Dome Lights and door ajar signal

MAZDA TRUCK
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JOHNSV6
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1999 Mazda B3000, with about 85K miles Dome lights and door ajar light come on. Will stop for weeks and then start again. I've read your reply about sensors, but how about a description of where they are located and how they work?
Jan 2, 2007 at 9:51 AM
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COSMO
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Well the door ajar switch is in the door panel itself and part of the door latch....its a little tricky to get at though, even with the trim panel off.

Another question is.....does your truck have four doors? If so make sure that the upper and lower latch are latching....if not the front doors can move engouh to turn on the dome light when going over bumps or when the cab flex's

Cosmo...Mazda TEch
Jan 2, 2007 at 11:11 AM
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JOHNSV6
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Yes, it is 4 door. Doesn't come on while driving no matter what bumps I run over. I've tried pulling on the wiring that runs through the flexible connection at the door hinge, and after "several" attempts at that, I can get the lights to go off. Unfortunately,I deliver Pizza at night and this is really cutting into my runtimes, fussin' and what not. been almost to the point of ripping the wires out but I know that will only help everything go south real quick..Are the sensors magnetic? Electromagnetic?
[quote:e499b8ca3f="Cosmo"]Well the door ajar switch is in the door panel itself and part of the door latch....its a little tricky to get at though, even with the trim panel off.

Another question is.....does your truck have four doors? If so make sure that the upper and lower latch are latching....if not the front doors can move engouh to turn on the dome light when going over bumps or when the cab flex's

Cosmo...Mazda TEch[/quote:e499b8ca3f]
Jan 2, 2007 at 11:25 AM
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SERVICE WRITER
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I have a ford Ranger that I believe is bacically the same as what you have. They are common for a problem in the latch. Get a thin lubricant such as WD-40 and spray the door latch heavily while opening and closing the door to work the lubricant in. Do all door latches, and concentrate on the doors you normally use.
Jan 2, 2007 at 12:30 PM
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JOHNSV6
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Just went out and took a REALLY good look at the door latch. Found the roller switch that must be the culprit. Piece of leaf or something caught in there. Cleaned, lubed , and now only time will tell. TKS!![quote:483b8f3d12="Cosmo"]Well the door ajar switch is in the door panel itself and part of the door latch....its a little tricky to get at though, even with the trim panel off.

Another question is.....does your truck have four doors? If so make sure that the upper and lower latch are latching....if not the front doors can move engouh to turn on the dome light when going over bumps or when the cab flex's

Cosmo...Mazda TEch[/quote:483b8f3d12]
Jan 2, 2007 at 1:22 PM
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COSMO
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Yes I totally forgot to tell you to try the trick with the penetrating lube. One thing I would always do first before spraying the latch out with lube was.....I would spray it out with a can of 'brake cleaner'.....this would first clean all the dirt and grime out of the latch.

Then lube it up and try the door a bunch of times...this might fox your truck.

Cosmo....Mazda TEch
Jan 2, 2007 at 9:42 PM
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JOHNSV6
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I used electrical contact cleaner first. It dries "drier" and leaves no residue. Then sprayed with Marine 666. Everything seems to be OK..Found the latch for the rear door (on the bottom) and cleaned it also. We'll see.....
Jan 2, 2007 at 9:55 PM
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SERVICE WRITER
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[quote:fd4bd52e42="Cosmo"]Yes I totally forgot to tell you to try the trick with the penetrating lube. One thing I would always do first before spraying the latch out with lube was.....I would spray it out with a can of 'brake cleaner'.....this would first clean all the dirt and grime out of the latch.

Then lube it up and try the door a bunch of times...this might fox your truck.

Cosmo....Mazda TEch[/quote:fd4bd52e42]

It's hard to remember everything. Somethimes, Us Service writiers know what we are "guessing" about, if not we blame it on the tech. :lol:
Jan 3, 2007 at 5:27 AM
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JHAGEN2
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I also had this same issue about 100,000 miles ago, did the lube thing, even changed it out, got tired of the noise, wanted to shoot myself etc. I just unplugged the damn thing.
Jan 3, 2007 at 8:06 AM