I have a 98 Exlorer and the interior light won't come on when I open the drivers side door. The light does come on when I open the passenger side door so it appears that the light is working.
Any idea how to make the light come on when I open the drivers side door?
Thanks
John

 

Sounds like a bad pin switch on that door. Do you get the chime when you open the door with the key in the ignition or when you leave the lights on? If not, then the switch is bad. Otherwise, you'd have to start looking at wiring.

 

I can't seem to find a physical "pin switch" in the door jamb. Do you know where it's located? Or is it some kind of electronic switch in the door handle or something?
Thanks
John

 

I'll have to look tomorrow & I'll let you know what I find.

 

Ok, well it looks like the switch is in the door. With the door open, if you look at the latch, there are a couple of different moving parts. The piece that's on the outermost part of the latch is what controls the dome light going on & off. See if yours is maybe jammed closed or something. If not, looks like you've got to pull the door apart to get to the switch.

 

Ok thanks I'll check it out and let you know. Maybe a little WD40 will get me going.
John

 

I had this same problem and posted a few months back. I haven't been able to find anything wrong with the switch. Now that I know exactly where it is though, that may help. Thanks!

 

My switch seems to function normally. I think it may be a broken wire, I had to repair a couple of snapped wires in the doorjamb to fix my power locks before. Perhaps it's another wire break in there as well. Does anyone have a wiring chart for an explorer door? It would be nice to know which wire is for what?
I'll let you know how it works out.
John

 

johnfav -

Thanks for the update - good luck. I would love to get my hands on a wiring diagram for that thing too!

 

I had somewhat the same problem on my 2000 Sport except my dome light would stay on. Would especially occur in very cold weather, -30 to -35 celcius. Lubrication was the trick for mine. It took a long time for the switch to clear but it worked. WD40 worked but I found that it required repeted applications. I would use a better product than WD40, such as TKX by LPS Labratories (if available) and then use a dry graphite spray lubricant. Never had a problem since.

 

I fixed it. I took off the door panel and noticed that that a spot weld on the window guide had broken and the window guide was laying along the bottom of the door, pulling with it a plug that was supposed to be connected to the door switch.
I re-inserted the plug, put 2 rivets where the spot weld used to be and I'm back in business.
Thanks for the help.
John