Dome Light Always On

I have a 2000 GMC Jimmy and I have a problem where the dome light always stays on. I also noticed that the driver side door won't lock automatically like it should when I start it up, but the other locks seem to be just fine.

I did have this checked out by a mechanic when I needed to take it in for some other problems. He said he couldn't figure out what the problem was and was disappoitned that he couldn't fix it, however, after I got it back from them it worked correctly for a few days. He did say something about cleaning a sensor for the rear gate or something like that.

It seems to me that it thinks that one of the doors is open when they aren't. Is there an easy way to check this? As far as I can tell, it's not the driver door that is the problem. The open door chime goes away when I close the door. I don't get anything else that says a door is open by opening any of the others except when I open the rear hatch.

I tried searching the forum here and found someone else who seemed to have a similar problem, but that was from 2-3 years ago and there didn't seem to be a resolution posted about his problem.

Welcome to AF.
A lot of switches on the door and tail gate latches.
Also controlled by the body computer.
Check dash light dimmer switch and all fuses.
Some a blown fuse will set dome light.
Try lubricating the door latches one at a time.
Start with drivers door.
After lubricating if the dome light turns off your problem is there.
If the drivers door lock is not working right check the dome light switch and door latch switches in that door.
A good body capable scanner would help pinpoint the problem.
You may have a code stored in the body computer.

If all else fails get a all data online sub.
And look up and at the dome light wiring and switches.
A lot of info in the all data on interior light circuit.

http://www.alldata.com/products/diy/index.html

Some years used a courtesy lighting lamp delay module (Theatre lighting) to delay the interior lamps. I had a '97 which had such a module. When the module failed, the lamps would remain on constantly. If that is the case, you can simply unplug the module and the interior lamps will operate directly from the door/gate switches with no delay.

http://72.19.213.157/files/CourtesyDelayModule.jpg

The module would be located above the lower edge of the instrument panel, near the left kick panel. I'm not certain if a 2000 MY used that device, however.

Of course, after I posted this, it started working again. Heh.

I was gonna do some testing to make sure of how things work when it's working the way it should, but the very first thing I did and the problem came back. (I started it with the driver door open, but pressing the switch in.)

I'm guessing it's not a fuse if it comes and goes? I'm not sure if it would be that delay module either if it comes and goes? I'll see if I can find it at least.

I should mention that when it started working again briefly, I must have accidently hit something on my alarm remote because it started going off and I had to get in and start the truck to turn it off and that's when it started working again. Could be just a coincedence.

As far as lubricating the door latches... is there a something specific I should be using for that or just wd40?

I take it for the rear hatch and glass that there is no switch, just the latches that tell it that they are closed? When the mechanic had it, he said that the computer only had something for the rear hatch and it was just a dirty sensor. It is possible that somehow that got dirty again. Couldn't find it before but that would be explained if it's just the latch.

I'll poke around some more and see if I can come up with anything. Only bit of good news is that I figured out that it has a remote start installed which i had no idea about. (I bought the truck 2 years ago and only knew about the aftermarket alarm.)

Add on remote start or anti theft stuff may be bad news.
Cheap one and sloppy installations are a problem area.

WD-40 is more water than a lubricate.
Use a good grade of penterating oil or a spray on lube.
As Blue Bowtie says the delay timer is a problem.
Try unpluging it.
Not to long a go there was a post on how to snip a wire on it to.
Run a search on dome light stays on to long.
If the mechanic found a problem in the rear hatch latch it may be coming back.

Ok, this just got a little weirder.

I did try lubricating the latches, but that didn't seem to do anything at all.

I have no idea where the delay timer is.

I did talk to a guy about the remote start because it doesn't work and also because I only have one remote to it so I wanted info about that and I asked him about the dome light problem to see if he had any ideas or had heard about anything like that before and he was pretty much at a loss. He said he could fix the remote start and order me a second remote or he could install a new remote start. No idea who installed this one or whether they did a good job or not so getting a new one is tempting, but not sure I can justify the cost. However, I think if I did get a new one, he might be willing to check it out more thoroughly to see if he can find a short somewhere. So that might be a possibility.

Now for the weird part. Another problem it had was that one of the tabs on the rear window defroster had broken off. I had noticed this about the same time as the dome light problem. When I had gotten it back from the mechanic, they had taped it back into place. The dome light worked ok then. The tape loosened so it wasn't making a consistent connection. Then the dome light stopped working. Then it started working briefly again and then it stopped working again.

Yesterday I used the conductive adhesive to glue the tab back on and today I went out to check on it. Tab seems to be holding so that's good news. I get in my truck and start it up and the dome light problem is still there. Try to open the driver side window and it won't go down. (Power windows.) All of the other windows work. I stopped and restarted the truck and all of a sudden, the dome light and door lock are working the way they should.

I don't see how these things can be connected, but it makes me wonder with the way they are happening. Oh, there is sometimes a clicking noise coming from the switch for the driver side window when I press on it as well.

To me it sounds like a short somewhere, most likely in the driver side door. I did notice that when I pulled off the panel for the window and door lock switches that the wires were taped up.

What do you all think? I'm hoping that tomorrow I can go out there and take the door apart and see if I can figure out what the deal is with the taped wires. Besides those specific wires, any others that would be in there that I should be taking a look at?

I'm open to any advice, just know that I am not a mechanic and I don't know a whole lot so you might have to walk me through it a bit, but I do pick things up quickly.

Ok, after doing some more reading up on the forum here and taking the door apart and the lower part of the dash apart, here is what I am thinking.

The remote start works, just needed to have the parking break set. Still not sure on how good of a job the person who installed it did.

I still can't find the delay timer. It should have one, shouldn't it? I'm thinking it's either that module or else the outside door handle. Someone else in another thread had something about a piece of plastic breaking and causing the same problem. However, I can't see anything wrong with it. Kind of hard to get in there since it's behind the metal of the door and there are only a few spots to peak in and see what's going on.

As for the power window, that's either the motor or the switch. I'm thinking the motor since I heard a clicking coming from the switch. From something else I read on the forum, it could just be that it overheated or something and just needed to reset itself. I didn't try it earlier when the door was together, but I will try and see if it's working now. If it does work now, then that might mean that it's ok, or that the motor is on it's way out.

So pretty much I think I am back to my original problem. If I could find that delay timer I could test that and see what happens, but that's where I am stuck at this point. I'll go back out and keep poking around a bit, but if anyone has any other suggestions on that part, it would be appreciated. :)

I have a 98 Blazer with the same problem. I taped the rear defrost connector to the window (thanks for that suggestion) and it seems a little better. The other thing I found was that the lights directly correspond to the driver's door lock. If it is locked, lights out. If unlocked, lights on. Try it out and see what you find. Hope it helps!

It made no difference whether I locked the door manually or not, the light would always stay on.

I lucked out with the window problem. the motor was just stuck. Hitting it did the trick. Did have to drill out one of the rivets and use a bolt since the rivet wasn't fully popped and so wasn't doing anything and thanks to this forum, I knew that could be a problem that could eventually wear out the motor.

Now back to the dome light problem. I was putting everything back together and I saved the door panel for last. I figured I would just have to break down and fork out a bunch of cash to have the dealer fix it. But before I put the door panel back on, I took another look. I think i overlooked one part of the whole door lock assembly. That would be the part that the key goes into. I lubricated that and used the key to lock and unlock the door a few times. That seems to have done the trick.

Keep your fingers crossed! I even did the things that I would do that would make it stop working after it had been working and still no sign of the problem. I figure I'll give it a week or two and see how it goes before I get too excited though.

Thanks for the help. This forum has been a great source of information. :)