door ajar light and remote alarm

The switches that control the lights for open doors are made right into the door latches and they have a history of sticking and causing problems like that.

Here is a technique that often works well and eliminates the problem at no cost.


Get a can of spray lube like WD40 or something like it and has a straw on the nozzle. Spray it generously up into the latch mechanism. Now open and close the door numerous times to work it in. Repeat this process several times. Since you don't really know which door is causing the problem, you should do all of them. It's usually caused by the most frequently used door but it's not guaranteed to be that one.

What causes door ajar warning to stay on while operating vehicle?

There is a switch in the door latch assembly. If it is stuck or damaged, it may think the door is still open even though it is shut.

2002 ford taurus with 70000 miles. The door ajar light came on today while driving. All doors were closed. I opened each door one at a time, the light went out when I closed the drivers side door. In about 5 minutes it came on again. After I parked the car, I waited to see what would happen and the interior lighsts came on after about 5 minutes. Just like when you open the door. The lights would not go out, so I disconected the battery. Is the problem in the door switch or a relay?

try this first (do not use wd 40) it is a good product but not in this case. go to parts store and gets some PB blaster it is in a yellow looking can. i'am going to take a chance here and asume that you live on a dirt road. :roll: open each dooor and wash each lock mechaniseum out the best you can while doing so open and close the doors several times. the lockes are tied into a door lock moduel they get gummed up and cant function. try that first before any thing else. hope this helps (NOS) 8)

I have disconected the wired plug that goes to the door switch on the drivers side door. The problem seems to be with this switch. I also seems to be very hard to get the switch out. I will check on a new one today.

hope that fixes for you. they can be a bear to change cause of all the clips and rods that have to be disconnected. and reconnected. i belive your on the right track though.(NOS)

Hello. My door ajar light will not go off, even though all my doors are shut tight. I know the door causing the issue is on the front driver side. I've slammed it pretty firmly, and sometimes the light will go off but now it's staying on consistently. I don't want to slam it too as to avoid more severe damage to the door. It's affecting the auto lock function once my car starts moving. Normally all the doors lock once I begin driving, but now that won't work. Also, when I activate the keyless lock once I've got out the car, the horn sounds twice instead of once like it's supposed to.

Hello and thanks for the donation!

These symptoms are caused by a faulty door ajar switch. Try spraying some WD40 or equivalent into the door latch. This should loosen up the switch some to see if it helps as a temporary fix. If not then you will have to replace the switch assembly.

Battery slowly drains tested battery they said it was good put new starter in awhile back sometimes my door ajar light comes on or Anti Theft light and recently ABS light came on sometimes if i shut car off and restart it and kinda move the ignition switch back towards me just a bit they will go off . I had remote start hooked up but we unhooked that awhile back thinking maybe that was why it was draining didnt seem to make a difference, still unhooked. Last night got in care tried starting nothing no lights no noise tried again and it started everything reset as if +bat cbl had dissconted drove home shut off tried to start it 1hr later and nothing no clicking no dash lights turned dome light on worked for a min then shut off

bad battery terminals
remove terminals clean and inspect
check ground wire by the starter too

what causes the door openlight to stay on even when the doors and trunk are shut. I had to pull the interior light relay so they would go off. Is there some switch that could be bad.

Ford products are "notorious" for this problem. The door switches are attached to the latches inside the doors. Get a can of spray lubricant of a type and "liberally" spray down the latches on the ends of the doors. Work the doors a few times and this should take care of it. I don't recommend using WD-40 or any kind of a "rust breaker", they're acidic, and make the problem worse. Hope this helps. Also, as long as you're at it, spray the hinges down too.

Computer problem
Ford Taurus 6 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic 90000 miles
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the dome light and door ajar stay on after closing and locking the door, while driving, when the engine is off. Any thoughts?

same thing happened to my 97. i used w-d 40 in the door. i opened the doors (one at a time) and sprayed the w-d 40 into the door at the door latch. it seems there are contactes in side the door that corrode.that was two years ago and no problems since. i now spray from time to time as p.m.(preventive maintance) it works!!!

[quote:78ca367e92="powerqman"]Computer problem
Ford Taurus 6 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic 90000 miles
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the dome light and door ajar stay on after closing and locking the door, while driving, when the engine is off. Any thoughts?[/quote:78ca367e92]

ezmoney's advice worked the first time. Thanks a ton!

[quote:e0035c4a9e="ezmoney"]same thing happened to my 97. i used w-d 40 in the door. i opened the doors (one at a time) and sprayed the w-d 40 into the door at the door latch. it seems there are contactes in side the door that corrode.that was two years ago and no problems since. i now spray from time to time as p.m.(preventive maintance) it works!!![/quote:e0035c4a9e]
I´am a Dutch man and I have the same problem on my 1995 Mercury Sable Wagon. Could you explane please what a `door latch` is? Where is the opening located on the door? Where should I spray?

Thanks in advance.

The door ajar indicator and dome light stay on even when door is closed and switch is on "door" setting. This JUST started happening today. What can I do to fix this?? My car also has the automatic door locking mechanism that locks the doors when the car starts moving and this feature doen't work now either.

Start off by liberally lubing the door latches with WD-40 or similiar and opening and closing the doors 20-30 times, spraying every 10 cycles.

spraying the door latches with wd40 solved the problem. thank you!!!

Recently my car warning light indicated that a door was a jar. I checked all the doors and sprayed the door catch with wd40. It didn't correct the problem, the warning light for door ajar still appears. Now I noticed that the interior lights stay lit. So each night I remove the battery connection from the battery . Otherwise this car has given me no major problems.

Would replacing the fuse loc #37 be the solution? or is there something else to consider?

You may need to do the WD40 again. On my 97, I sprayed the latch and worked the door open and closed about 30 times, spraying every 10 door opens. When that didn't fix it, I moved on to the next door and did the same thing.

It turned out to be the rear passenger door and took about 20 closes before the light went out. No problems since.

i have a 2002 ford taurus ses. it has 60000 miles on it. the door ajar light on my front panel does not reset. i looked inside the the door for a limit switch but could not find one. I tried cleaning the contacts on the doors and even the tailgate. The problem still persists. could you please tell me where to check to fix this problem.
thank you

First you have to make sure you have the right door and is probabbly The drivers door. Take out the door switch and disconnect it. It should turn off the light. If so, replace the swirch.

power locks doors- The door ajar light stays on all the time- cannot lock power lock doors from inside becaue of this.

That is actually why I initially came to this site. My door ajar light has been coming on every now and then, but now is permanently on!

All my doors are shut, I've checked the connections between my door and all of the latches including the trunk... and so my lights are permanently on draining my battery. :x

Maybe a sensor is broken?

How do I check?

My gas gage also does not read correctly since 9 months ago. I don't know if it's a related electrical problem, but GRRRRR.

door ajar indictor light on and map lights will not turn off

Check each door switch, one will be faulty.

Mark (mhpautos)