constant chiming

Well, I have had issues too numerous ot mention but this one drives me nuts. When I put my keys in the ignition, the chiming noise starts, much like the chiming when your door is open and keys in igniton. The chining will continue till I reach 30KM per hour (15-20MPH ) then it will stop until I slow down to below those speeds, then it goes again. Anyone have any ideas? Removing the fuse is out since it also controls my interior lights. This is a 1998 Winstar with a 3.0L engine.

It's a common problem. Spray WD-40 in all the door latch mechanisms. Open and close each door a few times after the WD-40 spray. The problem will go away.

thanks very much, I will try it. Its been 16 months of chiming, so I am looking forward to some peace and quiet.

hey....it worked!!!

What if that solution doesn't work for the interior lights? First it was my door chime , but that resolved itself on its own, yet now my interior lights won't go out! They go out for about 1 second when I start the car but come back on and stay on, whether the vehicle is running or not. I tried the WD-40 with no success.

My interior lights stay on too! At times it will ding ding ding like the drivers side door is open with the key in ignition and the door locks will not lock. Then it will think the door is closed, shut off the lights and lock the doors. And swap back!! So I am riding down the road dinging, door locks locking and unlocking, and lights going on and off. I have already had this 'fixed' by Ford, TWICE! HELP!

I have had this problem for a while. It has taken several hours to rectify the problem. Mine is a 95 LX with all the bells. Pun intended. There were three of these door latch indicators to deal with. The only one working properly was in the passanger door. The side slider has two. This one is difficult because the cover is so hard to remove. I managed to remove the covers from the rear, side and drivers doors. The trick on the drivers door is to lift up on the inside door panel after you take the screw out on the bottom of the panel and another from behind the smaller panel covering the door handle.:< After spraying the bottom of the latch assembly thouroughly only the back door would not "unfreeze" the door ajar alarm.
By removing the latch wiring from each side individually i was able to assertain the drivers side latch was not working. Removing the latch from the vehicle then removing the contactor from the latch I found the contactor was siezed. This part can be replaced but I lubricated and coerced (banged it on the edge of the work bench) the contactor pin free of the assembly. As I said this has taken several hours.
To quickly find out which door is the problem try this.
With the ignition on but without starting the vehicle open each door individually. If you hear the warning beep, then that door ajar alarm is working properly. Try all the doors. If you do not get the audible then that is your problem door. Good luck.

WD-40 worked for me too. :2cents:

It's a common problem. Spray WD-40 in all the door latch mechanisms. Open and close each door a few times after the WD-40 spray. The problem will go away.

THIS WORKED FOR ME TOO! THANKS!

The only problem I had on my 2000 Winnie was either the door openlight or dome light did not want to extinguish even though the seemed like the door was closed and locked. If I remember correctly the problem was due to me closing the door and catching the seat belt in the drivers side lock mechinism. I did this numerous times by accident. Turns out I messed up the teflon cover that goes over the top latch in the mechinism and that prevented the latch from dropping down all the ways when I closed the door. I took a razor and removed the teflon so it could no longer jam the latch. That fixed the problem.

Morale of the story....be careful and don't catch the seatbelt in the locking mechanism.

John

THIS WORKED FOR ME TOO! THANKS!

You guys and this forum are a god send. We have been putting up with the chiming problem for a year and a half coming and going. Last night it was terrible. It took three searches (with different wording each time) to find this forum. I had actually gone on CarMax.com looking for a new vehicle but how could I trade in this ringing monster. Finally I found you guys and your WD-40 fix. So I was outside at 10:00 pm in my robe, flashlight and WD-40 spraying and slamming doors. As of this afternoon and driving the car all over Vegas there are no problems. I was expecting a huge bill for electrical repairs. Thanks so very much. Bowing and scraping.

I too have been haunted by the constant chiming of my Windstar! The dealer assured me that this is "normal" wear of the switches. He did clue me that the bad switch contact would cause the other haunted car problems, like locking/unlocking and light going off and on.

Thanks to all of you who posted your solutions, the dealer wants $300+ for finding/replacing the switch, but I will spend a few $$ on WD-40 first.

Better use a sprayable silcon grease (e.g from WIRTH). The WD-40 will fix the problem just for a little while (wd-40 is just a cleaner and will vaporize fast).
In the door latch is a ball which will give contact. Sometimes this ball is stucked. Use grease!

I have a new switch for the ajar alarm. I've got inside the panel but have no idea how to change it. Any help? - this should be better than spraying WD-40 or any other grease. I don't want to remove the lock cause I'm affraid putting it all back in a working piece. BTW WD-40 has some grease inside it that should stay on elements as the the rest vaporizes
Thanks :-)

Here is the solution to the door adjar lights and charm.

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=383261

Read that thread and follow instructions.