1. Thoroughly spray the door switches (on each door) with:

• Cleaning spray - clear the sludge out of the mechanism - electronic contact cleaner, carb, brake, etc
• Air, canned or even better, from a compressor
• Spray lubricant - a dry lube (best), silicone spray, WD-40 or similar

2. Open and close each door several times to work the lube into the mechanism

This is usually sufficient to clean the electrical & plunger mechanism inside the door switch.

If this doesn't work, you could remove the door panel and do the spray treatment from the inside also.

If this doesn't work, the switch may have to come out for repair (see below), or replacement.

Lubing the latches sometimes helps, but when the curls are big enough you can use a whole can of WD-40 and it isn't going to help.

Get out some needle nose pliers and a sharp utility knife. Cut and peel away the curls. You might need a magnifying glass to see them.

This has worked on both doors (driver's side usually goes first). My In-Law Taurus Station Wagon had the exact same thing happen. Looks like Ford used the same bad latch hook design.

Now I will explain the way to fix these sending units. I will be using the rear lift gate as my example.

1. Remove the trim panel from the rear gate.
2. Using a t25 torx bit remove each complete latch assembly from both sides of the lift gate. There are 3 of these screws per side. I take one off at a time so as not to stick wrong one on wrong side.. however it really isn't that complicated if you pull both.
3. Once you have them out you will see an electric sending unit on each latch with a 2 wire connector, remove that. Then if you look closely at where the sending unit slides into the latch.. you will see a plastic backing that has the words "tab" stamped into it. Now... very carefully slide a small screwdriver under where it says "tab" and apply a little pressure upwards, not too much or it will break. While you have the pressure applied rotate the sending unit clockwise so it unlocks and slide the sender out of the latch assembly.

   Now if you want to never have the door bother you again... throw these in the trash and put everything back together and you're done.

   HOWEVER if you want to do it right.. take the sending unit and either replace it with a new one for each latch or use some quality carb or parts cleaner to clean the heck out of them.

   You will see a small metal sliding switch, when this switch gets stuck IN it causes the door chime and lights to stay on. So clean it will it moves easily on its own. A few drops or lubricant will help AFTER it is cleaned.

After you have them moving freely just put everything back together. I myself also use carb or parts cleaner on the complete latch as well till its totally clean of all old grease then I spray on some new white lithium grease before putting everything back together.

Spraying the latch with WD40 will sometimes work, however in the long run it will only last a while. The issue is the sending units are sludged up and the more wd40 and such you spray on the more dust and stuff it will collect... making it sludgy and sticky again.

• Another symptom of a persistent door ajar situation is the interior lights will no longer work. Fix the false reading and the lights will start working properly again.
• sounds like you have a door jam switch gone bad. In most cars this is easy to replace, just unscrew old, unplug, plug in new, screw back in. The ford part number is SW5195.
• Some vehicles have a sensitive switch that controls the dash lights IF the switch is set 2 almost FULL on OR DOME light on THE light will flicker-sometimes.

I have this problem every 6 months or so...here is another tip: On the rear door....open it, but lift it only about 1 foot or so. I say this, because that is the angle that the lube seems to need to hit the switch just right....then use the WD 40 or similar penetrating lube and spray the heck out of the latches.....get the red tube into the tiny crevices and gaps around the latches on all doors and into the hidden switches that are connected to them. Do this on each side of the rear liftgate door as well as front and sliding door.

I think I now know how to solve this problem. The rear door or 'back lift gate' as it has been called, has two latching mechanisms, one on each side of the door. These are positioned from the inside of the door itself. At the very bottom of this latch is a small spring loaded micro switch that senses if the latch is open or closed. The switch gets dirty and then won't allow the pin to travel to the fully protruding position which should indicate the door is closed.

I found this out by going to a vehicle junk yard and removing the latches from the back door of a scrap vehicle. I was able to disassemble the switches but the latches were on my work bench when I did it. I'm not sure how hard it will be to remove the switch while the latch is in place because I haven't actually replaced the non-working ones in my van yet. You need a screwdriver to pry up a tab which keeps the switch from rotating 90 degrees. Once the switch is rotated, it drops out of the latch.

clean the little square plates at the top of the rear hatch with rubbing alcohol

my 98 has small black plastic box sensors on side and rear door that senses when door is open they are about 1 inch square i sprayed these lightly with wd 40 and moved them to and fro with my fingers to free em up no more unlocking or dinging or lights

The sensors for the rear hatch on the 2003 Windstar are on the latching mechanisms inside the hatch. I sprayed mine with WD-40 today and it worked like a charm. I accessed them by removing the plastic panel from inside the hatch.

