Ford Windstar is killing me

I have a ford windstar. First of all the lights dont go out in the van for hours after I have stopped. It always tells me I have a door open somewhere. I can hit a bump and the lights tell me that all is closed and the doors will lock.
Today when coming home the od light was flickering and the van dropped to 15 miles per hour and would not go faster until it reached speed of 0. Then it would kick the **** out of the van and start all over.
I am tired of this van I hate it.
Shannon

Ok first of all, what year is this Windstar? The door ajar light is a nuisance because the sensors in the front doors are really sensitive. As for the od light, I have no idea.

I have a very similar problem with the door ajar light. What I have doine is clean the four contacts on the sliding door with sand paper. This has helped me in the past with my 91' Aerostar and my current 97' Windstar. But, I am finding some difficulty trying to find the front door sensors! :mad: my interior lights will not go out until i hit 20 mph. I swapped relays but no luck sometimes it work and then it don't. Any help would greatly be appreciated!

I have a ford windstar. First of all the lights dont go out in the van for hours after I have stopped. It always tells me I have a door open somewhere. I can hit a bump and the lights tell me that all is closed and the doors will lock.
Today when coming home the od light was flickering and the van dropped to 15 miles per hour and would not go faster until it reached speed of 0. Then it would kick the **** out of the van and start all over.
I am tired of this van I hate it.
Shannon

My 1997 did a similar thing. I had to disconnect the battery to make the interior lights go out. Sometimes they would, but rarely. I also checked out the door switches, etc. and got nowhere. I finally got a new battery and viola! The problem was immediately gone. I guess the old battery did not have enough current to power the time relay that cuts out the lights. The battery was 5 years old and was the original one. Good luck.

Tom

that really sounds odd for the battery to not have enough power for the relay. replacing it might help, but it couldnt hurt! who knows the battery may have been drain with the int/light bieng on all the time. I am due for a new battery anyways. Thank for the info! I'll go try this.

I have the same problem with the door ajar light and chimes in my 96. I havn't figured out how to make it stop yet. Please let me know if you can help.

WD_40 folks put it in all the door latches.........trust me

I would recommed using 0000 grit steel wool rather tha sandpaper on the contacts. You only want to take off a bit of oxidation.

The contacts on the sliding door are spring loaded too. You may wish to ensure that they are not sticking (ie ensure the spring is free)

hey i agree with the wd-40 or any other lubricant to get rid of the door ajar light.

Can you guys tell me where to spray that WD40? I'm willing to try it because my van is doing this same thing (it's a '98). My brother-in-law took out the fuse; but now my windows don't work and I HAVE to have my windows! Thanks, guys/gals!

WD40 or reasonable facsimile of light oil/silicone spray into the rear latches on both sides of the hatch door....Look inside these latch holes and you should see a small black plastic latch mechanism and metal piece as well. Spray generously into hole and open and close the hatch continually in between spraying and watch for the interior lights to go out. Also, in regards to the door contacts on the pillar /post I was made aware by Ford themselves, that a rubber hockey puck.. not a hard plastic one, will work well on literally erasing the light oxidation that can occur. Using a "000" as mentioned abbrasive steel wool or smilar will clean it as well but be careful of surrounding paint/plastic etc. Light strokes..

In regards to the door ajar light being on and not just the interior lights. Check that the rear toggle switch on the back inside panel of the storage area behind the rear bench seat is not coming in contact with anything. If the toggle is being pressed upon it can trigger a door ajar and your door locks may not open/ close or start opening and clossing erraticly. Latch mechanisms...>>WD40 th **** out of it ladies!and gents.

After I posted my question yesterday, I saw the post about using WD40. So, I bought some on my way home last night and, after watching the Cardinals beat the Astros (sadly enough), I went out and sprayed all of the doors and latches and guess what!?

The door ajar light went off and the interior lights went off!

I am now a firm believer in the WD-40 method of fixing the interior light problem with the Windstar!

Thanks, folks!
:o)

hey i like the WD-40 ideal. it makes sense the switch is located at the botom of the latch so wd would remove any water and help free them up.oh i could be wrong but the 4 pins on your slider... think about it, if they affected your door ajar they would have to create an open circut when the door get opened.so they would create a closed circut when you close the door.so you would be wasting power when you close the door .it would be draining your battery.i did notice once when mine did it that i had one door that didnt chime when i opened it so i guessed it to be the guilty door.

Since this dialog has been resurrected, I will weigh in.

WD-40 is very good for cleaning mechanical parts, degreasing, and displacing water (the name means "Water Displacement formula 40"). It is not the best thing to use on electrical contacts.

As a professional electronics mechanic, I have three tools in my arsenal that I use for electrical contacts-- A "ruby red" eraser, TV Tuner spray, and dielectric grease.

The medium-density red eraser is abrasive enough to take off mild corrosion and tarnish without removing too much material-- especially good when the electrical contacts are gold-plated.

