Gate Ajar Indicator

GATE AJAR INDICATOR

DESCRIPTION




A gate ajar indicator is standard equipment on all instrument clusters. This indicator is located near the upper edge of the instrument cluster, between the tachometer and the speedometer.

The gate ajar indicator consists of a stencil-like cutout of the International Control and Display Symbol icon for "Gate 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 it is illuminated from behind by the LED, which is soldered onto the instrument cluster electronic circuit board. The gate ajar indicator is serviced as a unit with the instrument cluster.

OPERATION
The gate ajar indicator gives an indication to the vehicle operator that the passenger compartment liftgate 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 a hard wired input received by the cluster from the liftgate ajar switch integral to the liftgate latch unit.

The gate 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 gate ajar indicator for the following reasons:

- Liftgate Ajar Switch Input - Each time the cluster detects ground on the liftgate ajar switch sense circuit (liftgate ajar switch closed = gate is open or not completely latched) the gate ajar indicator will be illuminated. The indicator remains illuminated until the liftgate ajar switch sense input to the cluster is an open circuit (lift-gate ajar switch open = liftgate fully closed), or until the ignition switch is turned to the Off position, whichever occurs first.

- Actuator Test - Each time the cluster is put through the actuator test, the gate 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 liftgate ajar switch to determine the status of the liftgate.

For proper diagnosis of the liftgate ajar switch and circuits, refer to the appropriate wiring information.