In hind-sight, I think that spraying the mechanism from the exterior would have been adequate.

So, I took a blow-dryer (hairdryer) and pointed it in the latch holes of the rear hatch door (right inside the door) and just in case, at the lower spring latch.

After a few minutes, the light went out--without shutting the latch!

It went back on briefly when I shut it-- then went off and stayed off.

Don't know if this is a permanent fix--but it did work.

• an old fashioned pencil eraser effectively cleans the surface tarnish off the contacts. It's an old computer technician's trick and best of all, it works!
• household cleaner - wipe them down with some wd-40.

  This is just a temporary fix, and needs to be done about every 4 weeks.

• fine sand paper, steel wool,

When moving the sensor plate on the door jam it may be necessary to take a jig saw and cut the square hole a little wider in order for the plate to fit back on the door jam properly. Use sheet metal screws to reattach the sensor plate.

You have to remove the door panel to gain access to the door latch assembly and it is located on the lower side of the latch. You'll find two connectors one for the lock actuator and one lower for the door ajar switch.

Loosen the latch and twist the door latch out and you'll here it pop and come out.

reverse process to install

I've had this same problem with my 2003 Winstar. The problem is the contacts on the sliding doors. The dealer cleaned the contacts and the problem was resolved for about a month. You have to keep cleaning these contacts regularly or what I did was turn off the dome lights. This problem can kill your battery so I always keep the dome lights off.

Answer

Had same problem i checked all doors and the sliding door was the cause fix it by crossing the black wires of the sensor no more chiming or light on

Usually this is a sticking or faulty door switch on the tailgate. It affects multiple years of the Windstar. Typically the only solution is to replace the switch. There is one switch attached to each side of the tailgate door.

You would do better by searching on "Allison transmissions" or Eaton transmissions" or "Fuller transmissions". Maybe "Cat motors" or "Detroit Series 60 engines". The things you want to know have nothing to do with the brand of truck but with the motor and transmission and rear end.

new answer

the information u need is available thru Volvo dealers mack trucks are now the Volvo dealers thru out the usa

they will need last 6 numbers of your vin number to know what transmission you have, to give you the right information

I met a driver today who has a Volvo VN tractor with a 10-speed transmission, and asked him this.

His truck uses an Eaton Fuller 10-speed manual, and the shift pattern on it is the same as any other Eaton Fuller 10 speed: reverse is up and to the left, 5th is down and to the right, and there's a two-speed rear axle with a splitter on it.

He uses progressive shifting on his tractor: he shifts at 1100rpm from 1st to 2nd, 1400rpm to shift from 9th to 10th, and tries to space out the other shift points somewhat evenly.

To get information about the Volvo iShift transmission, contact Volvo.

As the above answer stated call a Volvo dealer with the last 6 of vin. Get them to send you the build sheet for your truck. Every truck is specified different from motor to trans to rear end gear. No 2 are exactly the same unless they were all built for the same company and at the same time using the same build sheet or spec sheet.

However, not all refrigerants contain chlorine, and those that don't contain chlorine have zero ODP*. Two examples would be R134A, used by most vehicle manufacturers, and R410A (one trade name is "Puron") now used by most residential A/C manufacturers. If you do some digging on the EPA web site, you will find that sales and use of R134A and R410A and a few other refrigerants are not currently restricted by the EPA, and it is legal for anyone to purchase them if the state they're in allows it. (You must also be aware of any state and local regulations.)

You should also know that your equipment may not need more refrigerant - the problem may have a different cause - and you can't just add any kind of refrigerant, since equipment is designed to use only certain refrigerants and oils. Adding the wrong ones can do serious damage to the compressor and other expensive components.

As for adding refrigerant to your own equipment: in most cases, it's not a good idea unless you have the tools, training, and experience for the job. There are risks to your personal safety, risks to the equipment if serviced improperly, and risks to the environment if refrigerant is allowed to escape. Also, regarding the environmental risks, the EPA makes it absolutely positively crystal clear that it is illegal to deliberately release ANY refrigerant, even non-chlorinated refrigerants, into the atmosphere. All refrigerants also have a global warming potential (GWP), so that is also an environmental consideration.