The TV Tuner spray (available at your local Radio Shack) is designed specifically for cleaning electrical devices and contacts. It will remove grease, blow away dirt and leave a thin dielectric film on the contacts protecting them from moisture and providing lubrication. Very handy for scratchy volume knobs, by the way... spritz it into the volume potentiometer and work it a little, viola! No more scratchiness.

The dielectric grease, I use 3M Silicon Paste 08946, is useful in connectors and areas which are more exposed to the environment such as in the engine bay. This is the stuff that Autozone sells you in a little packet for 99 cents for your spark plug wires. Put a little paste on the contacts of electrical connectors after cleaning them, the paste will keep moisture out and provide lubrication for connecting and disconnecting.

I recommend not using steel wool on electrical contacts because they are generally made from brass or copper with gold or silver plating and minute pieces of steel will embed into the connector. These minute pieces will intereact with the other metal(s) and form galvanic corrosion, so you will have to come back and clean it much sooner than you normally would.

If it is the sliding door, you can bypass the door ajar sensor by cutting the two black wires (top and bottom) just after the 4-pin sensor on the front of the sliding door and connecting them together. The worst part is getting the panel off the door, use a screwdriver, or as I did, my ice scraper tool. You do not have to remove the whole panel, only the front 1/3, enough room that you can pull out the harness attached to the front sensor. You won't be able to detach the sensor so instead just cut away a piece of the protective shell. Cut the 2 black wires and expose the wires. Connect the 2 black wires closest to the 4-pin sensor. Make sure this is secure, otherwise it will not last, tape them together and put them back into the harness. Tape the 2 loose ends off and tuck them back in. Now just tape the harness so that it is sealed from moisture. Replace the panel and door handle. Now the computer will get a signal that the door is closed as soon at the 4-pin on the door comes in to contact with the 4 pads on the van. Forget WD-40, that's only a temporary fix and only if you really like driving with the smell of WD-40. Just make sure the door is closed completely every time you drive.

-d

WD-40 did the trick for me. Was the passenger side door on my '99 Windstar. Sprayed some lube in there and closed the door. Easiest "repair" of my life.

Forgot to mention that you can determine which door is causing the lights to stay on by inserting the key in the ignition and opening and closing each door. The one that doesn't beep when you open it is the offender.

necroposting?

just kidding

I did this on one of my '96 doors recently. I took the latch mechanism out to do this.

I also noticed the post on this thread suggesting that WD-40 is not the best cure for a "bad switch".

In my case, the reason the Door Ajar light was staying lit was because the switch was not closing (front passenger door). The mechanism was sluggish, as the original grease had degraded. Because of the sluggish mechanism it was never pressing on the switch hard enough to make it close.

The WD-40 cleaned out some of the grease and softened it up somewhat. I think I added a bit of new grease after the WD-40 cleaning.

Switch cleaner is the right choice when the problem with a switch is dirty contacts, but in this case it wasn't the switch, but the mechanism responsible for closing it.

I already had this problem with my 99, the right door ajar.
So, I turn off the dome light with the interior light switch. In the 96, it doesn't have an interior switch, so it's annoying. The best thing is remove the interior light fuse until the bad switch is replaced. Or solder the 2 door contact pins at bottom (pin 3 and 4) of the door connector end.

If you remove the fuse, jump a wire in I/P fuse box between wiper fuse (protected end) to the interior light fuse socket pin (interior lights circuit end), so that power windows can work.

I used the WD40 on all theswitches and that did the trick, thanks to all whocontribute to the forum, one note also is tocheck the sound (small beep) that will help o troubleshoot the faulty switch

Ford Windstar Limited – Bizarre Electrical System Issues

I purchased an 03 Windstar Limited as a second vehicle about four years ago. Every now and then the interior lights would start flashing on and off – by themselves! Very strange. Once the vehicle was shut off and restarted the lights stopped flashing. I did notice that the flashing interior light syndrome always seemed to occur when it was raining or very damp. Temperature did not seem to be a factor. Since the occasional flashing on and off of the interior was lights seemed a relatively minor issue, we chalked it up to the ghost of old Henry Ford just having a little fun with us.

It did occur to me, however, that the cause of the problem had to be a door switch or sensor that was being affected by moisture and/or and an accumulation of dirt. This could produce a signal that the vehicle’s onboard computer might interpret as an open door. The most likely candidates were the multiple contacts on the power sliding side doors. These contacts, there are 7 on a Windstar Limited, are open to the elements and can easily become damp and/or dirty. So, the next several times that the interior lights began to flash on and off, I simple cleaned the sliding door contacts. A little isopropyl alcohol on a clean cloth and the careful cleaning of each of the contacts usually kept old Henry’s ghost at bay for a month or two.

Recently, however, this minor annoyance turned into a major electrical issue. Out of the blue the battery kept discharging. When this first happened, I noticed that the interior lights had remained on. After charging the battery, at which point the engine started without hesitation, I shut the engine off, exited the vehicle, and locked the doors. The interior lights, however, did not shut off. Even when I turned the interior lights off using the timer wheel on the dash, the interior lights stayed on until I used the remote to lock the doors. I discovered later, when again the battery had almost completely discharged, that although the dome lights were off, the foot lights had remained on.

