Interior Lights Inop when doors are opened

[Texasdeere]

My interior lights work on my 94 if you use the dash reostat but won't come on when you open the doors. Anyone seen this before? Another fuse maybe?

[Colt Cobra]

has it always done this, its possible someone could have disconnected the button that tells the light to come on, after awhile the button wears out and the lights just stay on, alot of people just disconnected them instead of fixing it.

[jb1016]

Originally Posted by Texasdeere

won't come on when you open the doors

They don't come on for either door?

[Texasdeere]

Yea, both doors don't work. I just bought the truck a week ago. I removed the alarm system a few days ago thinking they would start working but no change.

[Texasdeere]

I checked all the fuses again. Everything looks great. The door switches seem to work because when you leave the key in the ignition, the bell chimes when the door is open.

[ChevLoRay]

Does your light switch, the one on the dash, also have a button that can turn off the interior lights? I had this same thing happen to my truck and I knew the door jamb switches were good because of the alarm. I posted a question on here and was reminded of that feature on the light switch. When I was reintroduced to the feature and used the button, the lights came on. Whoa. Whatta feelin'....

[Bigg G]

1) Not sure if your truck has the headlight switch that turns the entry lights off so check your owners manual to make sure.

2) Check to make sure your dome light bulb is not blown.

3) Check the little black buttons (poppers) on the left & right side of your dash to make sure theyre not sticking.

[1badgmc]

This is relatively common on the '88-'94 trucks. The plunger switches on the side of the dash that the door pushes can frequently go out. They're pretty cheap and easy to replace. I'm willing to bet that one of those is your culprit.

Originally Posted by ChevLoRay

Does your light switch, the one on the dash, also have a button that can turn off the interior lights? I had this same thing happen to my truck and I knew the door jamb switches were good because of the alarm. I posted a question on here and was reminded of that feature on the light switch. When I was reintroduced to the feature and used the button, the lights came on. Whoa. Whatta feelin'....

His truck is a '94, so it doesn't have the Dome Override button.

[Texasdeere]

The lights all come on with the thumb roll switch, so the bulbs are good. The switch is a little loose in the dash and the cargo light doesn't work either. When I can get my hand on a torx driver I am going to take a look in there. I am going to check the door switches too, but I am pretty sure they are good.

Thanks for all your input Guys...

[1badgmc]

Originally Posted by Texasdeere

The lights all come on with the thumb roll switch, so the bulbs are good. The switch is a little loose in the dash and the cargo light doesn't work either. When I can get my hand on a torx driver I am going to take a look in there. I am going to check the door switches too, but I am pretty sure they are good.

Everything you're describing is exactly what I went through on 2 of my trucks. Both of them needed a new door switch.

[jb1016]

Originally Posted by Texasdeere

I checked all the fuses again. Everything looks great. The door switches seem to work because when you leave the key in the ignition, the bell chimes when the door is open.

The switches were my first thought too, but this ^ plus the fact that both doors fail to turn the lights on, made me think otherwise.

But then, my 93 doesn't have a door chime, so I'm not familiar with that system; maybe the chime is triggered by something other than the door jamb switches? And the switches happen to be bad on both sides?

[Texasdeere]

Looks like both door switches are bad. The chimes do work on both but not the lights. (That's what threw me off) Each switch has 3 wires, 1 for the lights and 1 for the chime. If I lift up on the pass side switch pin the lights come on. On the drivers side I just unplugged it and used a jumper wire and the lights came on.

Thanks again for all your help. It was the door switches after all.

[1badgmc]

At least it's a fairly cheap and simple fix.