Understanding Door Ajar Warning Light!

When your car’s door ajar warning light is on, it means one or all of the doors are open or not closed right. You need to check which door is causing the issue and make sure it’s closed properly. Fixing this quickly is vital for your car to work well and be safe.

Even if the warning light is on, you can still drive it. However, be prepared for a massive battery power drain.

In this guide, I’ll break down the ins and outs of door ajar light from its meaning, function, safety, causes, and fixes. Here I Go!

What Does the Door Ajar Warning Light Mean?

To know what is the door ajar light, you’ll need to look into the indicator, symbol, or icon shown on the dashboard or instrumental cluster.

The door ajar light is a sign of your car that means the door is open or not closed properly. When you see this light pop on, you need to take action to fix the error.

You can understand the root problem if you know how this system works. Well, the door ajar system works by checking if the doors are open or closed. It does this by receiving or not receiving a signal from the door latches to the smart junction box (SJB).

So, when it fails to receive a signal from door latches to SJB, the car’s ECU system simply shows this warning light on the dashboard. In other words, it means the door is open.

Is It Safe to Drive with the Door Ajar Light On?

Depends! It is safe to drive with the door ajar light on as long as you don’t get distracted. To put it clearly, some drivers can panic or get distracted when they see the warning light turning on the dashboard. It’s because this poses safety concerns.

Apart from that, driving with the door ajar warning light on can make it tough for you to focus on driving and may be illegal in some places. Based on the Hillmuth, this might make it risky to park your car anywhere.

Another negative point that you should consider before driving your car with the door ajar light on is the door lock. If you use a key fob or other applicants to lock the door, it won’t work due to the door ajar light on.

Due to this, your car’s ECU system may prevent you as a driver from locking the doors. And, it’s a concerning thing as you’ll be in motion when driving outside.

Will a Door Ajar Light Drain Battery?

Yes, a door ajar light can make a car battery go dead if it doesn’t turn off by itself. Here’s why: If the warning light on the dashboard stays on and keeps the inside light on all the time, it will use up the battery’s energy.

If the battery is already not very strong, keeping these lights on all the time can completely drain the battery in about a week. This will make the car impossible to start. If your Ford F150 won’t start, you can find a solution by reading this guide.

Now, let’s get back to the main point. When the doors are not closed properly, the inside lights in the car will keep using power. This continuous use of power will slowly use up the battery until the problem is fixed.

So, it’s important to make sure all the doors are closed tightly to avoid the battery getting drained for no reason. This is especially true when the inside lights don’t turn off automatically when the door is open.

Pro Tip: Check regularly to catch and fix this issue early. And if you want to turn off the door ajar light, you can follow the steps in this guide.

Why Door Ajar Light Stays On?

There are plenty of reasons why your car’s door ajar light doesn’t go off or may flicker. Let me share them below:

• A short circuit in the dome light’s electrical system.
• A short circuit within the anti-theft system.
• Broken door ajar sensor.
• The door switch is stuck in the “Open” position.
• Dead door ajar fuse.
• An electrical short occurs in any of the door switches.
• Rust in the door latch.
• Faulty door ajar switch.

How to Fix Door Ajar Warning Light?

If you are thinking of fixing the door ajar light most quickly for a short period of relief, the best thing you can do is try the lubricant trick.

To do that, you’ll need strong lubes like the brake cleaner and silicone lubricant that can loosen up the rust or corrosion from the latch.

Then, open your car’s door and spray it directly through the hole of the door latch. Next, let it be like this for a few minutes before you close the door.

However, if you want to fix the issue permanently, it’ll require you to change the door ajar sensor, fuse, and switch. To do that, you’ll need an expert’s help!

Wrapping Up

Now that you know everything about the door ajar warning light, be sure to avoid it by fixing the root issue. To get a better idea of why the light stays on in cars like F150, you can check this guide.

Hope you like this and find it helpful to understand all related to the door ajar light. Catch you in the next guide soon!