Interior light won't turn off when doors are closed

Try spraying some WD40 into the door latches worked for me when I had that problem.

Hi Firebird, I tried it... didn't work for me. I did learn though (thanks) that the switch must be inside the door locks or latches somewhere because there are no push button externally visible anywhere. I'm not getting any door ajar indications so I think the switches must be operable.

Just for the heck of it try putting the switch in one of the other positions and see if the lights go out then the other position since you have three position switch.

The inside light that does not want to shut off is it in the front ? If it is like my daughters 2014 Escape the light is a push light. Push the center of the light and see if it clicks off. I remember this because her light was staying on one night and she did not know why. It had me going for a little bit but i figured it out.

I like the way you think... Outside the box. I tried the other positions of the switch as you suggested... no luck. FYI, this is a cluster of 3 lights. The dome light and two map lights. The three position switch is best described as 2 positions in addition to the off position. One in 'on', the other is 'door'. When in the center (door) position all three lights are on and stay on but shouldn't if the doors are closed. The two map lights each have a push button that will turn the assoc, bulb on when the main switch is off. Thanks for your suggestions; generally the simple answer is the most likely one. I expect now that the problem lies in the electronic timing circuit. Jim

Open the rear hatch and close again making sure it is shut tight and all the other doors and see what happens.

Hi Firebird and anyone who might be interested. I must with humility confess that I overlooked something which should have been obvious. I had the dome light lit with the dashboard dimmer switch; one 'click' above maximum. This turned on the lamp and it stayed lit. One contributor, Guy Outland, sent me a copy of a publication giving a great description of how all the light are designed to work and viola, that light-bulb in my numb skull came on. Thanks for your help with this. It wasn't wasted... Merry Christmas to all. Jim Christensen

Jimmy you the man. 9 months later and you helped me out haha thank you

Thanks Jimmy! Your solution solved my dilemma too lol

wait for one minute, it is all about time dear.

Gosh, lots of help. Thanks to all and Merry Christmas too!

jimmy could you send me a copy of the publication?

All interior lights , door ajar, and lights under the exterior mirrors are staying on. Any help out there?

I drove the car the light went out then I parked rolled down the window got out with car still running then reached in and turned off lights stayed off try to fix in the morning

Thank you, Jimmy. Mine was the dimmer light as well. Kind regards, Pete

Had the same issue with my 2007 Ford Windstar - Jimmy saved my day (and possibly a humiliating visit to a mechanic). Dimmer light that I probably accidentally switch with my knee.

this also fixed my problem. I can't believe that turning the dashlights all the way up turns your interior lights on. what idiotic engineer comes up with this shit? what a useless and annoying 'feature'

Jimmy you are my hero! After 2 month with the light fuse removed, you solved my problem! Thank you!!

Thank you would have never looked at instrument dimmer very helpful

Way to go Jimmy! Solved my son's problem too! We were perplexed as both overhead light AND cargo area light were staying lit -> not 3 position switch. Door ajar light not lit -> not any of the door latch switches.

c4naan - hmmmm the dash dimmer switch when rotated all the way has turned on the overhead cabin light since the 70's. The question is why is it not on some sort of timer as when you open or close the door.

my interior lights stay on turn down dimmer but also my park lights don't shut off either

Hi folks..great feed. I have a 2007 Fusion which had the same problem till I read here about the Dimmer switch turned to max+: same situation, same outcome. I was ready to tear the light out of the fixture. Thank you. Now I can sleep.

I'm surprised by how many folks have had this problem. I'm glad I posted the 'solution' . I felt I had a little 'egg on my face' and was reluctant to do so.

I have this same problem. I disconnected the summer all together and the interior lights still stay on. Anything else I can look ar??

Anyone out there can help me? My interior lights stay on but my door ajar light goes out. I disconnected my dimmer switch because on a sunny day I can't tell if it is working or not. The lights will not go out. Had to pull bulbs out.

