2002 Map Lights won't turn off

This morning I turned the headlights to auto and then back to off. This turned off the map lamps. Same didn't work last night. Who knew?
 
I purchased my 2002 about three weeks ago. The map lights would not come on. I took the old bulbs out as they were burned out (BLACK). However, I discovered that the power plug was disconnected. I hooked it up. With new lights in, they worked. Yay!!! Not so fast Roscoe. Now they won't shut off. I messed with map light buttons, headlight switch (dimmer) and ultimately wound up disconnecting the power plug from the rear of the mirror. Just as I how I found it. I'm not convinced that the problem doesn't lie inside the mirror itself. Geez, what a headache. At least, I am not alone it would seem. Take care everyone. JJG
 
I think you have to turn the lights off of auto as well as turn the dash light off max while the doors are closed. Doing those things while the door is open is (I think) what causes the lights to stick on in the first place.
 
I had the same issue recently. The on/off buttons on the mirror are tricky. if you depress the on/off button all the way and then release it, the light stays on. If you depress the on/off button about halfway in (it will "click"), then release it, and the light will turn off.

I discovered this accidentally when the map lights would not turn off on my 2003.
 
My map lights won’t go out on my bird. They just came on this morning and won’t go out. Any easy way to get them to go off ? I have put a wood wedge in between mirror and housing to make them go out. But don’t know how long that will last. Would anybody know a solution to this ?
Thanks
Earl
 
Just got home and it seems the map lights aren't shutting off. Any ideas on how to fix it so I dont wake up with a dead battery?

Thanks! #newowner
The most likely cause is the dashboard dimmer switch being left in the max mode. This permanently puts on all the interior lights. Move the switch out of this max position. You should feel the switch rocker out of maximum position. If the door is open you won’t see any change. But with the door closed the max position will put on all interior seating floor lights and the map lights. With it off they will go out when the door is closed.
If there is a switch on the map light and you turned it on it might not go off and won’t be overridden until you switch it off.
 
Another thing that has worked for me is to turn down the brightness of the dashboard lights just a smidge. A minute or two after you close your driver's door, the lights should go off. Hope this helps.
Thanks so much. This problem just occurred to my 03 and your suggestion to turn the panel dimmer control down a bit solved the problem. Ray Hoyle 2-31-22
 
Purchased car yesterday. Today we were playing with all the buttons (takes about one minute. yay!). After turning on the map lamps, they won't turn off again. Both ends of the push button travel are lamps-on. I did notice that they go off about half way through the push button travel, so I've scotch taped them at the halfway point for now. Is this a computer reset issue?

If I can't figure it out, is it safe to drive around with the appropriate fuse out? Not sure what else won't work on the car without the fuse.

And just to prove that I used to listen to Click and Clack - the color is black.
I purchased mine 3 weeks ago, 2002 Thunderbird. Just finished having this problem at night time. After messing with it a bit I thought what good are these useless lights anyway so I took a pair of electrical snips and cut one of the wires. Problem solved while I was 600 miles from home.
 
Does anyone have a wiring diagram for the dimmer switch. I am getting power to the connector. I just want to use a jumper to see if dash light come on. There are four pins.
 
The most likely cause is the dashboard dimmer switch being left in the max mode. This permanently puts on all the interior lights. Move the switch out of this max position. You should feel the switch rocker out of maximum position. If the door is open you won’t see any change. But with the door closed the max position will put on all interior seating floor lights and the map lights. With it off they will go out when the door is closed.
If there is a switch on the map light and you turned it on it might not go off and won’t be overridden until you switch it off.
The same thing happened to me. Interior map lights wouldn't go off. After what I saw rjdmonda said, I turned switch to low for interior brightness and when I shut the door and locked the car, the map lights went off in about 5 seconds. Thank you for that helpful hint!
 
My 2002 seems haunted.

Lights set to off, dimmer set to minimum. Top down (in the garage), lock with the fob, lights go out,,for a couple minutes. Then map light comes back on. Hit key fob, turns off...then turns back on.

Any idea what is causing the recurrent map lights? (yes, they are turned off). ;)

Thanks.

- Jeff

A little more investigation reveals that all interior lights are coming on after a delay (after going out when I lock the car). Key fob lock will turn the lights off again for a time, but they always seem to be coming back on.

I replaced the driver security switch (driver key unlock switch) inside the panel today, maybe I plugged one of the harness plugs in backwards or something. (ugh)

The driver key switch works now...perhaps I just uncovered a hidden problem with that switch being broken before.

- Jeff
 
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