Interior lighting not shutting off - Diesel Forum

BobbySnider · 03-16-2003, 06:16 PM

My 2000 Excursion just started acting up. The wife came home and says that the interior lights will not go off. Well, later they did and then later came back on. I have already checked to make sure doors were closed all the way. Have any of you run into this before? I can change the part if I know what it is but I have found the hard way not to troubleshoot by changing expensive parts. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

eyeinstine · 03-16-2003, 09:52 PM

Hello,

We had the same problem the day we brought our used 2000 X home.. Valentines day to be exact.. Sit in the truck with it running, and the interior lights stuck on, and look at the lower left of the gauge cluster and see if the door adjar light is still on.. Ours was, and causing the lights to stay on.. They would go off after about 5 minutes of driving (by default, they dont stay on that long, to save the battery.)

anyway, if this is the problem, grab some WD-40 and spray all the door latches. The part that receives and locks on the door striker.
The door adjar switch is built into the latch, and they get dirty and dont make good contact. After spraying them all, open and close each door about 5 times.. dont forget the rear doors!

Hope this helps...
Ron

BobbySnider · 03-16-2003, 10:48 PM

I looked for the door open light but did not see it. I will try the WD-40 trick on the latches. I was looking for the switches and did not know where they were. If that works, it would beat the heck out of taking it to the shop. Thanks for the info.

Bobby

rxbike · 03-16-2003, 11:32 PM

Check your rear tailgate window. Mine would do it everyone in a while when it is cold and would do it on accelertion. WD-40 the latch is your best bet. Took care of my problem
Dan

Pharmer · 03-17-2003, 01:57 PM

Clean all the latches and receivers with brake cleaner and coat with lithium grease. You need to the remove all the dust which draws in moisture.

RichS · 03-19-2003, 11:36 PM

Gop to Wal-Mart or a parts store and pick up some Lube One spray by Slick 50. It works better than the WD and lasts much longer. I only use WD to displace moisture now this stuff works so good. I use it on my trailer hitch drawbars, locks, you name it.

The light switch is just underneath the latch mechanism in the door. By spraying it inside the latch it will work down into the switch and should cure your problem.

Rich

jjtproperty · 03-22-2003, 12:40 PM

The switches go bad for no apparent reason. To access them you will need to remove the trim panels and folow the pigtail harness to the door latch. Unplug the harness and twist the switch out of the latch. You will need to do this first before visiting your dealer because these switches are color coded and you will need to know what colors you have to purchase the correct ones. Working on Fords, I have replaced a few of these and have found that usually every door is different, so don't assume they used one color on one side and another color for the other side. It doesn't work that way. Hope this helps!