Door Warning Light on Dash - Think I Tried Everything

[xspyrd]

I’m at a loss and completely exasperated. I’ll first describe current status, then all that I have attempted to get here. Bottom light, is done light in door position will remain always on with or without key, and door warning light also is always on, no flicker, anytime key is in the ignition and turned.

 

Current state of 1994 Pathfinder SE (WD21):

 

All 4 passenger door switches are new, as well as the rubber covers. 
The door relay behind the rear driver side trim panel is new.

The door timer box is disconnected (this finally stoped the warning chime and subsequent battery drain).

The wire connected to the rear hatch latch has been disconnected.

The door switch for the tire carrier has been removed (resolved the Tire Carrier) warning light always being on after I was rear ended and it tacked my tire carrier causing it to no longer contact switch.

I have removed, inspected, cleaned and reinstalled the piezo warning and the door chime, both are behind the trim panel on driver side below dash (both were previously inaudible, now both are clearly audible).

 

Things tried:

Adding shims to doors to make sure door switches were being engaged.

Troubleshooting the switches, by disconnecting each one, no change to door light, only the Tire Carrier light, once that one was removed. Running without the chimes connected.

 

I have zero other warning lights, and at this point I’m at a complete loss. It was a similar electrical anomaly that eventually led to phantom battery drain and inoperable tail lights on my prior 94 SE and caused me to give it up during the Cash for Clunkers days. I really don’t want to loose this one and the same way. I right now I’m fine, with it being fully manual door looks and no battery drain, but it does bother me that there is seemingly no explanation for why the pathfinder thinks there is an open door somewhere when there isn’t.

 

Any and all help is welcome, and thank you for reading all of this!

[level9]

Ground switched system. That is, when the door switch is engaged (door closed) the ground is interrupted. When the door is opened, the switch grounds out and the light(s) come on.

 

I would guess that you have a short-to-ground somewhere. Did this start after the wreck? Do the dome lights come on as well I presume (when set in door-ajar setting)?

[xspyrd]

It did not start after the wreck, it actually started after an alternator replacement. I had done it my self twice before without a problem, but this time I had it done by a mobile mechanic, who preferred to do it from above rather than below. Aside from the angle of approach, the only thing that was out of the ordinary was at some point while he was reaching down and wrenching, he caused an arc. Which I immediately dreaded because of the past electrical experiences. I drove home and notice the light and figured something wasn’t fully closed. But when I took the next trip o checked the doors and that’s when the light remained. I called the repair guy and he dismissed that it could be related. I intentionally left this out of the first post so that I didn’t send someone in the wrong direction. I have no idea what was in the vicinity of the arc, it was somewhere in that space between the alternator and the radiator, above the alternator height, maybe close to the top of the radiator in elevation than down below, but really don’t know.

[Slartibartfast]

14 hours ago, xspyrd said:

The door relay behind the rear driver side trim panel is new.

The door timer box is disconnected (this finally stoped the warning chime and subsequent battery drain).

 

I'm not entirely sure what the door relay is--do you remember the full name/location on this one? I get that the door lock timer is disconnected, I just don't remember a door relay off the top of my head.

 

As level9 said, it sounds like the switched ground for the dome light is grounded somewhere it isn't supposed to be. Worst case, it's a random rub-through somewhere in the harness, but before we assume the worst, let's see if we can get a better idea for where--if it's in the harness at all.

 

Is the rear dome light also stuck on (with its switch in the auto position)? The front and rear dome light have a diode between them, so if the rear hatch is open, both come on, but if only the side doors are open, only the front dome comes on. Sounds like you've already taken the rear hatch switch out of the equation, and I'm assuming you taped up the spade terminal to where it's not grounding out on a bracket or something. If the switch is not the problem, and the rear dome is still on, that suggests a fault in the cargo area side of the circuit--and there ain't much else to it. Either the dome light itself is somehow shorting switched ground to constant ground, the switch wire is busted where it flexes between the hatch and the body, or the wire is cut/rubbed through/chewed through and grounding elsewhere along its run.

