Okay.. I'm not 100% sure this is the right area to post this in, but I have a problem. My overhead lights in my 99 trans am will not go out. This includes the map lights and the rear light in the back. I checked the dimmer switch so that isn't the problem and I checked the doors just to make sure it wasn't like it was recognizing the door as being open and thats why it wouldn't turn off... but I can't seem to find a problem. I pulled the fuse and now my auto door locks click, but won't actually lock.

So if any one has had this issue or could maybe tell me another way to figure out what it could be I would be greatful.

I just bought the car so I don't know a whole helluva lot about it, but I do know that the guy who sold it to me had an aftermarket stereo professionally installed. I have had the car for 2 weeks now. I haven't seen the interior lights stay on before last night either.

 

are they regular bulbs, or are they LEDs?

 

They are regular.

 

hhmmmm....no clue then... i'd heard of people who've changed them out with LEDs having them stay on dimly, and thought that might be the problem, but since not, i'm stumped....

 

I'm not entirely positive but I would lean towards the BCM being defective. You may want to shoot Whitebird a PM to see what he thinks.

 

Happened to me once. I got a new dome light and it fixed it...???

 

Weird thing happened..... I put my fuse back in to figure out what in the hell the problem was and my lights weren't on anymore.... So as of right now the problem is gone. I have a hunch that it will become a pain in the *** in the near future.

Thanks for the replies. I'm gonna cross my fingers.

 

any update on this? i have the exact same problem. it started out where the dome light would just flicker one and off randomly if i was sitting in the car with the key still in it just listening to the radio. now they won't turn off at all.

 

I want to bump this thread up, as just this past weekend, the same issue with my dome lights started with my 02 TA. I noticed the other day that the map lights and dome lights were staying on very dimly after I locked the car. I played with the dimmer switch, and noticed that if I moved it into a certain position, the lights would turn off. I removed the dimmer switch, and they immediately turned off.

I ordered a new, OEM dimmer switch, thinking it was the problem. The car was fine for a few days, but just as I parked the car a few minutes ago, the problem started again. I checked the dimmer switch, and even if I remove it entirely, the lights stay on very dimly. I tried removing the dome light and disconnecting the map lights, thinking perhaps of the bulbs may be at fault ,but no dice. The only way I can get them to turn off is to pull the fuse.

I noticed that after I pull the fuse and replace it, the lights are not on. Only once they've been activated do they stay on (such as by closing and opening the door, or unlocking the car).

I'm absolutely stumped. I'm going to review an electrical diagram of the car (if I can find one) and see where it could be pulling power from. Does anyone have any ideas?

 

The wiring of the courtesy light circuit outside the BCM is very basic. Each light gets both power and ground from the BCM. There are no switches or other devices in the circuit. The BCM provides power at all times except when the battery saver feature has been activated. That feature turns off the power after some period of time to prevent draining the battery if you happen to leave a door open. The lights are controlled by the variable ground provided by the BCM. This is how it creates the theater dimming effect and how it turns off the courtesy lights while still leaving power to the map lights.

None of the trigger switches are directly in the light circuit. Those switches include the doors, the hatch, and the dash dimmer switch. They all are used as input signals to the BCM so that it can control the lights.

Given all that, it is likely that the BCM is the source of the problem. If this was a wiring problem, it would have to be on the ground side of the circuit. The power side is constant and if there was a short, you would blow a fuse rather than making the lights stay on. But if you had a short to ground on the white (ground) wire then pulling the courtesy fuse would not fix the problem - the lights would go back on as soon as you replaced the fuse because the short would still complete the circuit. On the other hand, replacing the courtesy fuse would reset the BCM so that the lights would not go on again, making the symptoms match your situation and indicating that the BCM is the most likely problem.

This analysis assumes that the door and hatch switches are working. You didn't mention any problem with the lights not going on when they should so I assume that opening either door turns on the courtesy lights. If not, one of the switches could be the source of the problem. The BCM might not be seeing the proper input so it doesn't know when to turn off the lights.

 

I have the exact issue too.. I switched mine to LEDs... I will try pulling the fuse first and see if that helps it.. Good thing its LED becuase the regular lights would drain the battery faster...