able to.
BUT:
Only contact me if you already have a diagnosis
you feel as if things "arn't quite right"
and you just want a 2nd opinion.
Then let me know. If I can help and if I have time I'll see what I can do.
No charge, this is just a hobby.
Hey, cars are supposed to be fun... if repairs are kept to what only needs to be repaired, then they are a whole lot more fun. A whole lot more fun!

This is exactly right. I was ready to buy a new dimmer switch, but unfortunately, Ford no longer makes it, and the aftermarket ones were too expensive. On a whim, I started messing with the dimmer switch and realized the noise was not coming from it, but rather from under the dash. That's how I found the relay box you mentioned, and I just kept rolling the dimmer switch until I isolated the noise to the correct relay. As you said, it's the small one in the second row. Of the two small ones in that row, it's the one closest to the seats and furthest from the engine. Also, you can feel which one is making the noise. It rattles a little when making the noise.

Anyway, thanks for posting the solution. I wish I had found it before I wasted so much time tracking it down.

 

[lflaglor]

same issues related to not starting?

I have a 2003 Explorer. Years ago the door ajar issue mentioned by the rest of you was an issue. Liquid Wrench solved it for many years, but it has returned in the summer months. The Liquid Wrench will sometimes fix it at this stage. About a year ago the switch for the door locks on the driver's door stopped working if the dimmer for the console was not off. The dome lights stayed on forever too, as mentioned by others.

In the past three weeks the door ajar light accompanied by the dinging sound will come on and off randomly as I drive. And the alarm has started going off randomly when it's parked. It went off in the middle of the night last night. I turned it off twice and finally unlocked the doors so the neighborhood could sleep.

This morning the car will not start. The battery is strong: all dash lights on, radio and electric windows work, etc.

It will not take a jump. I turn the key and there is a sound (starter?) but then a sudden silence. The process ends so abruptly that the car actually jars.

Any connection to the electrical issues, do you think? Whole computer bad? Or separate issue?

Thanks!

 

[kevinstang]

This is my first post to forum and I hope I can help some out with this issue, my 2002 Mountaineer was having the same problem as the original poster and in searching the web I kept getting referred to posts here, so I signed up after this site help me fix mine. Not sure which link I followed but the troubleshooting advice about rolling the windows down and arming the alarm system and then trying each door by pulling to open by using interior door handle was a big time saver! For the past three months I had been getting the random alarm going off in the middle of the night, the door ajar buzzer or whatever its called-the drive you crazy while you drive chime etc. and the message center displaying door ajar randomly, then permanently and finally I did notice the radio cutting off when ignition immediately turned off. Oh and the door/dome lights staying on, all things to drive you nuts!.
Down to my fix- using the pull the handle tip I found it was my passenger front door- it didn't set off alarm when opened. I had already checked the individual door to body wiring harness and my message center gave a liftgate ajar warning for rear hatch, so I knew it was in one of the doors. Now in my memory I had had a similar issues years ago with my first Explorer - a 97 model, I had learned that the door ajar switches did not have power to them - they simply completed the ground in the circuit, so with a simple paper clip and electrical tape I solved my problem for less than a nickel ! I know its the not the proper thing to do, but 99% of the time I'm riding by myself. I just unplugged wire end from switch in the door, cut down a paper clip, jumpered the two pins in the connector, tapped the end over and solved all my issues. I doubt I will ever feel like tearing door apart and removing latch to change the switch, but we will see. I should note my 02 Mountaineer had the two pin switches, my mechanic said some he thought had just a single pin, in which case this fix wouldn't work.