HELP! Wierd Electrical Issue
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FTE Chapter Leader
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 33,912
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From: Johnstown, PA
HELP! Wierd Electrical Issue
'97 Explorer XLT. Sitting at a friend's house this evening and turned to look at the truck...all the interior lights were on. Thought I hit the key fob by accident (remote entry), clicked it, lights went out as they should, laid keys on the garden wall. A little while later (20 minutes or so), looked again...lights back on. Click the keyfob - thinking my phone is interfering somehow...or something. Move the keyfob away from the phone and everything else. A little while later (another 15 minutes or so), lights back on again. OK...getting mad now. Take the batteries from the keyfob. Lights don't come on for well over an hour or more - thinking I found the problem. Not so fast. Lights on again. Check all doors, hood, etc., to be sure they're closed - they are. They don't come on randomly while driving, and tonight was the first that I've noticed this problem - never has happened before tonight to my knowledge. The truck was shut off, sitting undisturbed.
It almost sounds like a bad ground the more I think of it, but I'm not sure. It's going in for state inspection tomorrow so I'll have the mechanic check that - but does anyone have any other things I should be thinking about checking out or having the mech check on?
It almost sounds like a bad ground the more I think of it, but I'm not sure. It's going in for state inspection tomorrow so I'll have the mechanic check that - but does anyone have any other things I should be thinking about checking out or having the mech check on?
Logistics Pro
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 4,819
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From: Cedar Rapids, IA
Problems with the door ajar switches in the door latch assemblies are quite common. Often these will lead to the "Door Ajar" light in the instrument cluster lighting along with the interior lights while driving. Before spending too much time or money troubleshooting it, I'd suggest using some electrical parts cleaner and cleaning the switch/latch assembly. I imagine if you were to search this forum for "ajar" keyword, you'd get quite a few hits with suggestions on the process. I also imagine you'd get a lot of suggestions for using WD-40 or similar penetrating lubricants. For electrical switches, I'd stay away from penetrants as they are not often intended for electrical parts and some can even damage them.
-Rod
-Rod
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FTE Chapter Leader
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 33,912
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From: Johnstown, PA
Thanks for the input, Rod. My mechanic made the same comment today when I picked it up from inspection. It hasn't done it hardly at all today, but I'll give the door latches a go-over tomorrow.
