'Door open' lights

[breakshift]

i have a '02 PT Cruiser Touring Edition since 2001. this problem just started on Sat Jan 5, two days ago. My PT constantly thinks the driver side door is open (when I have securely closed it), prompting the Dash' Door Open signal, as well as the overhead lamps. This also happens while I am driving the car. If my car is parked in the driveway outside my house and i lock it, the alarm will go off because the car will randomly think that the door is open. So i keep it unlocked now.

there are a few things that may contribute to this. my automatic key hasnt been working for roughly a year now, so i have been using the physical key only to lock and unlock the doors. i was recently (month ago) sideswiped on the passenger side, leaving the passenger side door un-openable due to frame bending (minor bending- just jamming the door from opening). there is a storm blowing by this area (SoCal) (electricity interference?).

so i am stuck now with this dilemma. my car constantly thinks the driver side door is open when it is securely closed. i don't think it is somehow dislodging. keep in mind this just started happening 2 days ago, the weekend this storm is passing through. can this be a cpu problem? or a physical hardware problem with the door? anyone have any idea

[Hooligan]

Sounds like the bending of the door is not allowing the contacts to touch, thereby sending a door open signal. Why it didn't start immediately could be that later the door shifted. How bad were you hit in California?

[Cartman]

most door ajar switches are now integral with the door latch itself. either the internal switch is broken (must replace whole latch assembly....not fun), or the collision has damaged the locking system somehow. is the car telling you specifically that the drivers (left) door is open, or is it just saying that A door is ajar?

[breakshift]

well the door that i would have to open and re-close wasnt the door that was hit in the accident. in-question, it's the driver side door. the signal was just saying a door was ajar, nonspecifying.
but i have fixed the problem. i took out the fuse for all internal lights (gauges w/o battery on, overhead lamps) for about 2 mins, then replaced it (same one) into the fuse box (under the steering wheel). the problem hasn't recurred since, thankfully. i don't fully understand what the problem was, maybe some kind of fuse short, but removing and replacing the fuse worked out.


we had 3 storms hit us fri-mon. lots of flashflooding, mudslides, but not too bad overall. sorry for all the parentheses and run-on sentences, i like to add details as i type...

btw thx for all the suggestions.
hope my experience helps out others who experience the same thing.

[quicksilverdon]

Very strange. If it recurs, I'd take it to body shop the repaired the collision.

[dierlingjr]

Don't take it to the shop!!

Try this one thing first, I almost wasted a bunch of $ until I had this epiphany.

Check the little button thingys (that's the official title) that get pushed in when the door is shut and pop out when it is open (kinda like the one in your fridge that turns the light on and off ). Mine appeared to be working but once I doused it with some WD-40, the problem went away.

Think about it, if your alarm is on and your door says "someone opened me", the alarm is going to go off. The funny part is that if your doors automatically lock when you start driving, the alarm could start going off while your driving the car!

Hope this helps!!

[notadodge]

hey you wont find a thingy on the pt the door adjar indicator is located in the latch itself
to fix this problem if you live in a warm climate you can simply spray wd-40 in the latch mechenism on back of driver door use the hose and get it inside there then open and slam the door about 10 times..

warning if you live in cold climate use brake cleaner because if you use wd-40 it will freeze and the problem will persist
what happens is you get crap in the latch and the micro switch can not make contact telling the door it is still open

[quicksilverdon]

Originally Posted by dierlingjr

Don't take it to the shop!!

Try this one thing first, I almost wasted a bunch of $ until I had this epiphany.

Check the little button thingys (that's the official title) that get pushed in when the door is shut and pop out when it is open (kinda like the one in your fridge that turns the light on and off ). Mine appeared to be working but once I doused it with some WD-40, the problem went away.

Think about it, if your alarm is on and your door says "someone opened me", the alarm is going to go off. The funny part is that if your doors automatically lock when you start driving, the alarm could start going off while your driving the car!

Hope this helps!!

Welcome.
That used to be true - I had that on onther cars - but no separate button on the PT.

[breakshift]

wow thank you all for the responses. i will try out the wd40 and see what happens. because unfortunately, the problem is persistent.

[bobs turbo pt]

i would try the wd40 also !! good luck !! keep us posted