 

If the rear dome light works properly (and comes on when it's set to auto and the switch wire is grounded), then you can rule out the circuit from the diode back.

 

Does yours have the front footwell lights, and are those staying on, too? Those are on the same circuit as the front dome light, but they are not controlled by its switch. If turning off the front dome light turns those off too, that suggests the front dome light is somehow bridging switched to constant ground. Unplug the dome light and see if the footwell lights go out.

 

If it's not the cargo area circuit, and the footwell lights work as expected (or you don't have footwell lights), I would set the front dome to auto, and then unplug the few things that are on that circuit one at a time until the light goes out. I know you've replaced the door switches already, but I would still start there. IIRC they ground to the body, so you don't have to unplug them, just take the screws out and let them hang. Check what you can see of their wiring while you're at it, make sure it's not cracked or chewed. Those door dingers are probably a long shot, given they're working, but they're not too hard to get to, so unplug those too and see if that gets it. The stock keyless entry/alarm system also ties into the dome light circuit, so if that's still in there, try unplugging that too (it's the square box under the driver's seat--not the roundy one, that's the ABS). If that doesn't do it, I'd try unplugging the cluster as well.

 

I should note that I have not heard of any of the above components causing this problem, or dying due to a battery arc (did the guy seriously try to remove the alt with the battery still hooked up?). They're just all I can think of that's on the dome light circuit.

 

If all of that stuff is unplugged, and the light is still on, then, yeah, you've got some wiring to chase. Let me know if you end up there and I'll have a poke at the EL section, see if I missed something, or if there's an easy disconnect somewhere else in the circuit so you can narrow down the search area a bit more.

[xspyrd]

On 7/7/2024 at 7:30 AM, Slartibartfast said:

 

I'm not entirely sure what the door relay is--do you remember the full name/location on this one? I get that the door lock timer is disconnected, I just don't remember a door relay off the top of my head.

 

As level9 said, it sounds like the switched ground for the dome light is grounded somewhere it isn't supposed to be. Worst case, it's a random rub-through somewhere in the harness, but before we assume the worst, let's see if we can get a better idea for where--if it's in the harness at all.

 

Is the rear dome light also stuck on (with its switch in the auto position)? The front and rear dome light have a diode between them, so if the rear hatch is open, both come on, but if only the side doors are open, only the front dome comes on. Sounds like you've already taken the rear hatch switch out of the equation, and I'm assuming you taped up the spade terminal to where it's not grounding out on a bracket or something. If the switch is not the problem, and the rear dome is still on, that suggests a fault in the cargo area side of the circuit--and there ain't much else to it. Either the dome light itself is somehow shorting switched ground to constant ground, the switch wire is busted where it flexes between the hatch and the body, or the wire is cut/rubbed through/chewed through and grounding elsewhere along its run.

 

If the rear dome light works properly (and comes on when it's set to auto and the switch wire is grounded), then you can rule out the circuit from the diode back.

 

Does yours have the front footwell lights, and are those staying on, too? Those are on the same circuit as the front dome light, but they are not controlled by its switch. If turning off the front dome light turns those off too, that suggests the front dome light is somehow bridging switched to constant ground. Unplug the dome light and see if the footwell lights go out.

 

If it's not the cargo area circuit, and the footwell lights work as expected (or you don't have footwell lights), I would set the front dome to auto, and then unplug the few things that are on that circuit one at a time until the light goes out. I know you've replaced the door switches already, but I would still start there. IIRC they ground to the body, so you don't have to unplug them, just take the screws out and let them hang. Check what you can see of their wiring while you're at it, make sure it's not cracked or chewed. Those door dingers are probably a long shot, given they're working, but they're not too hard to get to, so unplug those too and see if that gets it. The stock keyless entry/alarm system also ties into the dome light circuit, so if that's still in there, try unplugging that too (it's the square box under the driver's seat--not the roundy one, that's the ABS). If that doesn't do it, I'd try unplugging the cluster as well.

 

I should note that I have not heard of any of the above components causing this problem, or dying due to a battery arc (did the guy seriously try to remove the alt with the battery still hooked up?). They're just all I can think of that's on the dome light circuit.

