Door ajar light stays on.

[rangerta]

I just bought a 97 ranger and the door ajar light stays on. I can't seem to find the button on the door to shut this off, where is it at?

 

[Pistons23]

im just going by what ive read on a few forums, but i beleive if you hit the hinges with some wd40 it should remove whatever dirt/grease is blocking the sensor

 

[Seabiscuit]

Try the WD 40 and see if that works. Does that work? If not you will probably want to remove the door panel and remove the actuator switch that hinges when you open the door. The Door adjar switch is connected to that piece. On my 2001 ford ranger the passenger side wire is grey/red and the driver side wire is yellow / black. Most ford products shows (12+) when any door is opened, just in case you want to start testing wires.

 

[paullywalnuts]

the wd 40 will work. spray the hinges and the latch assembly

 

[c_note]

when i took my 99 into the dealer a while back, the tech told me not to use wd 40. he said it would eventually ruin the bushings. i guess theres some kind of lube or lithium grease to put on there. just ask someone at ford about it. sorry, it was like 5 years ago when i talked to the guy so i dont remember everything very well.

 

[Green4.0]

If it's set up the same as my 98, you wont find it anywhere near the hinges.
On mine the switch is inside the door, on the latch mechanism. 2 screws under your inner door handle, one under it once removed, and one in the lower rear corner need to be removed, along with the window crank if manual. The screw in the lower rear corner is beneath the fabric, and you'll need to poke through it to get to the screw. After removing the screws, the door panel should lift up and off.
Sometimes you can free them up with some cleaner, but they usually fail again.
I bought new ones for about 10 bucks apiece at Ford.

 

[Steve D]

Yes! It worked like a charm. I saw further down that WD40 might ruin bushings down the road so if it sticks again I might try some lithium grease.

 

[XLTsplash]

WD40 is great to clean/lube the door ajar switch because it's mounted in the bottom of the door latch with the pin button part of the switch facing up, so all of the dirt goes down into it. WD40 is the easy way to wash it out. I use spray grease on the hinge bushings. I don't lube the plastic door stop roller with any thing because many lubes will eat it up. Just keep the roller clean so it will roll. And not get flat spot worn in the roller that cause a popping noise when the door is opened.