Christmas tree dashboard

My dashboard on my 95 Ford Windstar has been looking like a Christmas tree lately and most of the time nothing is wrong. It is also very intermittent, e.g. I have the ABS light on, brake light on, and door ajar but all these items are fine. I also get the air ride light (the little yellow van) but when that comes on I lose my air ride system. All intermittently, sometimes they are on for days, then they turn off. With the items that do go bad when the light is off they work fine. Is there something unique to this like a computer or is this just big time coincidence and things are slowly failing? One other thing along with this my transmission O.D. light comes on and flashes causing my transmission to slip, then the slipping stops when the light stops flashing. I did have a transmission repair shop overhaul the transmisson because I had other problems with the trany but this on and off slippage thing has happened since the repair. Any help is always appreciated.

These lights are an indication of true problems.
Reason, you notice problems with the related systems when the light comes on.

The first thing that I would do is get to the bottm of the flashing O/D light.....as it could be the most expensive.
Stop by your local AutoZone or other auto part store and have your codes read.
Your 1995 windstar is FULLY OBDII compliant......even though it was not required until 1996.
Recently, I had a flashing O/D light that was caused by a defective Vehicle Speed Sensor (VSS), not expensive.....but a real pain to get to.
It is mounted on the back side of the transmission......above one of your catalytic converters.
Another failure item that can cause the O/D light to flash is the Transmission range sensor.....also known as Neutral Safety Switch.
Those are 2 not expensive causes for the O/D light.

For the door light...... the common cause of that is a door sensor......Check the pads and springy buttons on your side slidding door. For the front doors, the sensor is inside the door......below the latch.
There is also a sensor or 2 for the rear hatch.

For the Brake lights.....first thing to check is the level of the brake fluid in the master cylinder. When it is even slightly below the FULL line it can cause the level sensor to trip and light up your brake and abs lights.
Also check the brake pressure switch on the bottom of the master cylinder.....a known leaker and possible cause of a fire.
The pressure switch is a easy DIY job......your local FORD dealer stocks the part.....not expensive but they can often be out of stock on this part because it is very high fail.....and there is a recall for this same part on other vehicles, like the F150 pickup.....but no recall for the windstar as of yet.

Another cause of the ABS light can be the wheel sensors......and their position relative to the exciter ring (looks like a gear)......
Sometimes the sensor can be bumped....and be slightly too far from the teeth of the exciter ring.

I don't have the air ride option.....so I don't know what to say about that.

These lights are an indication of true problems.
Reason, you notice problems with the related systems when the light comes on.

The first thing that I would do is get to the bottm of the flashing O/D light.....as it could be the most expensive.
Stop by your local AutoZone or other auto part store and have your codes read.
Your 1995 windstar is FULLY OBDII compliant......even though it was not required until 1996.
Recently, I had a flashing O/D light that was caused by a defective Vehicle Speed Sensor (VSS), not expensive.....but a real pain to get to.
It is mounted on the back side of the transmission......above one of your catalytic converters.
Another failure item that can cause the O/D light to flash is the Transmission range sensor.....also known as Neutral Safety Switch.
Those are 2 not expensive causes for the O/D light.

For the door light...... the common cause of that is a door sensor......Check the pads and springy buttons on your side slidding door. For the front doors, the sensor is inside the door......below the latch.
There is also a sensor or 2 for the rear hatch.

For the Brake lights.....first thing to check is the level of the brake fluid in the master cylinder. When it is even slightly below the FULL line it can cause the level sensor to trip and light up your brake and abs lights.
Also check the brake pressure switch on the bottom of the master cylinder.....a known leaker and possible cause of a fire.
The pressure switch is a easy DIY job......your local FORD dealer stocks the part.....not expensive but they can often be out of stock on this part because it is very high fail.....and there is a recall for this same part on other vehicles, like the F150 pickup.....but no recall for the windstar as of yet.

Another cause of the ABS light can be the wheel sensors......and their position relative to the exciter ring (looks like a gear)......
Sometimes the sensor can be bumped....and be slightly too far from the teeth of the exciter ring.

I don't have the air ride option.....so I don't know what to say about that.



That's what I was afraid of, that these were real problems. I just can't get over the on again off again nature of these failures. Thanks so much for your lengthy answer.