Interior Lights Won't Turn Off

Hello All,

I was hoping someone might give me some troubleshooting advice regarding the interior lights on my 95 ZJ. Normally the interior overhead lights turn on when ever I open a door, stay on for 30 seconds after I close it, then shut off as they are supposed to.

Today they stopped doing this. The overheads still turn on normally when I open the door but when I close the door, they stay on (but are very dim), the floor lights come on (which also appear dim), and the rear hatch light comes on (and is bright).

I fiddled with the door switches and the alarm but no change. I ended up disconnecting the battery. Any ideas or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Doug

95 ZJ 4.0L
Reply to
Doug Jones
Loading thread data ...

Did you push the rear hatch light to make it stay on? If so push it again.

Oddly though the other lamps should be off, not dim. Sounds like a ground has gone bad on you. It should be the same wiring diagram as the 93 ZJ.

First stop, check the rear cargo lamp to make sure it's in the auto position. Then check the lamp switch to make sure it's not keeping the inside lights on. Then check the fuses to see if one has burned out. Fuse 5 I believe

You could pull the illuminated entry relay. It's in the relay center located in the glove box. You have to take the glove box door off then open the lower panel. The relay should be the larger one on your right by the door. (that's if they didn't change that from 93)

SAM relay | Door Lock Relay | Blank | Power antenna relay | Horn Relay

blank | Door Unlock Relay | blank | Heated Window Relay | Illuminated Entry Relay

Reply to
DougW

My first guess would be the Illuminated Entry System relay. The lights should also go off when the ignition is turned on. I see one common point, the relay located behind the instrument panel and below the glove box. The lights are all turned on by applying a ground at the Illuminated Entry Relay, so a dirty relay COULD be the cause. Before ripping the dash apart, I'd check that hatch light and the wiring around it. All it would take is a short to ground to cause the lights to stay on.

Fuse #5 also seems to disable all of these.

And really really gonna have to get a scanner one of these days, and a place on the desk to put it. If you have the FSM, the vehicle theft alarm section has a fairly simple block level wiring diagram.

Reply to
Lon Stowell

Thanks once again for your tips. I thought I had checked the fuse panel but I was looking at the wrong fuse. Turns out fuse #5 had blown which caused the mysterious dim lights. I have heard a couple of rumors about bad wiring in jeeps and started to fear the worst!

Thanks again. Doug

95 ZJ 4.0L

Reply to
Doug Jones

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.