96 Thunderbird Interior Lights Won't Turn Off | Ford Thunderbird forum club group 1955-2005 models

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96 Thunderbird Interior Lights Won't Turn Off

  • Thread starter Thread starter bogartethan03
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bogartethan03

bogartethan03

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My Thunderbird has been quite frustrating to me lately, it looks so pretty but it has so many small problems. The beauty of owning a used car. Anyways, the dome lights won't turn off, and I tested the door switches and they both work, and I cleaned the dimmer switch and have messed with it and it doesn't seem to be the issue. Sometimes the lights will turn off if you lock it, sometimes they won't. I need help with this, I don't want a dead battery and I don't want to unplug to battery everytime to get them to turn off. If I unplug it and then plug it back in, the lights will stay off, but as soon as you try to unlock it or open a door, it will stay on with seemingly no end. I hope it's an easy fix...

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check both of the your door switches they could be bad and also the the light switch itself could also be bad I've seen that happen alot
 
I had something similar on my '03. Went to a lot of trouble and expense trying to fix. Finally found that the trunk light was staying on and the computer turns all the lights on. Adjusted the trunk switch bracket. The hood light can also do this.
 
I don't think that's the case with my car. One time the lights started working again and I pressed the window down button and they came back on, and I don't know if this is normal or not but when you lock it, every led bulb will flash with the horn, but no incandescents will. I'm also pretty sure that while recharging the ac, I saw a spark jump from the valve cover to the wheel well. I fear something is pretty messed up
 
Maybe check any and all ground wires that you can find. Start with cleaning the battery grounds. Add a few temporary ones to the engine and body to see if anything changes. I had a problem that did a lot of weird stuff on a different car once. Took a long time to find but it was some corroded wires in the underside of the fuse box.
 
bogartethan03 said:
My Thunderbird has been quite frustrating to me lately, it looks so pretty but it has so many small problems. The beauty of owning a used car. Anyways, the dome lights won't turn off, and I tested the door switches and they both work, and I cleaned the dimmer switch and have messed with it and it doesn't seem to be the issue. Sometimes the lights will turn off if you lock it, sometimes they won't. I need help with this, I don't want a dead battery and I don't want to unplug to battery everytime to get them to turn off. If I unplug it and then plug it back in, the lights will stay off, but as soon as you try to unlock it or open a door, it will stay on with seemingly no end. I hope it's an easy fix...
Click to expand...
I would check the Flux Capacitor. I had the same problem, and it came down to low Plutonium. If you don't get enough power to engage the capacitor, try harnessing the power of a lightening bolt during a storm. If you run a cable from the town hall to Luke's, you can channel the electricity to your car through some imagination. This typically works everytime I have this issue!
 
bogartethan03 said:
My Thunderbird has been quite frustrating to me lately, it looks so pretty but it has so many small problems. The beauty of owning a used car. Anyways, the dome lights won't turn off, and I tested the door switches and they both work, and I cleaned the dimmer switch and have messed with it and it doesn't seem to be the issue. Sometimes the lights will turn off if you lock it, sometimes they won't. I need help with this, I don't want a dead battery and I don't want to unplug to battery everytime to get them to turn off. If I unplug it and then plug it back in, the lights will stay off, but as soon as you try to unlock it or open a door, it will stay on with seemingly no end. I hope it's an easy fix...
Click to expand...
This is a late response, but I have a similar problem with my '97 LX. Interior lights randomly brighten and dim and occasionally stay on. I finally took out all of the interior lamps so I wouldn't have to worry about killing the battery. Probably some sort of solid state dimmer somewhere that has gone nuts but haven't been able to track it down.
 
bogartethan03 said:
My Thunderbird has been quite frustrating to me lately, it looks so pretty but it has so many small problems. The beauty of owning a used car. Anyways, the dome lights won't turn off, and I tested the door switches and they both work, and I cleaned the dimmer switch and have messed with it and it doesn't seem to be the issue. Sometimes the lights will turn off if you lock it, sometimes they won't. I need help with this, I don't want a dead battery and I don't want to unplug to battery everytime to get them to turn off. If I unplug it and then plug it back in, the lights will stay off, but as soon as you try to unlock it or open a door, it will stay on with seemingly no end. I hope it's an easy fix...
Click to expand...
I have a '93 LX that used to do too. I saw a video on YouTube's where a guy with a similar problem fixed it by removing the "keys left in ignition" warning chime. You have to unsolder it from a black plastic electronics part located to the right of the glove box in the dash. Maybe the video is still there. Its been a couple of years...
It's a hassle but it worked for me.
 
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