Door open sensor

Usually a aulty or dirty switch at one of the door latches.... usually at the rear hatch... there is one on each lach back there and it is much easier on the nerves to just replace both of them

Merry Xmas

Speaking of the Windstar door latches and switches, what is the electrical connector with several spring loaded pins used for on the sliding door? The pins on the door make contact with a plate on the body when the door is closed.

Jim Warman wrote:

These are for the power door lock actuators and speakers - if equipped.

Oooops... as well as door switch inputs.

So the multi-contact switch on the sliding door can be a possible cause of the interior lights staying on, depending on which contacts are faulty. It must be important to keep the pins and contacts of that switch clean to prevent malfunctions in any of the circuits it serves.

Jim Warman wrote:

In a word... yes. We do see occasional concerns with these... by and large, though, the concens are with the tailgate switches. The only way to be absolutely sure is to use a capable scan tool to check PIDs. On the Windstar, this can be daunting since we have to poll several modules to see the whole picture.

Liberally spray WD40 into the door latch opening. I've never actually seen where the switches are located, but just hosing the area down works on my Ranger and Sable when this happens (about every 2-3 years).

mike

On a related note, is there an easy way to turn off the auto door locks? One of the actuators on the passenger rear door appears to be broken and makes a very annoying buzzing sound when the vehicle begins to move. TIA Matt

check the owners manual ... i know my parents intrepid allows the owner to shut off the auto lock.