DOME LIGHT won't go off

B

bkahn800

New Member
Just purchased a 96 Ford Ranger XLT 2 Wheel Drive with 66k miles. The inside dome-light did not come on when I opened the door. I tried the switch and still no dome-light. I removed the dome-light cover to discover no light bulbs installed. Went out and purchased the three bulbs and put them in. Immediately the lights came on. However, they won't go off! Not when I close the door, or turn the switch by the light. They stay on all the time. I have to drive at night, so I removed the bulbs with a hot-pad.

Has anyone run into this before? Help.

\Ben
 
Welcome to the site Ben!

Are any other interior lights on besides the dome light?
 
other interior lights

Just the inside dome light won't go off. The light in the glove box goes off, as does the outside light over the bed of the truck.
 
Switch location

I've been having a similar problem with my '97 Ranger XLT. My interior dome light stays on sometimes even after the engine is started. It goes off eventually but can be a problem after dark.

This only happens if the passenger door has been opened.

I haven't fixed it yet, but I have narrowed the issue down. The interior lights come on when you pull on the door handle, not when the door actually opens. You won't find a switch anywhere around the inside of the door frame. I'm fairly certain that the fault is with the switch itself and not the wiring. Now if I can just figure out how to get at the switch... I'll see if it is accessible with the door panel removed.
 
Dome light

Yes, it has something to do with the door. My dome light went off. I openned the door (I had my son with me, and both doors opened, so I don't know which one caused the problem), but when I shut the door, the light came on and stayed on. I definitely think it's a switch somewhere, I just don't know where. I'm interested in what you find out.
 
Thanks

I was going to spend the afternoon today trying to get at the switch by removing the inside door panel. I'm going to try your WD40 fix instead.

Hopefully I'll be able to put the interior light bulbs back in!
 
bkahn800 said:
Just sprayed a ton of wd-40 in the door clasp on both doors and wallah!
Click to expand...


thats what i was gonna say its probly built into the door clasp . sometimes door accuators and dome light shutt off switches are built into them. after a while of use they can become stuck open. try the wd 40 thing :thumbsup:
 
Door clasp switch

The WD40 bath seems to have done the trick. I'm keeping the dome light cover off just in case I have to pull the bulbs.

I went to the trouble of taking the door panel off anyway just to see what was inside. It wasn't as bad as I thought, remove the window crank and four screws and the panel lifts up and off. Once the inner plastic splash guard is peeled back you can see the switch. It's indeed part of the door clasp assembly. The whole thing would have to come out to get a better look but there's really nothing there to fix. It's a sealed unit. I pulled off the connector just to make sure that there was no corrosion on the contacts.

Thanks for the help guys. Now, if I can just get my back-up lights working...
 
My next task

Now that I got the dome lights to go off, I'm gonna work on my next project: figuring out why the emergency flashers only work on the passenger (left side) front and back of the truck. I think it might be a switch.
 
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