As mentioned earlier, you may check the EPA web sites to verify this information, and also to keep up-to-date on the latest regulations.

Window air conditioners are not designed to allow adding Freon. They are charged at the factory and hermetically sealed, so they shouldn't have any leaks or require recharging for the service life of the unit. If a window air conditioner no longer cools adequately it is most likely due to dust buildup on the coils, or eventually, the compressor wearing out and and becoming inefficient. If the unit has been used extensively, but otherwise maintained, the compressor may be suspect if the unit is over 10 years old.

Central air conditioning units have fittings on them with Schrader valves, similar to those found on automotive air conditioning systems. There is a high pressure side valve and a low pressure side valve. Refrigerant is added on the low pressure side, preferably while the compressor is running. A technician will use a special gauge manifold that allows monitoring of high side and low side pressure simultaneously while adding refrigerant from a portable cylinder.

Current regulations require an HVAC license to purchase and use refrigerants such as R12, R22 and R134a, generally called "Freon", although technically, not all refrigerants are sold under that brand name. There are alternatives, such as Duracool, which can be freely used in systems originally designed for R12, R22 or R134a, without having to change seals or lubricants, and can be purchased and handled without an HVAC license. Duracool-type refrigerants are essentially highly refined propane, and are thus flammable, so they need to be handled with care. Otherwise, they are environmentally friendly and non-toxic.

Try cleaning your coils first, not just the outside. Most service techs never clean the (evaporator) that's above your furnace because it is tough to do. Clean first before you assume anything. One reason it may be dirty is if you have indoor pets.

You can add freon to the low side of your a/c. When the gauges are attached to the system, you can use the third hose to attach to the freon can. Make sure you leave the can upright so as to add only the gas. Don't turn the freon can upside down to add liquid as this can lock up the compressor and then you will have to call the a/c repairman.

More information:

First, you need to be EPA certified unless you are charging your own appliance, and if adding certain types of refrigerants, certification is required to purchase the refrigerant as explained above. You need to know what kind of refrigerant. [ R22 R143a etc. ] On a home system a good set of gauges and connect properly on a 22 unit low side is blue, suction line is larger in size pipe. High side red smaller diameter. Connect both hoses check pressures if their is no reading the compressor is not running. If compressor is running on a 22 unit the high side red should be 225 to 275 should not go above 350 psi or it will cause damage your unit more or cause a rupture low side should be from 60 psi to 80 psi don't go any higher to much freon is no good and will cause higher temp. Be careful because were talking high pressures you should have a certified tech. do this if you add freon you must have a leak it dose not evaporate their is no winter summer freon its a sealed system and should never need refrigerant.

Some things to know:

#1. Don't burn your fingers, it hurts, real bad.

#2. Don't overcharge, even a little too much and you wont' remove humidity and it will never cool.

#3. He didn't mention bleeding out the air from your lines before charging after hooking up the cylinder, let that air into your system and you are causing more trouble.

If you want to do typical home improvement type things, if you are a DIY guy, stick with changing your filter monthly, make sure your drains are clear, and change/ check your thermostat batteries. anything else you are playing with high voltage, and freon.

I have had plenty of customers that decided to change their thermostat themselves to save $50. They shorted out the board, ended up costing themselves a $500 repair.

I would listen to the advice freezer-burn hurts an makes your finger black, and did you need to add refrigerant or take some out? Remember also to reclaim the refrigerant in an" EPA "approved cylinder. If you over load your compressor it will fail. If the compressor burns out it may have a chemical reaction with the refrigerant and produce acid in your system. Now you have a real mess at that point! All the refrigerant has to be removed, the compressor / motor replaced, the system purged, the oil replaced the refrigerant replaced, a run up of the system to check that it is running properly. I believe I would leave the servicing to the technician who has extensive (hours of class room and field experience) training.

Check cooling coil/evaporator(in the door unit)if there is ice built up then feel the air vent. If you do not feel air, it means your vent is blocked and you may need to clean the air vent. You probably have a leak. You need r22 test gauge and hose, reamer, tube cutter and flaring kit.

