Dome lights won't turn off

[ronwilkes]

When I turn off the 1997 Explorer, the front and rear interior dome lights stay on. This is an intermittent problem. Maybe 1 out of 50 times I run the car. I am forced to remove the fuse to get the lights to go off so the battery won't drain. Any ideas?

 

[koda2000]

do the lights come on when you open the door or as soon as you turn the key off? If it's after a door is opened it might be a bad latch switch. if it's as soon as the key is turned off, I suspect the GEM.

 

[ronwilkes]

I don't remember. I'll check next time it happens. If it's the GEM, do you the part number, location, and how to fix? If it's a switch, same questions.

 

[koda2000]

I don't remember. I'll check next time it happens. If it's the GEM, do you the part number, location, and how to fix? If it's a switch, same questions.

if it's a switch, you need to determine which one, although it sounds like it would be the driver's door. you would need to remove the interior panel and get into the door. on the latch mechanism, you'll find a small switch with wires coming out of it. it's held in place with a single Philips screw. often the switch gets dirty and doesn't work reliably. in that case, spraying it with WD40 will usually get it cleaned out and working again, but they're available, relatively inexpensive and easy to replace.

the GEM is located behind and to the left of the radio. it should have a part number sticker on it, but you can just get one from a similarly optioned truck of the same year and it should work. a new one will be pricey. hopefully your problem is just a switch. on one of my Mountaineer's the lift-gate switch will sometimes hang up and leave the interior lights on. opening and reclosing it usually makes it go out.

BTW, I believe your truck is equipped with a "battery saver" relay, which should turn off your dome lights before they kill your battery. this may take 20-30 mins to kick in.

 

[BustedKnuckles24]

On my 2000, I can turn off the interior lights by rotating the dash light dimmer knob all the way down until it clicks. Can you try that?

 

[koda2000]

On my 2000, I can turn off the interior lights by rotating the dash light dimmer knob all the way down until it clicks. Can you try that?

the '97's switch does not have this setting. bright/dim only. no OFF.

 

[ronwilkes]

The last time I had this issue, I removed fuse 25 and the lights went out. Looking at the fuse panel diagram, 25 is for the speedometer and GEM system. Do you think that this would this indicate the problem is in the GEM and not the door switch?

 

[429CJ-3X2]

Very common problem with the Aerostars, and it's nearly always a door switch. Very frustrating for sure.

 

[Torqueranger]

Try moving the dimmer switch cause my is doing the same thing but I play with the dimmer switch in order for it to turn off..

 

[MurderedSport]

It could also be that your door sensor thinks the doors open. When my door sensor was bad it would keep the lights on, luckily I have an 01 which has the toggle switch to shut them off.
But this means your door ajar light would be on unless it burnt out.