The dome light stays on in my 1995 Aerostar.

[Van Gal]

I have a 95 Aerostar which has been very faithful. Two days ago I parked in the garage and turned off the ignition. The dome lights never went out. I ended up disconnecting the battery cable. Have tried replacing the fuse and checked the door sensors, even popped out the dome light bulb, but the power does not switch off. Any helpful thoughts?

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! I've moved your thread into the Aerostar section. Do you have illuminated entry on your model? I have this on my 1988. You lift the door handle, and the dome light illuminates for a few seconds, then goes out automatically.

 

[speleopower]

Does a door ajar light stay on when the light is on?

 

[fonicsmonkey]

I had a 98 Taurus that did the same thing. The fix was to spray WD-40 directly into the latch on the door...being very generous. Open and close door a few times...and repeat once or twice more. From what I was told, dirt and grime had built up over time on the sensor or whatever tells the light the door is open or closed. The WD-40 helped clean it off.

The problem came back once, but I fixed it the same way, and it never happened again.

Perhaps you have the same problem

 

[rv4fun]

My '97 Aerostar with the swing up door has the dome lights coming on for no good reason. All winter, the "Door Ajar" lamp would flicker - I just blamed it on the cold weather. I don't remember seeing the door ajar lamp on now - just the dome lights coming on after closing all the doors - even when driving. I pretty sure it's the rear door switch but my question is where is the switch for the rear swing-up door? I don't see anything around the door perimeter that looks like a switch or contacts like the sliding door.

 

[BrooklynBay]

I know that they use a switch inside of the door on the latch in the hatch equipped models. That was one of the first parts that I had to replace on my 1988 van when I got it. I'm sure that the swing away doors must have a similar set up. I've never worked on the swing away version so I can't be certain.

 

[rv4fun]

I just went out and looked at my '96 - I've got the inside panel off it. I see the linkage to the door latch and a sheath protected wire going through a 1" hole next to it. But I can't see the switch. How do you get at it? Will I need to cut another hole with a hole saw to get at it?

 

[BrooklynBay]

It might be easier to remove the latch assembly to remove the switch from it.

 

[rv4fun]

So it's attached to the latch?
When I get it out, I'll post some pictures.

 

[BrooklynBay]

The last time I replaced this switch on my 1988 van, it was either in 1992 or 1993 so I don't remember all of the details but I remember that it was connected to the latch mechanism.

 

[Jose A.]

check the two front door switches to see if they're faulty. Press them a number of times to see if the light goes out.

The sliding door has another switch as well as some contacts.

the rear hatch has a switch connection at the latch. Spray WD40 as recommended above.

 

[rv4fun]

Rats! I took the three screws out but couldn't get the latch out very far. I squirted some silicone all around (I've had major problems with WD-40 gumming up things causing them to fail so I don't own any of it anymore and don't recommend it for anything but keeping shovel blades from rusting ). Anyway, when I screwed it back down and closed the door to try it, I found the latch linkage must have pulled off the handle and now I can't open the door till I unload the van so I can pry the cover off the inside of the door. That may be a couple days from now.

 

[Jose A.]

WD40 is a Water Dispersant, it "disperses water", and moisture.

 

[rv4fun]

And leaves a waxy build-up. That waxy build-up will cause delicate parts to stick. I sprayed that crap over the electrical contractor on several rooftop air conditioners when I checked the furnaces for the winter. The next spring, none of the contractors would pull in and that caused the coils to burn-up. I had to replace all of them. I'd have been better off not spraying anything on them and let them corrode a little more. I haven't been a fan of that stuff since and that was in the '70s. Be very careful what you use WD-40 on. It will ruin a lock cylinder too. Like I said, it's better used to prevent your shovel from rusting while in storage than a "lubricant".