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  #16  
Old 11-12-2013, 10:10 AM
Max.E.Mumm Max.E.Mumm is offline
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Default Re: Rear Door Latch, Door Ajar -- Solution

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Originally Posted by DubstepNinja View Post
I was having this problem for a long time. but after the door was closed it would go away after a day or two. i solved it by leaving the driver side rear door closed all the time but recently i went to open the door and the bottom latch wont even open. i pull the handle and the top latch lets go, but the bottom latch stays closed. does this sound like just the latch or does it sound like the cable is broken ?
The cable is rarely ever the problem. I had the same issue in my 99 Ranger and it was the latch so badly rusted it was frozen in place. No amount of yanking on the door handle or using pliers to pull the cable helped. You might get lucky though ... you should be able to see a rubber plug at the bottom of the door. If you can remove that and get some light in there, you might be able to use a screw driver to pry the opener pivot arm to unlatch.
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1999 Ford Ranger XLT Supercab Off-Road, 4.0l OHV, Auto, 372Km (now sold)
2003 Ford Ranger XLT FX4, 4.0l SOHC, Auto, 375Km original, 132Km on engine/transmission.
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  #17  
Old 11-12-2013, 09:31 PM
DubstepNinja DubstepNinja is offline
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Default Re: Rear Door Latch, Door Ajar -- Solution

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Originally Posted by Max.E.Mumm View Post
The cable is rarely ever the problem. I had the same issue in my 99 Ranger and it was the latch so badly rusted it was frozen in place. No amount of yanking on the door handle or using pliers to pull the cable helped. You might get lucky though ... you should be able to see a rubber plug at the bottom of the door. If you can remove that and get some light in there, you might be able to use a screw driver to pry the opener pivot arm to unlatch.

where exactly would this rubbere plug be ?... the door does not open at all so if the door needs to be open to get to this rubber plug then im SOL. lol. unless i can pull the door panel off while the door remains closed perhaps. i did pull it off to install some type r door speakers last year lol... but that was when it opened >_<
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  #18  
Old 12-19-2013, 03:19 PM
schitt schitt is offline
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Default Re: Rear Door Latch, Door Ajar -- Solution

Does anyone know the colors or the wires that lead to these switches in each door? Of the 4 door. I'd much rather just cut the wires and splice them if needed, than replacing a stupid part.
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  #19  
Old 12-19-2013, 11:56 PM
Max.E.Mumm Max.E.Mumm is offline
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Default Re: Rear Door Latch, Door Ajar -- Solution

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Originally Posted by DubstepNinja View Post
where exactly would this rubbere plug be ?... the door does not open at all so if the door needs to be open to get to this rubber plug then im SOL. lol. unless i can pull the door panel off while the door remains closed perhaps. i did pull it off to install some type r door speakers last year lol... but that was when it opened >_<
Sorry, didn't notice this post, I would have answered earlier. The rubber plug can be accessed with the door closed. It is at the bottom of the door. The area is closest to the passenger seat. You should see an oval shaped rubber plug.

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Quote:
Originally Posted by schitt View Post
Does anyone know the colors or the wires that lead to these switches in each door? Of the 4 door. I'd much rather just cut the wires and splice them if needed, than replacing a stupid part.
Haven't got a clue what the wire colors are. But, cutting them won't help. All you will be doing is creating an open circuit and have the door open ajar issue, plus have the interior dome light on all the time.
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1999 Ford Ranger XLT Supercab Off-Road, 4.0l OHV, Auto, 372Km (now sold)
2003 Ford Ranger XLT FX4, 4.0l SOHC, Auto, 375Km original, 132Km on engine/transmission.
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  #20  
Old 12-21-2013, 03:36 PM
ed1978 ed1978 is offline
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Default Re: Rear Door Latch, Door Ajar -- Solution

your picture is good.....but tell us where this switch is at?.......im ready to burn my ranger.....i have owned 4 of them...03 is the worse.....its a pc of shit.
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  #21  
Old 12-21-2013, 11:37 PM
Max.E.Mumm Max.E.Mumm is offline
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Default Re: Rear Door Latch, Door Ajar -- Solution

The switch is the same in all 3rd/4th generation and not unique to the '03. The switch is at the bottom of the rear door, about 8-10" inches from the front edge of the door lip. The switch is held in place by three screws (torx) that can only be accessed from the bottom of the door and only when it is open.
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1999 Ford Ranger XLT Supercab Off-Road, 4.0l OHV, Auto, 372Km (now sold)
2003 Ford Ranger XLT FX4, 4.0l SOHC, Auto, 375Km original, 132Km on engine/transmission.
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  #22  
Old 12-22-2013, 02:41 PM
Prages Prages is offline
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Default Re: Rear Door Latch, Door Ajar -- Solution

I have owned my truck since July 2002 and never had a problem with my door ajar light.

