Help Please-Interior Lights coming on

[njpecheu]

Love my 2008 Explorer XLT 4.0 .....except the interior lights keep coming on for no reason. A little embarrassing at night when everyone can see you and wonder why you are driving with the interior lights on.
Any suggestions appreciated.

 

[naiku]

Search on here, it is most likely the ignition cylinder. Mine was doing the same when I bought it, a few minutes searching here, $40 part and 10 minutes of time fixed it.

Here you go:http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=278505

You tube has videos showing replacement, it's very easy.

 

[Destyn2001]

Could also be the door jam sensor that lets the car know the door is completely shut, has happened to me before in another vehicle. Another option for you until you figure it out, is to turn the dimmer switch on the dash all the way down, that will override the interior lights when you drive, at the expense of your gauge cluster being a little dim.

 

[njpecheu]

Thank you!!

Thank you Naiku & Destyn2001 for your reply.
I appreciate your suggestions. after the cold front moves through I will try these.
Nice to have members that try to help others.

 

[DavidEBSmith]

Search on here, it is most likely the ignition cylinder. Mine was doing the same when I bought it, a few minutes searching here, $40 part and 10 minutes of time fixed it.

Here you go:http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=278505

You tube has videos showing replacement, it's very easy.

FWIW, I had this happening (and the memory seats would move back and forth, not good while driving) and got the replacement ignition switch for my friendly Ford mechanic to put in, but he said it was the ignition cylinder that needed replacing on mine. The switch is relatively easy, the cylinder is more difficult - it comes with a a bag full of lock tumblers and you have to fit the tumblers to match your key. Since I had both parts, I had him replace both while he was in there.

 

[Scorpion8]

Interior lights came on the other day on my 2006, and it was the rear window latch switch. I figured it out when I hit a pothole and then I got the rear window unlatched warning on the dash display. But if the rear window isn't unlatching completely, that switch may be free enough to be the culprit. Give it some silicone spray and make sure the rear window is latched down tight.

 

[BobMachus]

Same here

My lights come on and the seats roll back if that feature is enabled. If I gently fiddle with the key I can get the light to go off and the seats to go where they belong. I currently have the auto seat feature disabled as it is quite disconcerting in traffic to have the seat roll all the way back. I have seen several folks say the switch is the part to replace and others say the cylinder is at fault. For now I just deal with it and gently wiggle the key to get it to turn off and stay off (until the next bump or jolt). I wish I could find a way to trouble shoot the cylinder or the switch. Somewhere here is a post talking about removing the cylinder and shimming the back of it with a washer to tighten up the pieces. I am likely to try that on mine as the way to get the lights to turn off is to push in slightly on the ignition key. When the key pushes back out the lights come on, so I have to very gently relieve pressure after I push in a bit.