Gate Ajar Light not going off - even with keys out! But... you know that. :)

I have a 1993 RMW and the rear gate door ajar light on the dash wont go out. I have heard the guys say "Slam it hard" but I am past that. Its a short in the wiring - I opened the gate - took out the connector to the switch, nothing. I even tied the 2 wires together for a second and it will not do off. I checked all the wiring where it enters the body on the left side of the gate (in the rubber tube) and it all seems good to that point.

How can I turn off the light in the dash? I have the dash open and the spedo and all lights kind of out - the shift slesctor wire is the only thing holding it in. I dont want to break that! It seems like the light wont come out from the back. Also the ABS light satay on (it goes out when the key is removed) and I would like to take that out too.

Any Ideas?

Ok - I got the light out and put the dash back. Now, I wonder if the short will still drain my battery? My guess is - yes.

My guess is no.

I have yet to see (or hear about) a "GATE AJAR" light that was not fixed by the super slam. If it doesn't go off, you aren't slamming hard enough. On my 94 Caprice, I not only have to slam, but I have to slam UP.

Slam ALL the doors!


Yeah, super slam does it for mine. It's a tricky operation.

JimR wrote:

... I opened the gate - took out the connector to the switch...

There are two switches on the right side of the gate. Did you disconnect both of them?

The switch GROUNDS the light when the gate is open. The lower right striker may be out of adjustment according to the FSM. If you move it slightly toward the rear of the car, it may engege the switch. The other option is to put a piece of heat shrink tubing over the arm of the switch, and shrink it, so that the switch moves a little more.

The light being on is what drains the battery, and since you took the bulb out, you broke the circuit, so the battery will not drain. Removing the connector from the gate ajar switch is sufficient to turn the bulb out if the switch is not opening correctly. You took the connector off, and it did not turn the light off (provided that you took the correct connector off). This would indicate a short somewhere inbetween. Get your VOM out and check for continuity in the wires to ground. One should be ground, and one should be open without the bulb in the socket.

The second switch is not a switch, it is the door lock solenoid. You do not have to remmove the connector from it.

Fred - Thanks! I will check that out. It was 93 here today and my 50 year old body said "The light is out - enough!" 90's alll week too so if it starts this week, I will probably wait until the weekend!

You know - my first Roadmaster (my 1991) I bought it 2 -3 months ago because it was cheap and had air. I got to driving it and loved it! Some rust and a lot of dings - low oil pressure trans was going etc but for 1100.00 it got me out of a pinch.

After driving it, I loved it and wanted another one! for 2 months I looked and this 1992 that I just bought was the best one I have seen. It just needs some TLC.


Thank you so much for your help! I think I am a lifer!

Oh one other question - the rear end moves quite a bit on the road - it needs new shocks they said when I had it in yesterday. My question is - will that fix it or do I need sway bars and such? Stock ok or is there better stuff out there?

Go with the Monroe Severe Service shocks. SOme of the guys on here will say they are too harsh, but I love them. My 94RMW bounced like a cheap whore on a Motel 6 mattress until I put them in, they helped ALOT. Sway bars help with cornering and I"m going to put one on here in the very near future. Your fronts are probably done too and those are easier to swap out.

Monroe 550012 in the front and 550013 for the rears.

Fred Kiehl wrote:

The second switch is not a switch, it is the door lock solenoid.

D'oh... That's what I meant.

Monroe sounds good - my rear end is very bouncy. Ok - now Im' thinking of lowering the back an inch or two - has anyone done that?

Another question - In thinking of new rims - 16 inch or 17 inch rims. Tires too. WHat do I need to watch out for?

JimR wrote:

Monroe sounds good - my rear end is very bouncy. Ok - now Im' thinking of lowering the back an inch or two - has anyone done that?

'
Jim.anything that you dream of doing to your wagon has already been done a couple thousand of times.As far as tires
and rims go around here its usually the 17" impala SS wheels and tires.There is a lot more tires sizes available in 17"
versus 16".Once you decide on what combination you like someone here has probably got pictures of a wagon with
said combo.Going to be fun!

Im so glad there is an active board for wagons! You guys are great!

I'm thinking 17s but I saw a new set of 5-127 16s for 300.00 so.... might be 16s!

Sprocket wrote:

Go with the Monroe Severe Service shocks. SOme of the guys on here will say they are too harsh, but I love them. My 94RMW bounced like a cheap whore on a Motel 6 mattress until I put them in, they helped ALOT. Sway bars help with cornering and I"m going to put one on here in the very near future. Your fronts are probably done too and those are easier to swap out.

Do you know my ex-wife?

Just checking in with a THANK YOU and a question... I got in my Roadmaster this morning and found the tailgate would not work, but the rear gate opened only as a door, and the GATE AJAR light was perpetually on. This bugged me all day. Finally got here, typed GATE AJAR into the group search and read everyone else was having the same problem, and kept hearing about the notorious SUPER SLAM.

So after reading...went out, did a SUPER SLAM while supporting the lower right, and voila, everything works good as new and the light is out.

For future reference...where is the gate ajar light sensor exactly located, on the tailgate or on the car interior...and is there a visible sensor on the threshold of the door jamb anywhere or is it all magically hidden?

THANKS!

The gate ajar switch is located inside the gate, on the bottom latch/hinge. It is a small black box with a crooked arm. The end of the arm can wear over time, and not actuate the switch. A piece of shrink tubing over the arm may solve the issue.