I have a 2013 F350 Lariat CC 4x4. The "Door Ajar" warning and interior cabin lights have started coming on when I close the drivers side door. I assume is a bad sensor but I can't locate it. Old doors used to have a button but I can't find anything. Any help would be appreciated.

 

if it's still like the 99-03's, then its attached to the lock mechanism inside the door. you might be able to try the old wd-40 trick

 

What's the WD 40 trick? Thanks!

 

There is no button. The switch is incorporated into the latch itself... at the striker interface. The interior door panel has to be removed, and the vapor barrier peeled back, and the latching mechanism removed entirely in order to replace the switch.

The "WD 40" trick was to squirt a bunch of WD 40 into the latch. It is a trick, because in some cases it works in the short term, and that is all we ever read about in the forums... the short term "all I had to do was squirt some WD-40 in there and all better."

But WD-40 is essentially fish oil. Or at least it was. Whatever it remains today... remains in the form of a gooey gluey substance after all the carrier solvents evaporate away. That gooey gluey substance can actually gum up the works over time.

An analogy is found in white lithium grease, which while being made of different base oil, tends to get gluey over time, which is why electrically controlled blend door motors in automotive HVAC systems get stuck, or skip and break plastic gear teeth; and why power folding Power Scope mirrors eventually fail to fold, get stuck, and skip or break plastic gear teeth. The grease becomes glue.

With respect to the door ajar light and dome light failing on the Super Duty... what often happens is the wires inside the boot between the A Pillar and the hinged area of the door become over stretched. These wires are thin enough to pull apart, which leaves that circuit perpetually open.

My driver's door ajar light doesn't work either. I did the "WD-40" trick back in 2002... now 21 years ago... and it immediately worked again for about a year, and then failed, and hasn't worked since. I removed the door panel, removed the entire latch assembly that engages the striker loop, located the integrated switch, and tested operation of the switch with a Fluke meter. The switch works perfectly, making and breaking contact as it should.

I have not been motivated to pull the A Pillar to door hinge wire harness boot to find where a wire may have overstretched, and have lived with the issue all these years since. However, a number of videos are available to watch that illustrate the issue of wiring failure within the hinge boot.

In particular, a good video on this topic is by FordTechMakeULoco, a retired (well actually fired) former Ford dealership technician who over the last 15 years has made many helpful and frank videos on various problems with Fords (likely why he was fired) and has gone on to be successful with his own vehicle repair business.

 

Thank you ! I'll try the WD 40. If it doesn't work then I'll have to replace.

 

That guy has great detailed videos, wish he worked at my local Ford dealer.

 

The intended take away is to TEST the switch, not just replace it.

If the relevant wire in the boot is stretched or damaged, a new mechanism will not remedy the failure.

 

In my experience. I pulled the switches and found they were falling apart so it couldn't make proper connection. I tried my best to get them to hold together. I just need to replace them Or take a different approach. they are poor in design IMO, and it clearly shows in your much newer truck than my 03

 

The truck I am referencing in this thread is a 2000.

 

LOL, I was referencing the OP's truck in comparison to my 03