Interior Ceiling Light Problems

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Aug 30, 2005 | 12:11 PM

a564jim

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Joined: May 2004

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Interior Ceiling Light Problems

I have a 3L 1996 Aerostar. When driving, the interior ceiling light and door ajar warning light comes on intermittenly as the vehicle travels over smooth ground and bumps. Sometime the light will flicker and then stay on. The problem is resolved by opening and closing the sliding door but usually begins again. There is no consistency to the problem, it will occur on one trip and not the other. I've checked the wiring around the sliding door plunge switch and (lubricated) Everything looks good and the door is closing fine. There are also on the door and the door post 4 circular metal contacts which close some kind of circuit when the door is closed. They seem to be okay, I've pulled the rubber circular plugs out and the wiring looks fine.

My question is, where else or what else could be loose to cause the flickering, (it's not just the light but also the door ajar warning light) I'm tired of taking the bulb out for night time driving. Thanks for your assistance

Aug 30, 2005 | 12:57 PM

bertha66

Lead Driver

Joined: Oct 2004

Posts: 8,062

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From: Central Oregon

When my 90 does this I clean the 4 contacts with alcohol, on the door and the post.

Aug 30, 2005 | 01:05 PM

a564jim

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Thanks. I did rub one set with a light sandpaper and bent them out abit for better contact but these actions made no difference. I'll try the alcohol ...

Aug 30, 2005 | 06:01 PM

96_4wdr

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Joined: Apr 2005

Posts: 5,720

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From: Washington state

once clean, i spray the four contacts on door and post occasionally with silicon spray, keeps the corrosion down, will turn green-blue from high copper content. copper corrosion is a good insulator, poor conductor of electricity

Aug 30, 2005 | 06:02 PM

lasher

Senior User

Joined: Feb 2004

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what you need to do is to rotate the contacts in the door so that they hit a different spot on the contact.
i had the same problem and this is the only thing that fixed it.

Aug 30, 2005 | 10:55 PM

93nighthawk

Posting Guru

Joined: Jul 2004

Posts: 2,416

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From: Mitchell, SD

Just out of curiousity, do you have probs shutting the slidding door? Or does it sound like a zipper? If so you need to replace the rollers and re-align it.

Otherwise cleaning the contacts is the only way.

Aug 31, 2005 | 07:50 AM

a564jim

Thread Starter

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Joined: May 2004

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Have tried the alcohol without success. I did notice the green copper corrosion on each contact about the size of a match head. I had rotated one set of contacts but the problem still exists. I'll rotate the other set and eliminate the corrosion, thanks to all, at least I know what to work on now. The door is in good shape, rolls smoothly and closes easily.

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Aug 31, 2005 | 08:04 AM

krankshaft

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Joined: Dec 2004

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From: North Jersey, New Jersey

To fix the sliding door zip you have to replace the bottom roller on the bottom assembly of the door (the metal piece bolted to the door on the inside with the 3 bolts).

The rubber that surrounds the inner metal roller wears off and the serrations in the wheel hop in and out of the track and produce the zipping sound.

If your door won't close properly its probably due to misalignment you will find adjusting bolts on the bottom and top hinges. These are the bolts facing up lossen them and you can realign the door on the top and bottom.

First though try spraying the latch with some silicone lube or my new favorite white lithium lube. Worked like a charm when my drivers side latch was sticking.

If your curious about replacing the roller I know I made a thread about the replacment process somewhere.

Last edited by krankshaft; Aug 31, 2005 at 08:07 AM.