Dome light stays on when key goes to "off" position

[scoodidabop]

Was wondering why my battery kept dying! Dome lights (and door lights) all turn on and stay on when key moves to "off" position. Currently moved key to counter clockwise acc position to switch light off and prevent battery drainage. Any ideas why this might be happening?

 

[arco777]

Check for aftermarket wiring such as an alarm system that may have tapped into the interior lighting circuit.

Check the door pushbuttons that turn the lights off when the doors are closed, they're screwed into the doorframe.

Check the headlight switch dimmer is not turned all the way counterclockwise, and if not, try using a spare headlight switch.

 

[scoodidabop]

The door pushbuttons are fine and the headlight switch is in the correct position.

There is a little nightmare of a box under the dash near the drivers kickplate. It says FORD on it so I assume it's a factory alarm but the previous owner lost the alarm button and had lots of trouble with it. If I pull the larger plastic wiring connector off the module then the light problem goes away... but this kills connection to the starter and the engine won't turn over.

 

[arco777]

Sounds like you'll need to reverse engineer that item. If you google any part numbers on it you might be able to find out more information and perhaps some wiring diagrams.

 

[scoodidabop]

What are the odds of me finding a new push button that I can program to work with it? I'll snap some pics of the unit to see if anyone recognizes it.