Check the suction pressure (big tube at out door unit) and remove 2 way cap and 3 way cap valve then connect the blue hose at service port 3 way valve (port located at left or right depends on the manufacturer.) You will get pressure about 40-45 psi (air conditioner is running) then use an Allen key(hexagonal wrench) to close 2 way valve (small tube or gas discharge side) wait 1-2 minute cooling operation then close 3 way valve (suction tube or big tube) immediately shut off air conditioner and pull out power chord. You may need 2 people one at in door unit and the other at out door unit. This method is to keep remaining gas inside the compressor/condenser. Then leak check, open 2 way valve about 90 degrees hold it for 10 seconds then close it. Measure the pressure and keep it open for 5-10 minutes. If the pressure does not indicate the same as when it was first measure it means that you have a leakage. For air conditioners 1- 5 years old, the leakage will happen at the copper tubing connection and improper flaring. Then you will need to clean the in-door and out-door unit. Use a spanner or wrench to loosen the copper flare nut at the out-door unit and in-door unit (inside insulation) then use PVC tape to cover all copper pipes to prevent dirt from going inside. Lift up out-door unit and use coil cleaner detergent. Wait 5 minutes then flush with water. Remove indoor front panel then disconnect out-door unit cable at front panel in door unit. Lift up indoor unit to disengage the hook and pull out the indoor unit, then clean the cooling coil, cover electrical parts with plastic. The last step is that you need to cut (use cooper cutters) the copper pipe on the flare nut connection (low side with big tube and high side with small tube) in-door connection and out-door connection. Then you will need to remove the burr from cut edge using reamer and make sure metal powder does not go in. Make a flare after inserting the flare nut onto the copper pipes. You can install the unit back now. Check the low side pressure of the unit. If the pressure is between 55-67 psi no need to charge it. Before u charge r22 gas u need to to purge air inside piping/tubing by using leakage check method. Just use the service port so their will be no need to use test gauge. Crack open 2 way valve for 10 seconds then close it. Now push the pin(same as a tire pin) at the service port 3 way valve for 3 seconds repeat this three times. You may need to purge all air inside test gauge and hose. Then check gas leakage using same method that was already explained. CHECK suction pressure 55-67 psi in running mode and set it to the lowest temperature (16 Celsius/27 Fahrenheit) and pipe length below 10 feet should be okay. If it is not okay, you will need r22 gas tank. Connect yellow hose to r22 tank and middle connection at test gauge. Then fully open tank valve and crack open blue stem at test gauge (do not exceed 60 psi to prevent flooding the compresser) for 30 seconds to 1 minute then close it. Measure the pressure for 1-3 minutes. Repeat this step until you get 67 psi in running air-conditioner or u can feel the suction pipe to see if it is cool. If your unit already empty you need r22 lubrication and weight scale put r22 gas-tank on the scale and read at out-door unit tag how much the manufacturer recommends the weight should be. Then u need to fill the yellow hose with r22 lubrication about 5-10 milliliters. Repeat charging method that has already been explained and measure the weight of the gas according to the manufacturer and then you are done.

What is "Super heat"?

You will hear and see this term all the time in reference to refrigeration. Simply put it is the difference between the temperature of a vapor line in relation to the temperature scale on a pressure gauge for a particular refrigerant or how much liquid is feeding the evaporator in relation to how fast it is being boiled off. for example (R22) if the suction gauge reads 70 psi then the evaporating temperature is 41 degrees but if the tubing is 51 degrees then you have 10 degrees of Superheat. A typical range for residential air conditioning is 8-18 degrees with some error based on extreme conditions. Once you understand Superheat you can diagnose obvious problems. For example a system that is under charged or has a stuck (closed) metering device will have high super heat (over 20 degrees) at the compressor and a system that is grossly overcharged or has a dirty indoor coil will have very low Superheat about 3-7 degrees with low suction pressure and the suction line will be very cold. It is ok and quite normal for the Superheat to change dynamically while the system is running, you will have to interpret what you are seeing.

What is "Sub cooling"?

