02 limited explorer with 114k. the door ajar light keeps staying on and the dome light wont go off. this has happened 5 times now in 2 days. I open and close each door and hatch a couple times and it eventually goes away or I turn off vehicle and restart trying to clear message. how do I test and locate where the issue is coming from? thanks

 

If the Driver Information Center does not display for you which door is ajar, then you can find someone with a professional scan tool equipped with software to interface to the GEM on your truck and monitor the GEM to see which input is registering as being open. That's easiest and most accurate.

Next option would be to get ahold of the GEM pinout and use a multimeter or scope to backprobe each of the door/liftgate inputs to see which is not registering as closed.

The least accurate, least difficult method would be to assume the issue is due to a worn switch, and assuming all switches started out of the same quality, assume the worn switch is the one that gets used the most. That typically is the driver's door. Spray some electrical contact cleaner in to the driver's door latch assembly, then open and close the door several times to see if the door ajar indication goes away. If that doesn't help, then move on to another door and spray the contact cleaner into that latch. The reason you want to do one door/liftgate/liftgate glass at a time is because the contact cleaner is likely to only be a temporary fix and you may want to know at a later date which switch you need to replace.

-Rod

 

Spray WD-40 in the door latches the switch stick, and will show a door ajar warning.

 

thanks guys

 

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, the alarm would beep twice when I armed it. Recently all 4 windows stopped working. Most recently the driver door lock actuator 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 3 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. I had to repair the pink/black wire to fix the driver door lock actuator.

Here is the thread for removing the door panel: How To: Remove/Replace 3rd Gen Door Panel - Ford Explorer and Ranger Forums "Serious Explorations"®

Here is a great thread for checking for broken/damaged wires, thanks to synyster for this awesome write-up: How To: Fix the Door Ajar Problem - Ford Explorer and Ranger Forums "Serious Explorations"®

Unfortunately the pictures are no longer available in the above thread. IIRC, I believe I unwrapped the wires enough to gain access. When I have gone searching in there I had an idea of what wire I was looking for. I located the the wire I was looking for and gently tugged on that wire on the door side. The wire was pulled toward me and out of the harness. I then went inside the vehicle and gently tugged on the the wire I was looking for and was able to pull it inside the vehicle. I then spliced a length of wire to the 2 ends, completing the circuit. I then gently pulled the excess into the door.

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.

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Could also be related to the door ajar switch.

Here is a great thread for checking/replacing the door ajar switch, thanks to borland for the awesome write-up: Door AJAR Switch Replacement on 2002XLT w/Photos - Ford Explorer and Ranger Forums "Serious Explorations"®

The red arrows show you where to spray:

 

thanks!!!!!

 

Good luck and be sure to keep us posted.