Door Ajar light on. No doors "Ajar"

[99Qx4GroundUp]

Back at it with the post floods

I wanted to see if anyone else has had this problem, I searched the threads but didn't find anything specific to my issue.

My 99 Qx4 door ajar light is on, but when I start driving at speeds over 55-65mph, the light flickers on and off extremely fast. My courtesy lights and center dome light will remain on at all times. I've unplugged the courtesy lights because they don't have a ON/DOOR/OFF switch like the dome light does.

I have depressed the door switches on the rear doors and the door ajar light stays on, so that leads me to believe that the driver or passenger door switch is either bad or stuck on the open position. I haven't taken the door panel off to look for a switch, so I was wondering if any of you guys have had a similar problem, and have fixed the issue. I'm not too sure what to be looking for regarding the switch. Even with the lights off/unplugged I feel as though I have a battery drainage issue. (AutoZone warranty is great for swapping batteries but they do expire).

Anyone have some information on an old thread or some knowledgeable input on how I can resolve this issue?
I'm looking to do a LED conversion on the Q but this needs to be done for me to start that project.

Thanks for any input,

Javin

[Rogue One]

I've not had experience with this type of problem but you could try this quick fix.

[Hawairish]

Check the tailgate latch. The tailgate switch is not visible because it's integrated into the latch assembly, like in the video Rogue One posted. If the tailgate isn't latched fully, the door light will come on with minor jostling (like bumps in the road). You may just need to adjust the striker and/or latch. Can't say I've had the problem myself, but my truck and my buddy's require a little extra to fully latch the tailgate.

To test everything, open all the doors and remove the screw on the door jamb switches. The screw is what grounds the switch to the chassis, so if removed, it's as if the door is closed. If you still have the door ajar in this state, it's the tailgate.

You can see if applying some pressure to the tailgate when closed will turn off the light. You can also open the tailgate and use a screwdriver to engage the latch to see if it's sensitive.

Oh, and top tip when working on doors and locks and such: roll the windows down to avoid locking yourself out.

[99Qx4GroundUp]

@Hawairish, I unscrewed the rear doors, light was still on. I think the door switch is inside the latch on the driver/passenger doors.. Is this correct? And must I remove the inner door panel to get to it?

@RogueOne, I haven't been able to view the video that you posted, I will check it out when I am not at work, hopefully there are some answers in there. Thanks for the input.

Javin

[Hawairish]

There's no other switch on the rear doors, only the door jamb. (No other switch because there's no other keyhole on the rear doors.) If your dome light is still on when you disconnect the door jamb switch, then you have a short somewhere, assuming the dome light is switched to 'door' mode.

Take a look at your FSM if you haven't already. In the EL chapter under "Interior, Spot...Lamps" section, you see that the Door Ajar light (Combination Meter = Door) is a very simple circuit based on the grounding of any door switch. In the "Power Door" section, EL-191 shows the door jamb switches as the only ones.