98 sable door ajar malfunction

[jhoule]

Hi --

I have an intermittent problem in my '98 Sable. Sometimes the door ajar light comes on in the dash and the map and dome lights come on, and stay on even when DRIVE is engaged. The only way I have found to workaround this is to remove the interior light relay from the fuse panel (there does not seem to be a separate fuse for the interior lights, at least as far as I can find).

I am assuming one (or more) of the door sensor switches is broken, but cannot find them. Any suggestions?

Thanks

[tmac]

I copied the following remedy that I came across this morning in another forum - I'm having the same problem intermittently. Haven't tried it yet.


"This procedure is a solution to the dome lights not shutting off when the car’s doors are closed. I know for sure that this works on Gen III’s, and will work on any vehicle that has the dome light switch as an integral part of the door latch.



If your dome light does not shut off when you close the door, simply use a can of WD40, with the thin nozzle attached. Insert the thin nozzle into the lock cylinder and spray generously, then insert the nozzle into the latch mechanism and spray.

Our Taurus, a 1997 GL, has had this problem since we bought it in 1999, and I spray the lock and latch every time I change the oil, as a preventative measure. It works great, as the only permanent solution is to replace the latch mechanism."

[jhoule]

Thanks. I saw something similar on the Ranger forum and tried it. Seemed to work at first, then problem resurfaced a couple days later. I didn't spray as thoroughly as the post you provided says to, so I think I will try it again. Nothing to lose!

[Hardrive]

97' sable here... Does the same damn thing. I had to remove the lightbulb. And my door ajar light doesnt turn off on the dash.. I will try that solution. Seems like every problem I am having with my sable... Everyone else is. It must be a sucky car...

[ZGadson]

97' here as well. I've had the same problem but only on a few occasions. I have a sunroof too, so when the lights don't turn off, I have to completly unplug the map lights. which is connected to the roof buttons so I lose my power roof. Im really starting to love my new car.

[surfgermany]

tried this on my 97 sable and it seems to work i really soaked all four doors and the light went out, will post in a few weeks if it doesnt stay off.

[s wagon]

I have a 96 sable took the relay out years ago, I'll spray the doors but good luck finding the relay now, maybe if I find an AXOD Trany they could through in the Interior light relay. Might be sucky car but it has done me well 170k miles.

[[email protected]]

Just wanted to let you know I also have had this problem with my 98 sable since 20k miles. The dealer replaced the switch but 5k miles later I had the problem again. The dealer said it was because of my after market remote starter and refused to deal with the problem. So for 75k miles I have been without a dome light and a stupid door ajar idiot light starring at me (so how do you know when a door is really ajar?).

The wd-40 trick worked. And it worked for my nephew's ford truck and my sister-in-law's ford suv. Even if I have to repeat it periodically, so what? My big question is if so many people have this problem there is obviously something basically wrong with that switch. And I am sure dealer service departments know that but don't mind popping buyers for $125 to replace a bad switch with another bad switch.

[surfgermany]

Originally Posted by surfgermany

tried this on my 97 sable and it seems to work i really soaked all four doors and the light went out, will post in a few weeks if it doesnt stay off.

well its been 2 weeks and no troubles looks like this might have fixed it or at least got rid of it for awhile ( 8 weeks will be enough cause we sell the sable soon for a new accord) it used to happen at lease once a week.

last update 24 march and still no door ajar light looks like a good fix

[postom]

i have a 98 sable wagon and the door ajar light is a permanent thing. one of my best friends has a 98 taurus with teh same problem.

the dome light bulb is removed. one of the lower floor lights has already burned out

it seemed like it first started happening when it was raining out and around 35-50 degrees.

i will go home and attempt to locate this lock cylinder and latch mechanism.

my guesses are (sorry for the idiot content)

lock cylinder = place where you insert the key to open the door

latch mechanism = thing on the side of the door that connects with the body to tell if the door is open?

[tomofcg]

I had the same problem with my 1997 Mercury Sable. I read those replies suggesting WD40 sprayed liberally into the door locks and on the latch mechanism. It worked for my car. Thank you.

[Tanasi]

The relay is in the door latch. You have to remove the door panel and then the switch. At least that's what the local dealers service dept told me and $150 later.

[dbrew]

Our problem started 3 weeks after we bought our used 98 sable. It was under warranty so the dealer fixed it but it showed up again. For us it started to show up after a good rain or heavy humidity, like the sensor was wet or something. Did anyone else notice this? Thank you for your suggestions on what to do about it. It is very irritating!! Does anyone know if this is a problem still on newer vehicles? There are similiar post under 98 Ford Taurus, was 98 just a bad year for this?

[Tanasi]

I never thought of the water as being a problem. I have noticed since it has started warming up that the switch on mine has been taking longer to shutoff. When it turned cooler the last few days it's not been a problem. That tells me there's some sort of heat expansion problem in the switch. I'm going to mention this to my brother he's an engineer and could be familiar with a similar problem in his work.

[mikeemon]

Same proble. Have lived with no lights for years. will try WD-40 again. The cars do not suck, they are just consistant. Just think if no one else had these problems, who would we ask?