AJAR INDICATORS
DESCRIPTION
Door and swing gate ajar indicators are standard equipment on all instrument clusters. The ajar indications appear within the fixed segment odometer Vacuum-Fluorescent Display (VFD) unit. The odometer VFD ajar indicators are textual messages that appears in place of the odometer/trip odometer information.
The odometer VFD unit is soldered onto the cluster electronic circuit board, and is visible through a window with a smoked clear lens located at the base of the cluster overlay tachometer dial face. The dark lens over the VFD prevents it from being clearly visible when it is not illuminated. The ajar indicator textual messages appear in the same blue-green color and at the same lighting level as the other information displayed in the odometer VFD when they are illuminated by the instrument cluster electronic circuit board.
The ajar indicators are serviced as a unit with the odometer VFD unit in the instrument cluster.
OPERATION
The ajar indicators give an indication to the vehicle operator that one or more of the passenger compartment doors or the swing gate may be open or not completely latched. These indicators are controlled by the instrument cluster logic circuit based upon cluster programming and electronic ajar switch status messages received by the cluster from the Totally Integrated Power Module (TIPM) over the Controller Area Network (CAN) data bus.
The ajar indicator function of the odometer Vacuum-Fluorescent Display (VFD) unit is completely controlled by the instrument cluster logic circuit, and that logic will only allow this indicator to operate when the instrument cluster receives a battery current input on the fused B(+) circuit. Therefore, the VFD ajar indications can occur regardless of the ignition switch position. The instrument cluster will turn ON the ajar indicator for the following reasons:
- Ajar Switch Message Input - Each time the cluster receives a door or swing gate ajar switch status message indicating that a door, the swing gate or any combination of these is open or not completely latched with the ignition switch in any position, the appropriate ajar textual message will be illuminated. If the cluster detects a vehicle speed input greater than zero (kilometers or miles-per-hour) while the ignition switch is in the ON or START positions, the ajar indication will be accompanied by a single chime tone. When the ignition switch is in any position except ON or START, any and all ajar indications will time out after about five minutes.
The TIPM continually monitors the door and swing gate ajar switches to determine the status of the doors and swing gate. The TIPM then sends the proper ajar switch status messages to the EMIC. The door and swing gate ajar switches and their circuits may be diagnosed using conventional diagnostic tools and methods. Refer to the appropriate wiring information.