The battery was drained and the car would not start. Thought my son, who had driven it last, was negligent in leaving something on. Turns out the interior overhead light which comes on when the door is open, will not shut off automatically. Thus, when you open the door to exit the car, the light is comes on but stays lit when the door is closed and drains the battery. You have to open the door, press the center black button to shut off the light manually, and exit the car. Any thoughts on what part to replace? Was thinking the logical place to start would be to test if the passenger door is any different. Might be something with the trigger on the driver's door?
You are correct in your thought process that you need to see if the passenger door does the same thing or the light turns off normally. Another this to watch is if the rear interior lights act the same way or not. This could either be the door switch or the Roof switch sensor if the only one staying on is overhead map light.
Checked the passenger door and same result so not the door switch. Specifically it is not the map light(s).They only operate manually are are similar to a "spot" light. The malfunctioning light is the brighter light between the map lights and acts like a "flood" light. Interestingly, this is the light that automatically dims to off when doors are shut. That dimming feature is still operating though only with the engine running. If the car is running and you simply open the door, the light comes on. If you close the door, the light slowly dims and shuts off. Too bad the car is still running. Any thoughts?
This issue only occurs when the vehicle isn't running correct? Does the rear interior lights stay on as well?
Yes - only occurs when the car is shut off. If the engine is running when opening and closing the doors, the gradual dimmer to off works fine. It is a convertible so the only interior light that comes on when opening the door is the one in question. At the moment I have a Post It note that says "lights" stuck to the Nav screen that reminds me, when I shut off the car and open the door, to manually turn off the interior light.
