The Door That Thinks its Open

About two months ago my driver’s side door just stopped closing, sort of. It closes just fine but it thinks it is still open, which leaves the interior lights on. I discovered, don’t ask me how, that rolling the window down cures the problem most of the time, but even a subtle shift in how the car is sitting, whether from wind, how the wheels are turned, or humidity can make the door think it is open again. Any ideas?

Hopefully it’s a dirty switch and not the wiring. There should be a push button switch built into the door frame or the switch may be part of the door latch mechanism. Try spraying the switch or the door latch with CRC Electrical Contact Cleaner (try Lowes) while working the door handle to clean the contacts.

Ed B.

Thanks for the response, it is a rubber push button that is built into the frame and it hits a round sort of metal disk almost that bubbles out from the door. Should I spray both the door latch and the button?

If the switch is enclosed in rubber it won’t help to spray it. There should be fastener on the body of the switch that you can loosen up and take the switch out. Then perhaps you can spray it with cleaner and the cleaning solution can get inside the switch and work on the contact points. The switch is very easy to replace and you may just need a new one.

Thanks a ton, I will definitely try those out.