Lol!!! I’ve googled and read and googled and read, then I read down this thread a little further, headed out to the car to see if I could find something that seemed similar to the dash dimmer and IT WORKED!!!!! I was really starting to hit the panic bottom after being in a season of movin to a new home and it seems like there is a new “bill” every time we turn around! So grateful the Lord sent me to yalls thread! Thank you!

Helped me too!

Hi everybody !! I have a FORD Five Hundred 2006 and when open the driver door side the radio and the interiors lights doesn't turn off.... Some i have seen this issue before ?? Thanks !!

Worked for me. Thanks Jim

Thanks Jim!!! I bet you never knew how many people you would help. I had recently cleaned my dashboard and would never have thought that the dimmer switch had a notch above the top level. What a dumb feature but you helped me quickly!

I'm sure happy I shared this even though I was embarrassed with the simple solution. Someone pointed out this has been a feature since the 70's; I wonder how many others had the same issue before all this with us and how many more there will be; I see people still have the problem from time to time. Jim

I literally had been searching all day for a solution as to why the interior lights would not go off. I had even decided to just pull the fuse when I got home. Then I found this thread and when I read Jimmy's epiphany moment, I reached down and turned the dimmer....my lights are finally off! Jimmy you are a Good send!

Wow ... it keeps going and going. Some day I'm going to check out a new car and see if the engineers have ever 'fixed' this problem. Jim

I got them off but now they won’t turn on automatically.

Open the hatch, the part on the lift gate that hooks to keep it closed, use your finger to "close" that hook part. This will turn off the lights (great for the drive in when you want doors closed, lights off, but lift gate open!!!). Just be sure to OPEN that hook again before closing the lift gate, or you'll cause some serious damage to the mechanism. Hope this helps :)

The dimmer switch *facepalm* well this worked for my 2010 focus. This started when I took my car in, somehow the mechanic thought it was worth $50 to fix this "short in the wiring" he discovered. Looking back he obviously caused it by adjusting the dimmer... luckily I told him I'd google the wiring and do it myself. I hope there aren't too many people running that ploy... and if there are hopefully they can find this thread before they get conned. Ty Jim, you saved me $50 today.

Jimmy thanks for your help. Glad to see I wasn't the only one who overlooked this

We have had a 2007 Ford Escape several months now and this has happened twice. Both times we checked all doors and switches but forgot the rear window latch. Both times it was the rear window latch that was not closed. Doh.

Lol, 4 years later and we are all guilty of the same act. Thanks Jimmy

Suddenly my interior dome lights would not go entirely out when the car was turned off or while we were driving. I finally realized that while I was in the back seat of the car, I turned the cargo light on. Not realizing it had 3 positions, I chose the position that turned it off but apparently leaves the interior dome lights lit very dimly at all times. I just went out and turned the switch to the other off position. Problem solved.

I have always hated the Focus interior lighting (2012 hatchback with ~75K miles). I love the car. It’s a 5 speed, handles well, 37 mpg on the highway! and pretty zippy. No Mustang GT, but still pretty fun to drive. But the lighting: it’s *always* been a huge pain in the neck for me. I don’t want to have to wait for 30 seconds or a minute every single time to make sure the lights will go off. When I set th light to the ‘door’ setting, it often just wont go off at all, just stays on no matter what I do or how long I wait. Sometimes it won’t come on at all, other times it won’t go off. As far as I know I don’t have a dimmer switch per se, but 2 buttons beside the headlamp knob. There’s no way to accidentally turn it all the way. I have to press the + button about 10 times to notice any difference at all. I always thought the dimmer didn’t work until I saw somebody note they did the same thing,then finally figured out you have to hit it many, many times to get it all the way up or all the way down...

Btw-thx to all of you for the tips on the wacky interior lighting. Big help! I wish I had found this thread before I just knocked the whole light assembly up inside the frame! ‍♂️

...this thread was the answer to my search for “What the hell is up with this damned dome light?” And saved me the expense of having to pay for repairs to my 2006 Escape dome lights if I’d implemented my plan to bash them with a hammer.. ....side-note....I’d have paid to see someone crawl out their drivers seat window, then turn off the car....

Here is the problem. Turn off the switch on the roof and the rear saloon ligths goes off.