door ajar stuck on

[91stranger]

So I'm superstitious about a few things. One being that as soon as you go out of your way to do something good with a vehicle it will bite you in the ass. You know, you fill the tank full of gas only to get in a wreck or like in my case, I changed my oil on my lunch break and now my door ajar light is stuck on and wants to leave my dome light on when I park the truck. I have trie slamming all the doors, closing them softly, and it is weird because if I get in to drive the dome light goes away after a few seconds but the door ajar light stays on. However when I park the truck the dome light will not turn off. I have had to remove the 7.5 amp fuse to get the light to turn off. This wouldn't be an issue if that same fuse didn't control my wipers. Anyone run into this before or know why my door ajar light is acting like this? I do not get any sort of door chime either.

 

[RonD]

If you google it you will see Ford truck(ranger) "door ajar" light is a common issue.
There is a switch in the door's lock mechanism, they no longer use the "plunger" style switch in the door jamb

This door switch is OPEN when door is closed, and GROUNDED when door is opened
The wire for these switches goes to the GEM(generic electronic module), when it sees a Ground on that wire is turns on Door Ajar light.
There is no way to tell which door switch has the problem but................since drivers door gets way more use..........

Often spraying WD40 into the lock mechanism will get the switch to OPEN when door is closed, slamming the door won't help, lol.

It can be a bad/failed switch or even a wire in the door harness that has rubbed bare and is now a Ground all the time.

If spraying with WD40 doesn't fix it then you will need to take the door panel off, start with drivers side, locate and unplug the switch wires, see if Door ajar light is off now, if not you will have to do the same with Passenger door just to be sure.
If door ajar light is still on with both switches unplugged then problem is wiring or the GEM module itself.
GEM is behind the radio and you can test the door switch wires at that end to see if one is grounded all the time, if not then GEM is bad

 

[Captain Ledd]

^ Yep.

Ultra common issue, I'm not sure why it isn't a sticky somewhere. Usually WD40 or other similar spray oil will work.

 

[91stranger]

I've noticed this only happens when someone else rides with me or I get in the passenger side door for some reason so I think it may be in the passenger door. I will spray the doors and update with results. Thanks.

 

[Hermly]

I just pulled the bulb on my old truck


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[91stranger]

sprayed both doors and opened and closed a few times each. So far so good. if problem occurs again then I will update. As for now it seems like the problem is fixed. my last truck did the same thing and spraying the doors never fixed it. I either had to drive with the wipers on and my dome light on or no wipers and no light. irritating to say the least.

 

[RonD]

Thanks for the update

 

[rangerpilot]

My 99 would often do this after driving through a auto car wash but never if I washed it myself nor a heavy rain. Only a auto carwash. It never affected my wipers but after a few hours it cleared itself. I never took the time to research it. Thanks for the post!


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[neutronranger]

happening to me also

I've got the Super cab, with the extra back seat door. I've been getting an intermittent Door Ajar light. If I slam both the extra door and main door, it seems to stay off.

I'll try spraying the lock mechanism with WD-40 and see if this subsides!

Eric

 

[adsm08]

The Edges had this issue too, and the fix was a little stupid.

They built this box that when between the cig lighter port and the latch assembly plug with a power transformer in it, and you were supposed to hook it up and cycle the latch manually about a bajillion time (I think it was actually 20 or 25) and that would de-carbon the contacts, which was what caused the problem.

 

[91stranger]

My old ranger would do this same thing and it ended up being the door latch clip was broken so it was showing the door was open when it was shut. Bought a new clip at Napa for a few bucks and problem solved. So I would try spraying it first, if that don't work then you may have to remove the door panel to see what's going on.

 

[19Walt93]

I've had 4 Rangers and dozens of other Fords,none did it because I lube the door hinges and latches every service.If I was talking to a customer I knew well I called noisy door hinges and stick latches Jiffy Lube disease-meaning not serviced by a qualified tech.