Dome/map lights come on randomly

Apparently the last two days, my dome lights have been randomly coming at night. I noticed it tonight that they were on, checked all the doors and they won’t turn off. I played with the door switch and it won’t turn the lights off. It does turn the kick panel lights off but the door, dome and map lights stay on. Any idea where to start?

 

I’m starting to wonder lol. I did change them to LED’s but I can’t see why that would screw with them.

 

Is it normal for your type 2000 Limited for the Map lights to come on with door open ? My 2004 Limited doesn't,only Dome, Cargo, Key and Kick Panel.

When those courtesy lights are on, do you have a "Door Open" indicator on dash ?

Have you added any LED strips that might be grounding ?

 

Replace your old bulbs back in place and see if your problem still exists.

 

I’ll have to watch it a little closer. It did it again tonight. The door ajar light was on and all the doors were closed, maybe a bad switch? The seem to operate fine manually but that’s the only thing I can think of.

 

Try tightening the door switches at the 10mm bolt. Thats a grounded bolt and will be funky if its not tight. I replaced both of mine last year with Wells Switches (OEM manufacturer) after having a fried broken one for 5 years. Maybe remove the switch and disconnect and see what happens. Easy job if thats it.

 

Have all the doors closed except your driver door and start pressing the door switch button and see if you can get the lights to turn off. I had to replace the one in our 4runner, it got a lil wonky and wouldn’t depress straight into it self and then wouldn’t make/break the circuit. I would take a wild guess and say it’s your driver door. It’s really easy to replace the switch

 

Well I did this before heading into work and I am suspect it might be the issue. While I was unbolting it, the lights were going crazy. The threads had some sort grease or other funk on it so I am wondering if it isn't making a good ground. Is bare metal supposed to be exposed or does it ground through the threads?

This is what I did this morning and I think you are right. They were on so I did just this and could only get it turn off 80% of the time. I think the switch has gone bad.

 

The device switch, if like mine, should have a metal ring on the back that grounds onto the door frame. I’d just buy some new Well Switches off Big Gurrrl for your year/model truck. I think mine were $14 each last year. Replace all with new. Save the good ones for future use if needed.

 

well it’s definitely drivers side. I took them both out, cleaned them and applied die-electric grease to the connector and bolt... no change. I figured I’d just order the one that was available from Napa for $15 but they forgot to order it so now it won’t be here till tomorrow AM. Hopefully that cures it because this annoying.

 

EDIT: didn’t fix it...

I feel like an idiot but this just occurred to me this morning. Since they are both the same switch... swap sides and see if the problem follows... VIOLA, it did.

New switch came in today and fixed the problem. Please carry on and disregard this thread as I figured it was something to do with the LED's I put in.

Solution: BAD DRIVERS DOOR AJAR SWITCH

 

Swapping the sides is how I knew one of mine was bad. My passenger side door was the original culprit. If the door opened the lights would not activate which was annoying for passengers entering at night. Did the swap and the driver door mimicked the problem. Ordered 2 just because the driver door was probably not far behind due to more use.

Glad you solved it. Who makes makes the NAPA switch?

 

Most of NAPA's electric parts are made by Echlin. Their Mileage Plus line is also made by Echlin but considered cheaper.

In my younger years, I worked at Napa for awhile so I have a soft spot for them. I am still friends with the owner so he sells me stuff for my personal rigs at cost which doesn't hurt my feelings.

 

You might have solved a problem that I've been ignoring for a while.

I too have LED bulbs in the map lights. A while back my wife and I were freaking out because every once in a while during a night drive we would see a bright flash and couldn't figure out what it was, this was shortly after Musk launched a rocket near LA and freaked us out. I eventually noticed that when I had the switch on the control panel set to light up when doors were open and hit a good bump the light would flash, so I turned the switch off and forgot about it.

I do notice my doors seem to have a lot of play in them lately, even more present since swapping to E tires. I bet there is a relationship there and I need to adjust the doors to have less slop.

By the way here is that Musk rocket I mentioned. Imagine driving in LA and seeing that, then getting texts that your family 100 miles away sees it too. We thought the invasion had begun.

