Hi,
My 2004 Explorer started the "door ajar" problem today. I read numerous threads regarding WD40 and tried with no luck. I was able to isolate the problem to the driver front door. So I decided to pull the door panel to have a closer look. I removed the lock mechanism and the sensor. The sensor tested good with a meter and I was able to get the door ajar message to go off by pressing the sensor plunger. I reinstalled the sensor and lock but the message appeared again when closing the door. However, when the door is open I can manually trick door into thinking its closed with a screwdriver the light goes off. The latch on the car body doesn't trip the sensor. The latch on the car body is in its original factory position and has no visible wear and I'm pretty sure it cant be moved. I made sure the latch on the door was as far outboard as possible (via slop in clearance holes) but it still doesn't trip the sensor. Its not like the car's geometry has changed it worked one day then stopped the next. I'm reluctant to try and modify the car bodies latch point because I assume I would be changing the door gaskets pressure and possible allow leaks. And slotting the holes on the three bolts that hold the door latch wouldn't do much good because it is already up against the sheet metal. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

I'd suspect you have a broken wire for the door switch in the rubber boot between the door and the cabin. When the door is open, the wire bends in such a way that the broken wire fragments make contact. When the door is in it's closed position, the wire fragments stretch away from each other and no longer make contact. I had a broken speaker wire on my 2004 Mountaineer that would cause the speaker to work when the door was open but not always when closed. I replaced the broken wire and all was well again.

You might try closing the latch while the door is open, the slowly close the door and see if the light comes on when the door is part way closed. If so, that would pretty much say you have a broken wire in the loom.

-Rod

 

Thanks for the reply. I tried what you suggested, opening the door and engaging the lock, and after it shut the light off I moved the door in its full range of motion. Unfortunately that didn't recreate the problem. I even tried wiggling the wires in the loom to see if anything changed. I'm not ruling out electrical because since it is now dark outside I realized that the light under the side view seemed to fluctuate between full illumination and half illumination as the door opens and closes. But it also might be one of this cars many quirks like the intermittent "tire pressure sensor fault".

 

You could try releasing that boot from the door end, pulling it back and closely inspecting all the wires (and there's more than there seems there should be) for signs of kinks or fatigue, then do the same on the cabin end. It's difficult to work with the boot released from both ends at the same time. Often the break will appear like someone folded the wire back upon itself, the spread it back out again, leaving a little "v" where the break is.

I forgot there is an entry delay on the interior lights and puddle lights. The dimming you are seeing may be where the lights fade after the door has been closed for several seconds. With the door latch closed, the interior lights should go out after several seconds. If they are going back to full illumination, that would suggest the system is not seeing the latch as closed (registering a door ajar) and turning the interior and puddle lamps back on. For an audio indication you could roll the window down and put the key in the ignition. I believe if you open the door with the key in the ignition it will ding at you, so if you have the latch closed, move the door and hear the chime, that would further indicate you are making and breaking connection for the door ajar.

-Rod

 

SOLVED.
Symptoms: Door Ajar message not going off. Driver puddle lamp dim. Rear Defrost button making door ajar message appear.
Resolve: After checking the ajar sensor with a ohm meter (little yellow wire with black stripe and small black wire) and verifying that it was making. I removed the door panel and the front speaker so that I could pull the boot into the door to inspect the wires. I found that the large black ground wire was in broke. I repaired it and all of the symptoms are fixed.

 

Congratulations on finding the issue. Thank you for posting back with what you found as well!

-Rod