Dakota 2WD V8-4.7L VIN J (2005)
Door/Trunk Ajar Indicator/Lamp: Description and Operation
A door ajar indicator is standard equipment on all instrument clusters. This indicator is located in the center of the speedometer, in the area below and
right of the speedometer needle hub.
The door ajar indicator consists of a stencil-like cutout of the International Control and Display Symbol icon for "Door(s) Ajar" in the opaque layer of
the instrument cluster overlay. The dark outer layer of the overlay prevents the indicator from being clearly visible when it is not illuminated. A red Light
Emitting Diode (LED) behind the cutout in the opaque layer of the overlay causes the icon to appear in red through the translucent outer layer of the
overlay when the indicator is illuminated from behind by the LED, which is soldered onto the instrument cluster electronic circuit board. The door ajar
indicator is serviced as a unit with the instrument cluster.
The door ajar indicator gives an indication to the vehicle operator that one or more of the passenger compartment doors may be open or not completely
latched. This indicator is controlled by a transistor on the instrument cluster circuit board based upon cluster programming and hard wired inputs
received by the cluster from the door ajar switches located in each door latch unit.
The door ajar indicator Light Emitting Diode (LED) is completely controlled by the instrument cluster logic circuit, and that logic will allow this
indicator to operate whenever the instrument cluster receives a battery current input on the fused ignition switch output (run-start) circuit. Therefore, the
LED will always be off when the ignition switch is in any position except On or Start. The LED only illuminates when it is provided a path to ground by
the instrument cluster transistor. The instrument cluster will turn on the door ajar indicator for the following reasons:
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Door Ajar Switch Input - Each time the cluster detects ground on any one of the door ajar switch sense circuits (door ajar switch closed = door is
open or not completely latched) the door ajar indicator will be illuminated.The indicator remains illuminated until all of the door ajar switch sense
inputs to the cluster are an open circuit (door ajar switch open = door fully closed), until the cluster has completed an interior lamps load shed
(about five minutes), or until the ignition switch is turned to the Off position, whichever occurs first.
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Actuator Test - Each time the cluster is put through the actuator test, the door ajar indicator will be turned on, then off again during the bulb
check portion of the test to confirm the functionality of the LED and the cluster control circuitry.
The instrument cluster continually monitors the door ajar switches to determine the status of the doors. For further diagnosis of the door ajar indicator or
the instrument cluster circuitry that controls the indicator, refer to testing.
