2005 navigator, power liftgate.
My local dealer won't sell just the switch, only sells the liftgate ajar switch with the whole latch mechanism for $350.
Does anyone know which wires I need to short out to shut off the liftgate ajar message and turn off my dome lights?
In an act of pure idiocy Ford didn't put in an on off switch for the dome lights and the fuse powers the instrument cluster. So, I am getting sick of pulling off my battery cable everytime I use the truck. Thanks for any help!

 

Ford actually DID put in an off button for dome lights, turn your instrument light dimmer all the way down, and then an extra click in order to turn off dome lights. If you turn the dimmer all the way up to max, and an extra click you turn ON the dome lights.

 

Unfortunately, it may be specific to this year vehicle, but I tried that and it doesn't turn the dome lights off. Who knows, maybe that switch is just another broken thing in the truck. Thanks for the response, though.

 

In the interim, just pull fuse 21 instead of disconnecting the battery.

Rockauto is showing a hatch ajar switch for $21.
RockAuto Parts Catalog

 

Weird, I have a '05 Ford Expedition where this works as I described it. And according to my factory shop manual (paper copy, so can't upload PDF), the wiring diagram shows the same feature on both the Navigator and the Expedition, so something isn't right if it's not working for you.. As for the liftgate ajar wires, is it a power liftgate or manual?

 

That's the button you push to open the rear glass, not the switch for liftgate ajar.

 

That's confusing since they labeled it as Door ajar, liftgate and not Door release, liftgate.

 

In that case I would just take the switch out, clean it, oil it, work it back & forth a bit, and then put it right back in.

 

Yep, kind of mislabeled, but rockauto does that sometimes...

Its easy to get the message to go out on the manual liftgate, but the power liftgate is a bit more challenging as it goes through the power liftgate module and weird things might happen if you just jump bypass the switch. I agree with alloro though, try to take it out and clean it, find out if its just dirt or if something is really broken. Moat likely its just dirt, and should be possible to repair without replacing it. Its rare that these switches break beyond repair

 

It's a very common thing, often you can just stick the red tube in there from a can of WD-40 and soak the heck out of it. A dozen open and closes after that tends to free up the switch. The best way is to clean it first, but desperate measures and all...

 

Yep. I used 1/2 a can of wd40. Then I tried another person's idea of using ether (starting fluid). Neither worked.
It is obviously a major project to take the latch assembly off to clean it. Ford put locktite on all the screws and I have already twisted my tork driver trying to undo 1 screw. I figure if i was going to go to the trouble of using an impact driver to take the assembly off I might as well replace it rather than clean it and go through the process all over again if it doesn't work.
Since it latches fine it would be nice to bypass the ajar switch. But, if that won't work I guess I will continue removing either the battery cables or the dome light bulbs. God knows why the dimmer switch isn't turning the dome lights off. Par for the course, I guess.
Does everyone have this much trouble with Navigators?
No offense to anyone, but this is my first American vehicle in 20-30 years and I am speechless as to the repairs it is needing. I have never experienced anything like this with Nissans, Toyotas or Subarus - Even with 2-3 times the miles.
I have 81,000 miles on it and so far the Navigator has needed a new engine, all new suspension, catalytic converters, new automatic brake adjuster, and more. Plus $800 to change the spark plugs? WTF?
I think I may have just talked myself into selling it and getting a Tundra.

 

800 bucks for spark plugs? Stop taking it to the stealership, they're just bleeding you dry. If you're know how to turn a wrench, you can change those sparkplugs yourself and if one breaks there's a special tool from Lisle that can fix that problem for you which costs 70 bucks from Amazon.. It all depends on how well the previous owner took care of it. Since yours needed a new engine, I'm guessing the previous owner did not take care of it at all, and that leads to many problems. And catalytic converters usually fails due to engine problems and it's not unique to Ford in particular.

Anyway, back to this problem, the loctite Ford uses on those bolts shouldn't be so hard to break up. They use a Motorcraft one which is roughly equivalent to blue loctite. If the WD40 doesn't work, I think the best bet is to get it out and have a closer look at it to see what's wrong. Is it a power liftgate or a manual liftgate?

 

The dealership wanted $1200.
Power liftgate.
Thanks!

 

Then just get into the hatch and remove the 2-wire connector from the switch. That will disable the switch, but of course it will also disable any safety features that switch provides, like telling you the rear hatch is actually open, or keeping the wiper from working while the hatch is open.

 

Unfortunately there is no 2 wire connector on the power liftgate latch. There is a 3 wire, but unplugging that did nothing. Thanks for trying, though.