Rear dome light won't turn off
 

Have a problem with the rear dome light in my '06.. it won't turn off. I tested the switch on the rear door and it appears to work but the light stays on and has run down the battery. Are the interior lights controlled by electronics in these later trucks?

If its just the rear dome light it sounds like the switch at the dome light is turned on. It should have 3 settings. off, door ajar on, on. Had my scouts leave mine on at an overnighter. Luckly I was carrying jumper cables. Can't think of any reason for just the rear dome to be on unless that switch has gone bad.

I had that problem and solved it by doing something that someone here suggested: spray WD-40 in all the door open mechanisms (in the door jamb).

The door open/close switch which controls the lights lives in there. I think the rear door switch only turns on the rear light (not front).

Is there an adjustment on the switch like the 8-9 gen F series door switches?
Sometimes they screwed themselves in over time.

This is very true especially in the higher trim level vans like Club Wagon etc. Like anything mechanic the switch is subject to failing, sadly enough always in the wrong position to cause overnight battery drain. :(

If the front and mid cabin dome lights aren't also on that mostly suggests the door jamb switches are working properly. FWIW most of those switches are self adjusting, once installed new closing the door sets them to their proper location for operation.

It doesn't hurt to check the side and rear door switches are snugly threaded in place. Front door switches fit into the lower A Pillar with snap-in plastic bushings, are almost never loose or dislodged.

On my truck there is no switch on the rear dome light that I can see.. it's overhead at the very back opposite the 3rd brake light. After posting this question I read a wiki answers thread(or some such) about the same problem that turned out to be caused by the door switches so I'll go back and test all of them, it's usually something simple like that.

I've had mine unplugged in back for quite awhile. Replaced the driver door since it was hit and run. Body shop redid the door so it would be fully electric again, and a couple of days later I noticed the back light on at night.

Mine's an '06 also.

One way to test the door switches quickly but not 100% reliably is watch the dome light staying on while fully depressing each door switch as installed, opening each door one at a time. If doing so causes the dome light to extinguish you've found your culprit--replace it, typically $10 or less at most parts outlets.

This doesn't rule out a failed switch altogether but it essentially tests whether the switches have somehow slipped out of "adjustment" for lack of a better term. By this I mean the portion we can see proud of the hinge pillars has been pushed too far into the inside resulting in the contact never being broken and turn off the interior lighting.

HTH

timer
 

In my 2009 model, yes they are.

There is a timing interval that starts whenever any of the doors are opened and I think about 15 minutes later, if the door/s are still open, the lights are turned off, as a battery saving measure.

Do your dome lights softly 'fade' out when the doors are all closed? Or do they instantly turn off when an open door is closed?

If they softly fade out, then that is indicative of electronic control. Lots of newer vehicles control the dome lights electronically.

Neither of my dome lights appear to turn off on their own now. The front light has a 3 position switch that I would have assumed would be..
1: Off
2: Timer or relay controlled
3: Always on.

I left it in the middle position but it didn't shut off after a few minutes with all the doors closed so I didn't want to chance leaving it any longer. I removed and tested the rear and side door switches with a multimeter and they both appear to work, the front door switches aren't the same type and don't seem to be as easy to remove so I have not tested them yet.

Problem solved.
 

OK.. I guess this will qualify as my ID10T moment with this truck.. LOL. I had a thought one night lying in bed to check the main light control switch on the dash to make sure it wasn't in the fully counter clockwise always on position.. but completely forgot about it the next morning. So last night I go to take the truck for it's first night drive and I instinctively pull out the light switch and rotate it to adjust the intensity of the dash lights.. and wouldn't you know it was locked in the always on position. I then put the interior dome light in the center switch position and bingo.. it activates with a door opening and stays on for about 30sec after the door is closed.

Ah, if I remember this thread when I go to work tomorrow I'll check mine too.