 

Your truck may be haunted

 

Username = Brilliant

 

My truck did this when I first got it but had the drivers door replaced when I bought it. Some of the bolts on the hinges, latches, etc were a little loose so I removed them and re-centered them snug. It took care of the issue up until now. But yes, the bumps were flashing all the lights in the cab like a disco.

 

I was a little freaked out the first time I walked up to my 2020 Pro at night and the interior lights illuminated as I approached the truck. Love this key-less thing!

 

where the hell is that @bmf4069 when you need him, stumpin ?

 

I spoke too soon...

The switch did not fix it. I went out just now to move it and the lights and door ajar light were on. When I shut the drivers door, the door ajar switch dims/flickers for a second and then comes all the way on. The passenger door has no affect on the door ajar light, only drivers door. Maybe it still has a bad ground on the drivers door switch? When I bought the truck, the drivers door had been replaced/repainted and he didn't do the best job of taping off areas so I am wondering if the paint is keeping it from grounding correctly.

 

Haven't had mine off in awhile but just now took driver door switch off to jog my memory before answering. My door frame was recently painted so mine is not looking for the frame per say but the 10mm bolt making good contact with the threaded receiver(lack of better word) that is attached to inside of door cavity wall. If that inside piece is not adhered good and making a good ground, that's an issue. As most know, there ain't but one wire to switch and gnd or lack of is sensed by I assume TVIP ECU, who in turn, takes appropriate action. Of course, 2004 may be different than earlier/later years

 

Thank you for checking! I can only think that the bolt is not getting a good ground but it does get tight. I might sand some paint off right where it grounds to see if that helps.

 

You replaced only one switch?

Remove both switches and see if problem remains. If not, replace one switch at a time as see how things function.

If problem remains with both switches out, then the problem is most likely elsewhere.

 

Just one because CRAPA only had one at their DC and the rest had to be shipped in with freight charges.

I'll swap them around again or one side at a time to see what happens.

 

This is what I’m dealing with. Dome lights stay on but under dash lights go off with the switch. The door ajar light also stays on. Swapped switches and problem is definitely drivers side. I ground the paint off under the mounting bolt and no luck. In the video, I’m pushing the door switch by hand and the cargo light relay is clicking off and on, dome lights stay on, door ajar light stays on dash and under dash lights turn off/on with switch as they are supposed to:
https://youtu.be/W9aIV9FIp3s

 

This does not necessarily help but your driver footwell lamp going on/off with you exercising door switch tells me your 2000 is different than my 2004. When I open my driver door, it's courtesy light comes on, the driver footwell, rear personal and cargo light are commanded on. If I exercise door switch on/off quickly, the footwell, rear and cargo lights stay on solid, waiting for door to be shut and fade out after approx 30 sec.

Perhaps those with 2000 can confirm the action of footwell light when door is open closed....does it fade off after approx. 30 sec.
If that's normal, I'll go to back of class

 

***FIGURED IT OUT YET AGAIN***(mostly)!

My dad was a mechanic for most of my life and one of things he always told me to do was the shake test. If you can't find the problem, start shaking things till you find it. In this case, I shook the wire harness that runs between the door and door frame. It worked for a brief second but stopped again. I figured it probably was behind the door panel but it was late and I didn't want to pull off the panel. Instead, I popped the window switch out and exposed the wires behind it. Gave them few shakes and it all started working again like it should.

Obviously there is loose ground behind there somewhere which I may get to tonight but this would explain why the door ajar switch wasn't working because it wasn't ground correctly. I secured the wires enough so they wouldn't move anymore and it's been working 100% since. Curious to see what rubbed through or what happened but at least I am in the right area now!

 

I’d start looking around the Courtesy Light area connections. That assy is difficult to maneuver off when removing the Door Panel. Some goon might have jerked a connection tab there.

 

So I got it apart this weekend and I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary just everything loose and dangling.

I got it all cleaned up, wires rerouted, bolts replaced and zip tied so they wouldn’t move. The original clips were busted and not holding so zip ties it is! Got all the connectors taken apart and applied die electric grease to all of them. No issues again. Best part of all of this, I found the rattle that had been driving me crazy since the day I bought it. The PO had a washer on one of the bolts that wasn’t tight and bouncing around. Not sure why it was there but it’s gone now and no more rattle!