issue with door sensor... I think - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

bigbird · 02-15-2010, 04:29 PM

soooo, my alarm stopped chirping when i lock and unlock the car recently (fairly new alarm) and i couldnt figure out why. the remote would still lock and unlock the car and the lights would flash as well as the alarm going off when the car was bumped. i noticed today that when my drivers door is open, the "door adjar" dash light is not luminated. when the passenger side one is opened it does. could this cause the issues with the alarm? what could be broken other then the door position button? its a long shot but couldnt hurt to ask.

#2! · 02-15-2010, 04:40 PM

I had the same problem. The metal contacts inside the door switch gets gummed up with crap. You can pull out the switch and then try spraying cleaner inside of it. If that doesn't work then you can carefully pry apart the switch and rub the crap off of the contacts.

Which alarm did you get?

bigbird · 02-15-2010, 08:26 PM

some cheaper viper alarm. all i wanted was good range and keyless entry, no frills kinda system. I just couldnt see there being a problem with the alarm since the door light wasnt commin on.

thanks for the reply, ill try that when it thaws out a little here.

***LynchburgCSI*** · 02-15-2010, 08:30 PM

also had a similar problem, rob. I ended up replacing the whole switch, but you can try cleaning it up.

#2! · 02-15-2010, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigbird

some cheaper viper alarm. all i wanted was good range and keyless entry, no frills kinda system. I just couldnt see there being a problem with the alarm since the door light wasnt commin on.

thanks for the reply, ill try that when it thaws out a little here.

Viper(DEI) makes good solid stuff. If the alarm was causing the problem it would be consistent with all doors because the doors trigger input should be connected to the dome light wire. So I wouldn't worry about that.
The alarm could have a silent arm mode that might have somehow jumped into which would turn off the chirp conformations.

When you do tare into the door switches make sure the mounting bolt is clean and can carry a good ground from the car body to the metal part of the switch.

sk8ersublime · 02-15-2010, 10:02 PM

yea fix that switch, i was having the same problem with the switch on my driver rear door, ended up breaking it off, still havent fixed it

haux · 02-15-2010, 11:28 PM

Is for Gen 3 or 4? I have some spare Gen4 door sensors I don't need.

jc4ho · 02-16-2010, 12:19 PM

do you guys have experiencing replacing the door sensors on the gen3? I know both my rear ones 'sometimes' work and I want to replace them. Now, I'm not sure if it'd be possible to simply cut the wire from the old one, tie the wires of the new ones on and tape it? I really don't want to go into the car itself to remove the other end of the sensor.

***LynchburgCSI*** · 02-16-2010, 12:45 PM

^ thats exactly how simple it is. just be sure to reinstall it, THEN test it. It won't work properly if it isnt fully bolted in.

Mike Gerber · 02-16-2010, 01:46 PM

Most gen 3 door switches can be cleaned rather easily. Lift up on the rubber cover from the bottom just enough to expose the 10MM hex head bolt. Remove the bolt and pull the switch out just enough to work on the back side of it. Don't remove the electrical connector. Take a wire brush and clean away all the rust on the back side of the switch and spring. It's usually the rust that causes the problem on these. When clean, put some dielectric grease on the back side as this will prevent the rust form returning. Also clean the bolt threads as those threads ground the switch to the frame of the car. Reinstall the switch and bolt and see if that fixes the problem. This whole process will take about 10 minutes.

Mike

jc4ho · 02-16-2010, 04:46 PM

Thanks for the responses guys.

I actually tried cleaning it off already. All the rust is gone but I believe the issue is inside the switch itself. When the door is open, and the switch is out, I can actually wiggle the switch itself, without pressing it in, and I can see the door-open signal constantly flick on and off on the dash.

I went to Toyota today and they want $30 per switch for brand new ones. Gonna try the install myself and see how it goes.

$30 is definitely overkill, but I'd much rather just deal with the issue and have it fixed asap instead of searching on ebay or at some scrap yard.

Should I be concerned with cutting the wire and just rewiring and taping on the new one? Toyota seemed to be concerned using this method (but duhh, they're the dealer and want everything done properly and charge me premium as well).

I am going to see if I can get into the panel to actually disconnect the old switch and connect in the new one. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm guessing I'm going to have to go through the folddown back seats or something.

Mike Gerber · 02-16-2010, 04:57 PM

One more thing you can try first. Get some WD-40. Remove the switch again and then hold the switch with the button portion upright and spray the WD-40 liberally around the edge of the button. Then work the switch in and out for a while. The WD-40 will remove some of the rust that may be inside the switch and will lubricate the button at the same time. Then reinstall and see if that helps.

Mike

flyeri · 02-16-2010, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Gerber

One more thing you can try first. Get some WD-40. Remove the switch again and then hold the switch with the button portion upright and spray the WD-40 liberally around the edge of the button. Then work the switch in and out for a while. The WD-40 will remove some of the rust that may be inside the switch and will lubricate the button at the same time. Then reinstall and see if that helps.

Mike

You can get a can of electronic contact cleaner at Radio Shack. Will clean the contacts in the switch better than the WD40 and lubricate too. I had to do this to all four doors on my daughter's car just a couple weeks ago. Clean the bolt and rub some of the cleaner in the bolt hole with a Q-Tip to insure a good ground.

jc4ho · 02-17-2010, 10:32 AM

do you guys have any suggestions on how to get into the panel on the inside to disconnect the old switch?

***LynchburgCSI*** · 02-17-2010, 10:42 AM

^ wayyyyyyyyyy more effort than it's worth. just cut the wire, solder it, and heat shrink/electrical tape it.

edit: be careful! you DON'T want to lose that wire inside the body panel. i put a HUGE piece of tape on it before i cut it so it couldn't retract itself back into the depths behind the body panel.