1997 Taurus Door Ajar problem

Question: 1997 Ford Taurus mileage: 101,000. My door ajar light stays on keeping the cabin lights turned ON. I believe the door sensor switch needs to be replaced/cleaned. This switch is attached to the interior door handle and can be reached without removing the entire door panel. However I can't figure out how to reach this switch. Please advise. Thanks
Ashwin

Put WD40 where the door latches together. Thats what I did to mine and it solved the problem.

worked for mine too!

I have the same problem with my 1997. I have tried spraying WD40 on all the door hinges and other components. I cannot narrow it down to one particular door. If someone has answer I would greatly appreciate it since this has puzzled me for awhile now.

I had this problem with my Sable, the problem is that the switch has very little travel and therefore is very sensative, another fault with it is that the return spring is very weak. I had to partialy remove the inner door panel to acuratley locate and spray the stuck switch with WD40 then work it thru a few open and close cycles until the interior lights went out when the door was closed. I did this last November and it has been working perfectly ever since. My guess is that it is the drivers door as that is the one that gets the most use.

Thanks for the help, I will give it a try.

try putting the spray inside the lock mechanism...it should help...
make sure you try all the doors

Zoey, you mentioned partially removing the inner door panel. I wanted to remove the inner door panel on my son's 97 Taurus. We are trying to figure out how to change the speaker in the driver's door. He also has occasional trouble with the door ajar light. Perhaps while the panel is off we can look at that too. I am just afraid of prying on the door panel, afraid of breaking off the tabs and not getting the panel back on tight. Any suggestions?
Thanks,

There is only one screw to remove, the one you see in the bottom of the finger grip. The small panel behind the handle/release is removed with a thin bladed screwdriver. The clips are best removed with a special panel clip removal tool (generic) found at your local parts store. Mine is an angled screwdriver with a u-shaped tip that helps apply an even pressure around the plastic clip while you apply presure to pull it out of the hole. You need to pull slightly on the door panel to see where the clips are before you try to get the tip in place. Once started, you can feel your way to the next clip with the tool and continue the prying process. Do not just yank on the panel to pull it off because you will break the panel's plastic tabs the clips slide into. I suggest getting new clips while you get the tool. This is because they may be slightly damaged upon removal. They are inserted into the door panel tabs prior to pressing the panel back into place.

Once the clips are removed from the holes you will pull up the panel at the rear (near the seat belt) and pivot it up. The panel is then pulled out towards the rear a bit and then the front is pulled up and out.

Tom, I really appreciate all the information. I will get that tool and the tabs you recommend.

I tried the WD-40 on a '96 Taurus wagon and it worked great. Really soaked the latch and put the little red straw in the key lock and did the same. Excess came out the bottom of the car door drain, so keep the doors open for a bit. Thanks to all for this suggestion which cost me about 25 cents instead of a service call. Outstanding!

the switch for the "door ajar" alarm ia actually built into door latch in the door i found that out the hard way after spending a whole day taking the door apart. all you need is some WD40 sprayed into the latch that's what solved the problem on my 97 taurus.