Sub-cooling is similar to Superheat but happens in the condensing portion. Refrigerant when condensing will happen at a particular temperature which is very close to the temperature scale corresponding to head pressure for a given refrigerant. After the refrigerant is condensed it will try to assume ambient temperature but will never reach it. The difference between liquid line temperature and condensing saturation temperature is Sub-cooling and is a very good indication of "refrigerant level", but only when proper Superheat is indicated or you could have a misleading indication. Typically 20 degrees of Sub-cooling is desirable and the closer the liquid line temperature is to ambient the better (indicating an efficient system). Checking Sub-cooling in the heat mode of a heat pump has to be done carefully because you have influence of the space between the indoor coil and the point of measurement. For best heating you will want most of the refrigerant to be condensing in indoor coil without backing it up with refrigerant.

As a general rule Sub-cooling = Refrigerant charge quantity, Superheat = Refrigerant cycle performance. Check both!!!

• Your engine would smoke if you are running at too high RPM or have had your RPM at a high level before. The engine is getting overheated. When you say it only smokes until about one mile it sounds like a problem with the engine. starter.

• I would guess that its parents probably did and it learned it from its environment. More realistically, is it white smoke you see? And I would further guess that you have a 3.8 motor. If this is true, plan on a head gasket job and shave the heads. $1200 to $1400 if a shop does it. Or stress, frustration and possibly as much if you do it and it doesn't go well!

• I doubt it's the starter. You probably have bad valve guides. Oil slowly runs down your valves after the engine is off then burns away as you drive. It stops after a mile because oil pressure keeps them sealed. If you had bad rings it would always smoke or always some when you decelerate at high speeds. Closing the throttle at high speed created high vacuum in the motor and suck oil up past the rings into the combustion chamber where it burns.

• One or more oil rings are bad.

• Valve seals become brittle and need replaced at about 100,000, sooner in hot climates. Rings will also make it smoke, or raw gaz puddling in the intake manifold if carburetted, excessive crankcase pressure will force oil past the rings if the system does not have relief through the pcv valve.

• Unfortunately--That 1st answer is BAD (in this case). Overheating right at start up--Hey--On Planet Earth, engines don't overheat right at start up. Of course, physics and your temp gauge will confirm this fact. The too high RPM isn't too bad, but again, not the answer. I'm sure it smokes at low/high idle until warm. BINGO--The VALVE guys all have the right answer, in my opinion. There are other reasons it might smoke, as given, even overfilling; but from your description, it's the valve seals! They smoke when cold on start up then go away. It will get worse and worse. Budget about $400 from a mechanic that charges merciful rates.

• First of all, the only Correct answer to your question is that your valve seals/Guides need to be replaced.Oil is leaking down the valves when the engine is cold and dripping into the cylinders, thus burning off after the first mile you drive.As your engine warms up and the oil burns off, the smoke will disappear. You will have this problem after your car is sitting for a while or on cold starts. Just for knowledge, Blue smoke is burning oil. Black smoke means over fuelling or air restriction whih means to much fuel. White smoke means burning antifreeze or water which is caused by a bad head gasket. By the way, the first two answers to your questions are completely out to lunch, These people have no business answering automotive questions.

• I have a truck that does the same thing. It recently passed a CA smog test despite the huge amounts of smoke it puts out after first starting. The smoke is white but I can imagine someone describing this as "blue". The obvious reason it is smoking only after it starts was stated by the guy who said valve guide seals. Oil is pumped up to the top of the cylinder head above the valves and cylinder pressure (not oil pressure) keeps the oil from flowing down into the cylinder. When you turn the motor off it runs down into the cylinder. When you go to start it the oil burns up and comes out as smoke. My car also diesels and back fires when I shut it off. It does not run very well on oil but it will run for a while. This will cause your plugs to foul early and you will burn more oil than usual. The repair requires removal of the cylinder heads...usually. That's my 2 cents worth. The other answers are incorrect and are not even close. I admit I could be wrong but I know it's a pretty good guess...it seems several others here have the same opinion.

• I had a Mazda that lost power and would smoke a blueish whitish smoke and later started to die. Turned out a bottle of engine sealant did the trick.

• Additionally, the thumb rule is that: white smoke is usually caused by coolant water (or antifreeze) entering the combustion chamber; blue smoke is essentially due to oil (lubricants) getting in to the cylinder; and black smoke is generally because there is too much fuel (Diesel / Petrol) being inducted / injected in to the engine. And grey smoke would be due to a mixture of water and (excess) fuel entering in to the combustion chamber.