Okay, the car is a 1997 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme w/a 3.1 ltr engine. Took a road trip today to Emporia, KS (about 80 miles away) and when I got back, I stoped at a gas station to clean all the insect carnage off my windshield. I got back in and to my suprise, the interior light are operating in reverse, when all the doors are closed, the lights come on, but when any one of them is opened, the lights go off. I checked all the door switches and they have no effect either way, the lights come on when all four doors latch. Please, someone help me figure out what this is, I had to disconect the battery tonight so that the car can be driven tomorrow.

 

sounds like one of the doors switches might be shorting, check the doors one at a time to see if one of them either makes it work right or has no efect at all and that will probably be the one. You can also take the fuse out for the dome lights as a temp fix to keep from running battery down. The best fix though would probably be getting a Ford. LOl

Kinda neet running into you tonight at Emporia but I guess you just can't go anywhere without running into someone you know.

 

Does it have one of those timers that keeps the interior lights on for a while after you've closed the doors?

 

it does, but they never go out. Also, it doesn't matter which door is open, it shuts the lights off.

 

When it was working right, did the timer work?

What I am thinking--my wife's '99 Escort has a timer for the interior lights. You open the door, the lights come on. Close the door, the lights stay for a couple minutes unless you hit the ignition, then they go out immediately (so you don't drive with them on). What I'm wondering, if that timer has a short, it's staying on.

To clarify--this is if the switch (the 3-way on the dome light) is set to the middle position. If it's "on", the lights stay on; if it's "off", they stay off; if it's on "auto" or whatever they call the middle position, the timer works.

 

The timer worked fine until after I washed the windows. Then the lights never went off again. I don't have that kind of switch, I have a dimmer on the dash next to the headlight switch.

 

The dimmer has no effect, right?

 

that is correct

 

You might try taking the door switches apart one at at a time to find the bad one. If that doesn't work, make one of the door switches so that it thinks the door is open. you just wont have lights come on when you do open the door.
Just a thought.
Mark

 

I don't know if you have had any luck since the last post, but if you haven't, here is another thought. Remember that the door switches actually work (or come on) when the circuit is grounded, not when 12vts is applied. So essentially one of the door switches or wiring may have broken and is actually making ground when the door is closed (making the lights go on) and breaking the connection when the door is opened, thus turning the lights off. So lets say all of the doors are closed and the lights are on because the circuit is complete and when you open any door (not just the one with the problem) the circuit has now been opened again shutting off the lights. AGAIN, THIS IS JUST A THEORY! I would think back to when you got out of the car and start at the doors that were opened (i.e. just the front two) and pull the door switches as suggested in earlier posts. Test them one by one and leave the doors open as you test them, the lights should have gone off when you opened the door, so when you get to the bad one the lights should then go on.
I have said too much (and probably confused you) but it sounded good in my head.
bdp

 

man that sounds like it sucks.....simple?? ok here ya go pull the fuse....it runs other things? pull the bulb do you really use the dome light that much?? this is last resort stuff