Door open warning light won't go out. - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

stockcammy · 01-01-2006, 02:16 PM

The door open warning light continues to glow when the car is off or running. It comes on brighter when a door is open and goes dim when the door is closed,but won't go out. I checked all of the doors and pushed in all of the sensor buttons to see if I could isolate it to a door, but nothing. Is this a major issue and will this drain my battery.

Thanks

Mike Gerber · 01-01-2006, 02:37 PM

Is it just the light on the dash that is lit or is the overhead light also on? The dash light won't drain your battery; the overhead light will.

That said, these door switches that control the light are simple contact switches. When the door is open, the button is allowed to spring out inside the switch, completing the circuit. Sometimes the switches get a bit rusty on the backside, allowing the switch to complete the circuit when it shouldn't. Remove each switch by removing the 10MM bolt and pull the switch just slightly out from the door area. No need to disconnect the wiring. It can easily fall inside the door if you do disconnect it. Check the back of each switch for rust. If you do find rust, clean the rust up with a wire brush or some sandpaper and apply some dielectric grease to the area. You can use petrolium jelly in a pinch but dielectric grease is better. Also clean up the bolt and the bolt threads if there is any rust on them. That bolt acts to ground the circuit to the car's frame. Reinstall each switch and check to see if the problem is resolved. This is an easy DIY task.

Mike

chesstompowell · 01-01-2006, 04:04 PM

Hey Mike, I hope this guy gets back here to thank you. That was a great DIY step by step intruction on fixing the problem he described.

stockcammy · 01-01-2006, 09:31 PM

I will give it a try. I have none of the items you listed, so I will have to get those first. I am not sure how to take the cover off of the bold, but I will give it a look.
Thanks for the info.

Mike Gerber · 01-02-2006, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stockcammy

I will give it a try. I have none of the items you listed, so I will have to get those first. I am not sure how to take the cover off of the bold, but I will give it a look.
Thanks for the info.

You're both welcome.

There shouldn't be any cover over the 10MM bolt. The generation 3 Camrys had a rubber cover over the bolt area (you would just lift it up from the bottom to expose the bolt) but the generation 4's do not have the cover; at least not on my 98.

Mike

stockcammy · 01-02-2006, 07:42 PM

I have a 2000 XLE. I know that there is a rubber piece on the door jam, that if I push it, the car thinks the door is closed. Again, I will try and get to it this week.

thanks

toyoonly · 01-03-2006, 07:50 AM

This process works good! I did it on my 92 XLE when the switches just wouldnt turn on. In this case the light on the dash and the dome light didnt come on for either of the back doors. I just took out the sensors as described and used some penetrating oil on the switch, underneath the rubber cover. They now work and I would bet that yours will too. Good luck.

stockcammy · 01-04-2006, 10:07 AM

I found a fix that seemed to work. I had read somewhere that it could be tied into my alarm. I was gone for a week and the warning light was on when I got back, so it is possible something set my alarm off. Well, I hit the panic button, shut it off, locked the doors and the light went out. It hasn't come back on yet. Coincidence? Maybe, but it seems to have done the job. Thanks again for the info and I probably still will clean the sensor for the doors.