 

If all of that stuff is unplugged, and the light is still on, then, yeah, you've got some wiring to chase. Let me know if you end up there and I'll have a poke at the EL section, see if I missed something, or if there's an easy disconnect somewhere else in the circuit so you can narrow down the search area a bit more.

 

Regarding relay location, see attached picture.

 

Regarding the rear dome light it appears to only light up when switched into the ON position, and it stays on. When in the middle position, the light remains off regardless of whether or not the rear hatch is open or closed or any side doors are open.

 

Regarding front footwell lights, I vaguely recall there being one on the passenger side, but I checked and neither side appears to have one. The passengers side has a loose plug proximate to a hole that appears to be a mounting location, but I have no idea what either are. I have included a picture that shows both the 2-lead connector and the mounting hole. There is nothing similar on the driver side.

 

I will now proceed with the recommendation to leave the dome light on and unscrew the door switches. The stock security system was ignored a long time ago, but I don't know what parts are still remaining, I do know the center console red LED is always on regardless of which position the switch is in (3 positions, Impact and something else, I can't recall).

 

The arcing was a reminder to him to disconnect the battery, which he promptly did. I'll report back on the additional troubleshooting, thank you for the advice!!

 

R

 

 

[xspyrd]

Pic 1


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[xspyrd]

Pic 2


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[xspyrd]

Here is the latest…no surprise, but switches and chimes had no effect on the dome light. So then I unplugged the connector with two black wires with yellow strip going into the factory Security System, that had no effect. So I unbolted the drivers seat, kinda annoyed that one of the bolts was open to the ground below. And then unplugged the module. As soon as the long white connector was removed the light dome turned off. I replugged it alone, and the light came back on. I removed the secured module entirely and put the key into start, NO DOOR WARNING LIGHT! I reattached the driver side door switch, and it works as designed, warning light when open, off when closed. Is my problem solved? May I just tape the connectors that were attached to the security system and live happily ever after?!

[xspyrd]

Found this answer to my last question.

 

 

[xspyrd]

For those keeping score at home:
When this plug is plugged, the WD21 starts, when it’s unplugged it only powers up. Going g to drive it like this until I can confirm that these can just be connected or do they have to go through the rely they are connected to in the other side of the plug.

[level9]

hrm. From the linked thread and as best I know the security system is a Dealer add-on and there are no standard wiring diagrams that I know of - so who knows how it's setup other than we can assume it's tapped into the door open circuit and has probably experienced some kind of fault.

 

Are there any part numbers on the alarm?

Edited July 9, 2024 by level9

[Slartibartfast]

Aha! Good work tracking it down. Figures it's the alarm, those things are a menace.

 

Joining the two black/yellow wires will bypass the alarm. I did that on mine, for a while, but later developed an intermittent weak start/no start issue (acted like the battery was dead, then cranked right up the next time I turned the key) that didn't clear up until I removed the alarm harness in its entirety. I'm not sure what was wrong at that point, given the alarm brain was already in the bin, but I haven't had a problem since the harness joined it there. These systems were installed after the fact, so they're pretty easy to make go away. Two or three wires are scotchlock'd into the harness, but most of them plug in between the truck's actual harness. So you unplug the ignition switch from the alarm harness, unplug the alarm harness from the truck harness, plug the ignition switch into the truck harness, and it's like the alarm was never there. Same deal for the door locks, at the A pillar IIRC. Two or three wires go through the firewall to the siren and hood switch, but they're bundled with the wiring for the fog lights, so don't just cut the lot. The alarm harness has each wire silkscreened with its purpose, which the main harness doesn't, so if it doubt, look for the silkscreen.

 

There's a TSB with the alarm system wiring, I'll see if I can dig that up again.

 

I'll bet if you plug the door lock timer back in, the power locks will work properly again, now that the alarm isn't feeding it garbage.

[xspyrd]

I did plug the timer back in, and locks are working as intended! As for the TSB with wiring, no need to look up, it’s linked in the thread I shared and it’s very helpful along with the discussion there. Thank you for the guidance, it feels good to have eliminated the source.