Ford Windstar is killing me

[ethansmom]

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

[sunfire_stud_2001]

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.

[tarheel4eva]

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! 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!

[ncbro]

Originally Posted by ethansmom

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

[tarheel4eva]

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.

[jamesjeg1214]

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.

[dpec0rar0]

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

[DRW1000]

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)

[tarheel4eva]

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

[Janelle717]

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!

[PumpItUp]

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..

[PumpItUp]

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.

[Janelle717]

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)

[reallost]

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.

[Dngrsone]

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.