Cleaning door contacts

[billy_wires]

I have a 95 lincoln continental that I just got back from the shop to diagnose some problems. One of which was the door ajar light coming on when clearly the doors are closed. To fix this all I need to do is clean the contacts, supposedly. I have one problem, though: I don't know what they want me to clean! Can you guys direct me to the propper area, and offer any procedures and tips that would help me out? Thanks.

Oh, and thank goodness for the battery saving feature, my battery would probably be dead by now if it weren't for that very feature.

[GlassesRx]

Hey Billie...I have a 97, and I think pretty much they are identical. I had the same problem and there a quite a few post about door pin swithces. They seem to stick a lot! I just tried spraying some WD 40 down the latch and many say it seems to work. So far no luck w/me. Closed the door bout 20 times. I'll wait till it gets warmer to take the door panel off...again! Some have posted that the switch/sensor is $14 bucks at the dealer, but I haven't reached that road yet. I'll just keep spraying and hope that works for all of us! Good luck and hope this helps out.

[billy_wires]

The good news is that it really works. The bad news is I can't get it to work on the other doors.

A few tips I've found in my troubles:
Use a pair of needle-nose pliers on the door latch rather than opening and closing the doors. It seems to work faster, and doesn't require much effort. Just push the pliers (or really anything small for that matter) against the latch as the bar would if you were closing the door.

Also, don't ever take the pannel off in the dark, it becomes impossible to reattach correctly. I'll keep at it for the other doors, although I think it is now the rear driver's side door that is bugging me.

Persistance may be the key.

[boxcartommie22]

Originally Posted by billy_wires

I have a 95 lincoln continental that I just got back from the shop to diagnose some problems. One of which was the door ajar light coming on when clearly the doors are closed. To fix this all I need to do is clean the contacts, supposedly. I have one problem, though: I don't know what they want me to clean! Can you guys direct me to the propper area, and offer any procedures and tips that would help me out? Thanks.

Oh, and thank goodness for the battery saving feature, my battery would probably be dead by now if it weren't for that very feature.

i have a 98 conti. and have had the same door ajar prob. with the back doors.i learned to spry liberally the door latchs real good with electrical cleaner..i used the crc brand..its been fine ever since.

[mike40]

Originally Posted by GlassesRx

Hey Billie...I have a 97, and I think pretty much they are identical. I had the same problem and there a quite a few post about door pin swithces. They seem to stick a lot! I just tried spraying some WD 40 down the latch and many say it seems to work. So far no luck w/me. Closed the door bout 20 times. I'll wait till it gets warmer to take the door panel off...again! Some have posted that the switch/sensor is $14 bucks at the dealer, but I haven't reached that road yet. I'll just keep spraying and hope that works for all of us! Good luck and hope this helps out.

Where is that switch sensor located...is it located behind the driver side door panel? I've had this same problem with my Continental...no lubricants have worked on correcting this issue.