I recently installed the puddle lamps however they work fine and this issue started way before I even considered the puddle lamps. Here goes...I noticed that when I opened my drivers side door that the interior lights would come on sometimes and at other times not at all. So, when they do come on I noticed they don't stay on until I close the door and I'm in a wheelchair and it's a b*tch putting a chair together in pitch black. However, when I went to the passenger side and opened that door the interior lights stayed on until I closed the door. So after discovering this I figured since I rarely have a passenger that'd I'd just swap the switches and the problem would be fixed right....WRONG! I double checked the connections to ensure they snapped into place correctly and they are so that isn't the problem. My brother seems to think that there is a short in the wiring to the door switch somewhere in the line but I haven't a clue where it runs to inspect the wiring. Also, I did test the swapped out switch I changed to to the passengers side which I thought was bad to start off with but it worked fine and the interior lights stayed on until that door closed. I love my puddle lamps but they don't stay on very long because of the problem on the drivers side wiring, I'm guessing? I searched for a problem like mine but didn't find anything close to my dilemma. Please help if you have any thoughts as how to fix my issue...thanks in advance.

 

C'mon guy/gals! There's gotta be someone out there that can point me in the right direction? Might there be a relay somewhere that is faulty instead?

 

I'd disconnect the passenger side (possibly sketchy switch) entirely and see if the problem goes away.

There is also the possibility that the interior lights have a low-voltage sense built in, that is: The interior lights may go off whenever the battery voltage drops below 12.XX volts to save the battery in case someone forgot to close the door.

To see if the latter is the case, volt meter directly at the battery when the door is open and see if it drops below about 12.6V in just a few minutes. If thats the case, replacing the car's battery would take care of it.

Really, there's quite a few possibilities that it could be so we'd have it work through the list

 

Oh, another thought: Has anything aftermarket been added like an alarm or keyless entry? Essentially we're looking for anything that might be connected to the interior lights and be passing 12V+/Breaking connection on the door switches...

 

I already went that route upon learning the drivers side was the switch that seemed to be faulty, not the passenger side. To test my theory I closed the driver door which what I thought had the bad switch and then opened the passenger door and the interior lights stayed on until I closed that door. So, I figured it was the driver side switch that was bad and removed it amd swapped it with the passenger side switch but the same exact thing happened. So upon learning that I surmised neither switch was bad and verified they were both properly secure and they both were. There for there has to be a short perhaps somewhere in the driver side wiring, is my guess. As for mods, all that was done was the puddle lamps and the angel eyes. The wiring for the puddle lamps are correct as followed the instructions to a "T" and they work fine. As for the angel eyes, the regulator went bad and I removed the electrical connection that tied into parking light system and went back to stock. I can double check the battery but I did that already and it read properly. The only other thing that may be causing the problem was the fact that the person that installed my interior LED's connected it directly to a fuse instead of a direct 12 volt source so that might be the problem? I'll run those to a direct 12 volt source using a toggle which might fix my problem but am unsure? Anymore suggestions? [/b]

 

Only thing else I can think of is: That dimming effect has to be done by some sort of circuit w/ a timer built in. Not sure if this is in the body control module, but this is the next thing I'd try to swap out

 

While I do appreciate your input and your efforts to help me out I don't think that's the problem either because I can leave the passenger door open forever with either switch installed and it will keep the interior lights on until I shut the door. Once again, I do appreciate you at least taking a stab at my dilemma!

 

I'm just not thinking its a short.. because if a wire gets pinched, its likely to be against car metal which is Ground (-). The switch turns on the dome light by connecting to Ground... Therefore, a shorted wire would mean the dome light would be on constantly

 

kileil is right a short would causes something to work when it's not supposed to. An open some where in the circuit like a loose connection or a break in the wire would cause the lights not to work when they are supposed to. best bet would be try to find where the wires are supposed to run to and check the continuity of the wires and make sure there is no open some where along the circuit.

 

Okdoke, I'll give that a try although I'm not real proficient at reading wiring schematics I'll try and trace the wire and see what I can find. If you don't mind please elaborate on exactly what an open in the circuit would be....a little more specifics as it's obvious I'm no pro at electrical work? Thanks in advance!

 

Pretty much just means that the wire would either have to be cut in half or not plugged into one of either end

 

When the driver’s door is left open and the dome-lights fade, does your “door ajar” light on the dash remain lit?

 

tC-N-TC – You have stated that sometimes it comes on and sometimes it doesn’t. When it does come on, it doesn’t stay on. I am assuming that it fades out just as quickly as if you had opened and immediately closed the passenger door?? This would indicate to me that you have a broken wire in the driver's door. When you open the door, you bend the broken wire to the point where it makes contact only long enough to trigger the dome-fading circuit.

I am hoping to find time this weekend to do some of my own electrical work on my ’06 tC. If I can find enough time, I will look into the door-switch and dome-fading circuits to try and help you out.

 

No the door ajar doesn't stay on, it fades and car auto locks after a few moments as if the door was closed. That once annoying dinger/door is open noise no longer works anymore also.