The alternator had recently been replaced but once the engine was started the battery recharged. So, the charging system itself was not an issue. Being that the battery is original (yes, it’s 10 years old) I did suspect that it may be on its last legs. I removed the battery, cleaned the posts and terminals, recharged it and performed a load test. The battery tested good. I also again thoroughly cleaned all of the sliding door electrical contacts. The battery is no longer discharging and the interior lights function exactly as they should.

The Bottom Line

I suspect that most of the problems associated with the Windstar’s electrical systems may indeed be the result of misinformation being provided to the vehicles on-board monitoring systems by poor sliding side door electrical contacts. So here’s what I suggest for those folks who are experiencing the flashing interior light syndrome and/or a battery that keeps discharging:

1 - Remove the battery from the vehicle
2 - Leave the battery out of the vehicle for at least 2 hours. This should clear any false codes or light settings that may have been prompted by poor sliding door connections.
3 - Thoroughly clean the battery posts and battery cable terminals
4 - Charge the battery (If possible have it load tested as well)
5 - Clean all of the sliding door electrical contacts (both the spring loaded contacts in the doors and the stationary contacts on the door pillars).
6 - Reinstall the battery
7 - Start the engine and check voltage across the battery posts (should be at least 13.2 volts or higher)
8 - You will need to reset the information display (language, units of measure, fuel mileage, outside temp, etc.) as your original settings will have lost when the battery was removed.

No guarantee folks but this worked on my Windstar. Good luck.

BD

I'm glad Ford put those plunger switches on the front of the sliding door. Gives folks something to do. To muse on. Those plunger switches have to do with radio speakers and the door lock.

(The door ajar switch is at the rear of the door opening!)

Since this dialog has been resurrected[...]

Resurrected is the word, this thread is so ancient it speaks of those blessed days when electrical issues actually had to do with dirty switches instead of computers infested with alien bugs like it is now.

My Windstar is killing me too. So after about two years we got the brake light, no problems noticed, shortly after abs light. Abs light only seems to come on when weather is above 70 Fahrenheit. Another year goes by and now have the Tpms always lit. Another three months down the road speedometer whacks out. If its not bouncing around its indicating roughly half speed of actual speed. Thank you GPS for more accurate speed. Travel now six more months. Power locks half the time work on any of the doors. Yea! Sometimes they will unlock but most times not. Skip forward two more months and cruise control doesn't work. Wee does it get any better than this?

This is mostly a rant. Got the cruise fixed. Gave up on abs, brake light and Tpms.
It's 2002 SE model by the way. So unless anyone has some suggestions on how to drive gremlins away. I will keep dealing with the idiocy of the Windstar.

My Windstar is killing me too. So after about two years we got the brake light, no problems noticed, shortly after abs light. Abs light only seems to come on when weather is above 70 Fahrenheit. Another year goes by and now have the Tpms always lit. Another three months down the road speedometer whacks out. If its not bouncing around its indicating roughly half speed of actual speed. Thank you GPS for more accurate speed. Travel now six more months. Power locks half the time work on any of the doors. Yea! Sometimes they will unlock but most times not. Skip forward two more months and cruise control doesn't work. Wee does it get any better than this?

This is mostly a rant. Got the cruise fixed. Gave up on abs, brake light and Tpms.
It's 2002 SE model by the way. So unless anyone has some suggestions on how to drive gremlins away. I will keep dealing with the idiocy of the Windstar.

The ABS light could be caused by ABS sensors problems or leak of brake fluid on the ABS module.

For the brake warning light, check the brake fluid level and the brake switch of the master cylinder, that can be the cause of the brake warning light. It should not leak brake fluid. If there's fluid near the switch, you have to replace the Brake Pressure Differential Deactivation Switch also called speed control deactivation switch (SCDS). This issue can also cause problems to speedometer and ABS. Check also the hand brake. Engage the parking brake, and disengage it. The parking brake switch might not be full disactivated and turn the brake light on.

Windstar has a lot of problems with their power lock door actuators when they become old.

The speedometer is usually caused by a bad instrument cluster or front electronic module or the leak of brake fluid.

For the TPMS, try to reset the system and do a relearn. You should inflate all the tires at 35 psi (or more) at cold before reseting the system. The Windstar has indirect TPMS, so they work with ABS module and ABS wheel speed sensors. It works by measuring the difference in ratio of average speeds of each wheel when you drive straight at constant speed for a period of time. If there's a difference in average speed, it'll calculate the approximate tire pressure of the faster wheel which is under inflated. So if the ABS light is on, the TPMS will not work.

So you could have a problem with your ABS sensors or brake fluid leak on ABS module cause you have the ABS light and problem with TPMS.

I just edited my post because I correct the mistake with TPMS. In Windstar there's no tire presure sensors, it works with the ABS wheel speed sensors. It's an indirect TPMS.