I read this thread a few days ago.

Today my door ajar light came on even though all 4 doors were closed properly.

Thanks for that.

The next time I started the truck the light was off, but I still sprayed some WD-40 on all the latches just in case. If the light returns, I'll remove the solenoid like this thread suggests. My latches aren't rusted out, so I should have a pretty easy fix if the light returns.
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  #23  
Old 01-28-2014, 03:35 PM
dangerranger01NJ dangerranger01NJ is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Max.E.Mumm View Post
Like many others, I have had my share of grief from the "door ajar" light and problems closing the door properly (or opening). I've found several solutions and I will share them with you.

First off: if the problem is that your rear door latch is rusted out, you can try WD-40 or PB along with white lithium grease (or graphite based oil sprays) -- however, it is likely that you will need to replace the latch. Rather than order new, I went to my local JY. No four door Rangers, so I decided to pull the rear door latch off of a 2001 Ford F-150 and try to fab them. Turns out that the rear door latch from that model year Ford F-150 is IDENTICAL to the Ford Ranger, with one exception: there is no solenoid switch included with the F-150 version. Now, that makes sense to me. We already have a door ajar sensor for the front doors, who cares about the rear doors as long as they catch? Obviously Ford thinks the same way otherwise they would have put a sensor on the rear doors of the F-150, don't you think?

Which leads to the next solution: if your latches are working (catch on close and open properly), then you can easily bypass the door ajar solenoid on the rear doors. It's pretty simple. The solenoid is held in place by a small plastic tab (see the picture, I have put a red square where it is located on the latch assembly). Lift the plastic tab, turn the solenoid in the same direction as the location of the tab, and the solenoid comes out easily. You will notice that the solenoid trigger pin is "out" when the door is closed, and "in" when the door is open. Perfect!! With the solenoid taken out of the latch assembly, the pin is "out" indicating the door is closed. Leave the solenoid plugged into the wiring, and do not replace it in the latch assembly. Secure the wire by taping it to the latch cable and leave it dangling. This will have absolutely no effect on your dome light, and the door ajar will never fire because of an open rear door -- only open or ajar front door.

Enjoy!
Is this latch on the bottom of the supercab doors or on top? my door ajar keeps going on/off and the int light comes on and is driving me crazy! Sorry for resurrecting an old thread btw

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Edit: nevermind I figureded it out
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  #24  
Old 01-29-2014, 12:03 AM
Max.E.Mumm Max.E.Mumm is offline
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Default Re: Rear Door Latch, Door Ajar -- Solution

It's described in quite a few messages in this thread... bottom of the rear door. There is one latch on each rear door.
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1999 Ford Ranger XLT Supercab Off-Road, 4.0l OHV, Auto, 372Km (now sold)
2003 Ford Ranger XLT FX4, 4.0l SOHC, Auto, 375Km original, 132Km on engine/transmission.
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  #25  
Old 02-03-2014, 12:35 PM
Gatorstick Gatorstick is offline
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Default Re: Rear Door Latch, Door Ajar -- Solution

Great posting that solved my nagging problem!

One addition, on my 2000 4x4, I removed both rear door solenoids (rather than tie them off) and my dome light works properly along with no "Door Ajar" light.
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  #26  
Old 03-24-2014, 06:59 AM
sprocket226 sprocket226 is offline
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Default Re: Rear Door Latch, Door Ajar -- Solution

Kind of glad I found this. The drivers side rear door on my 03 won't open now.
Seems like the latch on the bottom has seized up. Pulled the plug sprayed WD40, still not letting go. I can see the latch, but not sure where your pushing with the screwdriver?
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  #27  
Old 03-24-2014, 10:27 PM
Max.E.Mumm Max.E.Mumm is offline
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Default Re: Rear Door Latch, Door Ajar -- Solution

