I have a 2003 Mercury Mountaineer. The interior lights come on and stay on after you turn off the vehicle. I've searched many forums and have seen people that say to spray the door latches, so I did that and still have the issue. Also saw someone post about the door ajar display. It works fine, it comes on when I open each door and goes off when I close the door. So that's suppose to eliminate a door switch problem. The only way to get the interior light to go off is to manually turn the light switch dimmer all the way down and click into the off position. So I have seen a post about a possible GEM (Generic Electronic Module) problem that could be causing this. I have one other strange behavior that leads me to believe its something like the GEM. Each time I hit the rear window defrost button, the interior light comes on, a bell sounds and the door ajar light comes on. I read that if you change out the GEM you have to upload the configuration to a scan device first. Is that the case? So do I have to go to a dealer and pay several hundred dollars to fix a light problem? Any help is very much appreciated! Thanks!

 

Have you disconnected the battery and let it sit a few minutes before reconnecting it? I don't know if that will have any effect on it or not but my F150 would hang in 4wd-Lo if I cut it off still in 4wd. Only way to get it to select again was to disconnect the battery. Try it, it's free.

 

Thanks for the suggestion, I could try that I guess, but I've had this problem for several months. I just have to remember to turn the dimmer down before I leave the vehicle. So no one else has seen this?

 

Take a look at this thread on another forum:
2003 Explorer electrical problem - Ford Explorer Ranger Enthusiasts "Serious Explorations"®

Let us know if it's broken wires in the liftgate. Good luck.

 

rrgone - thanks for the thread link, sure sounds alot like my problem. Will give it a look and post back what I found. Thank you so very much!!!

 

rrgone - I tore apart the rear tailgate, inspected the wiring thoroughly and didn't find a problem. So I decided to tear into the drivers door since I had read so much about others having that problem. Once I got the door panel off, I found a black ground wire severed. I spliced the wire and viola, everything works. The strange thing is I never had the door ajar light on like everyone else that had this problem. Regardless, I am grateful for your help. You are a saint. You saved me alot of money. Thank you for taking the time to help me out!

Dale