I have a 1998 windstar gl and my sliding door will not open. nor will it close all the way. wont budge, and is ajar

Check all the door switches. You may have one switch that is not making a good contact.

the easy fix would be to find door light switch and disconnect or cut wire. but the lights wont come on when you open the door .otherwise the door light switch is at fault

when the doors are all closed, key on, does the dash indicate that one of the doors is ajar? if so one of the door switches may be bad, a scanner may be needed to find out which door has the problem.

this is almost alwys caused by defective door coutesy light/door ajar switch contacts is the sliding doors of the van,have done dozens at work for this problem.

Spray lubricant in the driver's and passenger door latches. One of the switches in the latch are sticking. Open and close the door several times to free up the switch.

It drove me nuts too. Fortunately, the solution is both cheap and simple. There is a latch mechanism in each side of the tailgate which gets all filled with dirt and slime.The latch jaws start to stick and dont move far enough to close the door ajar switch inside the tailgate Spray each latch generously with WD40, wipe the mechanisms off with a rag, close the tailgate, open the tailgate and repeat the cleaning several times. As soon as you get everything freed up, the switch will be able to report that the tailgate is closed and the problems will be gone. If you want, afterwards you can spray a little lithium grease on the latches to keep things running smooth. You may need to use a screwdriver to completely pry open the jaws in conjunction with opening the tailgate handle to get them to open fully while you are washing and wiping them off. Now's a real good time to lubricate all the door hinges and latches including the sliding door. May as well put some oil on the hood hinges and hood latch too.It's not impossible to keep Fords on the road....just tricky......very tricky.

Do you know anything about automotive electronics ?
All courtesy lamps are controlled by the generic electronic module (GEM).
The four contacts are not switches , the part you want to replace is the door ajar switch . The door ajar switch is inside the door part of the lock actuator . Those contacts just allow circuit continuity when the door is closed , when you open the door continuity is broken or open . The GEM now know the door is open an will now turn on the dome lights . The door ajar switches stick , try spraying WD-40 into the door latch ,open an closing the latch . If this doesn't fix the problem you will need to take the inside door trim panel off and replace the ajar switch .

sounds like door switch is bad

Remove "Door Ajar" switch. Clean the switch and use a graphite type lubricant (I recommend "Dry-Slide") to lubricate the actuator on the switch. Reassemble the switch.

The switches are located inside the door panels, attached to the catch mechanism.

1) Remove interior door panel.

2) Using a T-27 Torx driver, remove the 3 bolts holding the catch in the door.
2a) The door ajar switch is the only part on the mechanism with the 2-wire harness.
2b) The switch is located at the rear catch for the sliding door.

3) Using a small flat screwdriver, gently lift the black tab on the catch mechanism and rotate the switch to remove it from the catch assembly.

4) Using a rag, clean the small round actuator and apply a small amount of graphite lubricant to the actuator and work the switch so it moves freely.

5) Reassemble the catch and the door.