If you can see the latch looking through the hole, you will see where the cable connects. Use a screw driver and pivot it against the hole to pry that. Don't force it too much, you'll need to sort of "work it" until the rust releases (from your WD 40).
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1999 Ford Ranger XLT Supercab Off-Road, 4.0l OHV, Auto, 372Km (now sold)
2003 Ford Ranger XLT FX4, 4.0l SOHC, Auto, 375Km original, 132Km on engine/transmission.
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  #28  
Old 04-26-2014, 05:54 PM
stevednmc stevednmc is offline
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Default Re: Rear Door Latch, Door Ajar -- Solution

Quote:
Originally Posted by schitt View Post
Does anyone know the colors or the wires that lead to these switches in each door? Of the 4 door. I'd much rather just cut the wires and splice them if needed, than replacing a stupid part.
Hello all! I am new here, and I know this an old thread. I just bought my first Ranger this week. It didn't happen on the test drive of this truck, but low and behold after I bought it the door ajar light came on...the same day! I did notice this issue on some of the other rangers I test drove, so I was looking for it with this one. I should have been tipped off by the missing dome light.

To answer the above question or for anyone else that might google this issue, the wiring on the passenger side rear is a black wire, and a pink with light blue stripe. On the 01 at least, that's what I have. Cutting the wires does indeed work. Just cut them both and tape them off. Wiring them together turns the light on, FYI.Just did this to mine after some trial and error. I replaced my dome light and everything works...now! still need to replace that bottom latch, but my hardware is all so rusted and stripped, its gonna take some work to get those stupid Torx bolts out. I hope this is of value to some one else!
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  #29  
Old 12-14-2015, 10:16 AM
Jen998 Jen998 is offline
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Default Re: Rear Door Latch, Door Ajar -- Solution

Hi, everyone! I am new to the forum, so please forgive me if I am beating a dead horse here. I am an I.T. chick, so let's just say cars are not my forte when it comes to fixing things. That being said, I want to nail down the possible causes for the problem I am having with the rear doors on my truck as much as possible before I get into ripping them apart.

I have looked through all the threads, but nothing seems to describe the problem I am having with my rear door on my 2007 Ranger Sport 4x4. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Unlike everyone else who seems to have doors that are seizing, I can't get either of my rear doors to latch on the bottom. I have looked at the latches but do not see any outstanding rust. The latch mechanism seems fluid, but it is like it is not biting on to the plate on the cab.

When I close the rear door, it seems okay. However, when I close the passenger or driver door, the bottom of the rear door seems to jump out, like the latch is not engaging.

One question right out of the gates is, should that latch stay closed if the door handle is closed? I can put a screwdriver in to the latch and open the catch manually. It would seem to me that it should not be able to open if the door handle is not pulling on the cable to the latch to release it. (And yes, I'm just spitballing here.)

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
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  #30  
Old 01-31-2016, 02:03 PM
Grundy88 Grundy88 is offline
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Default Re: Rear Door Latch, Door Ajar -- Solution

So if you by pass the solenoid in the rear assembly will that fool the dash into thinking the door is closed? Just curious as I have this issue and don't want to remove it if it won't fix that stupid dome light and sensor on the dash. ( I don't care if it's not working 100%) I just want the sensor on the dash to go away and die and be able to use my dome light again

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jen998 View Post
Hi, everyone! I am new to the forum, so please forgive me if I am beating a dead horse here. I am an I.T. chick, so let's just say cars are not my forte when it comes to fixing things. That being said, I want to nail down the possible causes for the problem I am having with the rear doors on my truck as much as possible before I get into ripping them apart.

I have looked through all the threads, but nothing seems to describe the problem I am having with my rear door on my 2007 Ranger Sport 4x4. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Unlike everyone else who seems to have doors that are seizing, I can't get either of my rear doors to latch on the bottom. I have looked at the latches but do not see any outstanding rust. The latch mechanism seems fluid, but it is like it is not biting on to the plate on the cab.

When I close the rear door, it seems okay. However, when I close the passenger or driver door, the bottom of the rear door seems to jump out, like the latch is not engaging.

One question right out of the gates is, should that latch stay closed if the door handle is closed? I can put a screwdriver in to the latch and open the catch manually. It would seem to me that it should not be able to open if the door handle is not pulling on the cable to the latch to release it. (And yes, I'm just spitballing here.)

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Yea I have the same issue on my fx4 I just called a local junk yard and got a replacement latch for $30 where ford wants $175.... Seems to work so far but the question will be for how long as it doesn't solve why this happened. With that said I'm just going to bypass the solenoid so the stupid door ajar issue goes away. I don't care if it bounces back a bit the driver and passengar door will keep it shut
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