95 LeSabre - Interior Lights Stay On

Hi I have a 95 LeSabre Custom and am having troubles with the interior lighting.

When I open the door, they come on. I get in and they don't go out. So I'm driving with them on and after a few minutes they will eventually turn off.

All the doors are closed. The dimmer switch is working like its suppose to. The dimmer switch isn't set to the light on posistion.

The car doesn't have those typical "fridge" like buttons at each door. I also tested in the driveway with the car off. I shut the car down, got out, and closed the door. They stayed on. After a couple minutes I opened the door to check for one of those buttons. After looking for a few minutes I gave up and closed the door. The light went out.

So its intermittent. Its weird. And I don't have a clue. Do you??

Thanks,

Andy

Does this car have Keyless entry?

Its evident it has Illuminated entry... This system works off of a ground path and pays attention to the door latch switch... If any of these paths become grounded the RAC will turn on the Illumination Relay.. Does this car also have the feature where the accessories will remain on for 10 minutes or until a door is opened?

Mine did the same thing (kind of, mine went off and on like Morse Code). Someone tested it and told me it was keyless entry. We pulled it all out and wasn't it (now I don't have keyless entry).

We tested the dimmer switch, since when I took it out, the lights stopped blinking. It tested good. After a while it stopped doing it.

I replaced the BCM, on another persons "testing" but that also wasn't it.

Never did find the problem. I did notice one thing. I used to adjust the dash brightness all the time, depending on how dark it was outside. When I stopped doing that, soon afterwords (days) it would stop blinking. As long as I didn't adjust or touch that slider, the problem stayed away. When I told that to the electrician, he said I could buy another dimmer if I wanted to, but he guaranteed that was not the problem.

Chris.

Thank you for the responses...

Does this car have Keyless entry?

Its evident it has Illuminated entry... This system works off of a ground path and pays attention to the door latch switch... If any of these paths become grounded the RAC will turn on the Illumination Relay.. Does this car also have the feature where the accessories will remain on for 10 minutes or until a door is opened?
Yes the car came with keyless entry. When I got the car, last November, I started using the keyless entry. But it became a pain because it wouldn't work right away. I'd have to keep hitting the buttons until it would finally unlock/lock. So i just stopped using it.

It doesn't have the feature where it keeps the accessories on after you shut the car off. When you shut it off... everything goes off.

Mine did the same thing (kind of, mine went off and on like Morse Code). Someone tested it and told me it was keyless entry. We pulled it all out and wasn't it (now I don't have keyless entry).

We tested the dimmer switch, since when I took it out, the lights stopped blinking. It tested good. After a while it stopped doing it.

I replaced the BCM, on another persons "testing" but that also wasn't it.

Never did find the problem. I did notice one thing. I used to adjust the dash brightness all the time, depending on how dark it was outside. When I stopped doing that, soon afterwords (days) it would stop blinking. As long as I didn't adjust or touch that slider, the problem stayed away. When I told that to the electrician, he said I could buy another dimmer if I wanted to, but he guaranteed that was not the problem.

Chris.
Since I don't use the keyless entry anymore... should I just remove it from the car for the hell of it to see if it fixes the problem?

I bought the car for $500 and could care less about it... its so annoying driving around at night with the dam lights on until they eventually go off.

What do you guys think?

Thanks,

Andy

Look at the Modules Below... These are open in this pic... You will look for that Black Box on the passenger side once you have removed the hush panel...

You will want to unplug the white connector...

Forgot to post the Pic...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/Jr3800/90-95%20keyless%20entry%20info/KeylessReciever303-302001.jpg

Unplug the white connector

Look at the Modules Below... These are open in this pic... You will look for that Black Box on the passenger side once you have removed the hush panel...

You will want to unplug the white connector...

Thanks for your input, I'm going to attempt to remove the keyless entry today. Hopefully that fixes the problem.

I thought this car had the option where if any lights were left on after so long they would turn off to preserve the battery. Turns out it doesn't, because I was driving the car, stopped, and a few hours I went back to the car the interior lights were still on!

Andy

Thanks for your input, I'm going to attempt to remove the keyless entry today. Hopefully that fixes the problem.

I thought this car had the option where if any lights were left on after so long they would turn off to preserve the battery. Turns out it doesn't, because I was driving the car, stopped, and a few hours I went back to the car the interior lights were still on!

Andy


If it has keyless entry, then it should have the 10 minute rundown feature... If you unplug it and it works.. You may be able to hit up a Junk Yard and get another Module pretty cheap

If it has keyless entry, then it should have the 10 minute rundown feature... If you unplug it and it works.. You may be able to hit up a Junk Yard and get another Module pretty cheap

Ya I don't get it... cause I thought the rundown feature was working and shutting the light off for me. So I wasn't worried bout the battery then, just the annoying light. But like I said, the car was sitting for atleast 4 hours and when I walked back up to it.... the lights were on.

Andy

Sorry to be a bother, but if you have a moment and wouldn't mind explaining to me how I go about disconnecting the keyless entry feature in more detail, I would appreciate it.

My friend who knows more bout fixing cars, turned out he wasn't available today. So I have to tackle it solo.

Can you tell me where exactly it is? How do I remove it? And which plug do I remove?

The lights stay on all the time now, and never go out.

Thanks!

Andy

Anyone have any input?

Anyone have any input?

Sorry we can't be here all of the time...lol... Life can be demanding..

You will have to remove the Passenger side Hush Panel.... Once you have done that you will need to look up into the dash.... There will be a bracket that holds a few items, One of those items will be the RAC Module... Look for that white connector... It should be pointing towards the bottom.. Once you unplug the white connector the interior lights should go out..

Sorry we can't be here all of the time...lol... Life can be demanding..

You will have to remove the Passenger side Hush Panel.... Once you have done that you will need to look up into the dash.... There will be a bracket that holds a few items, One of those items will be the RAC Module... Look for that white connector... It should be pointing towards the bottom.. Once you unplug the white connector the interior lights should go out..
Thanks... I didn't mean to offend, I just wanted to bring the topic up to the top as well.

What exactly is the hush panel? I see screws running across, maybe 5 of them along the dash. How do I distinguish which item is the RAC module? Is it labeled in anyway? By removing it, are there plugs to get it out of there and/or bolts/screws? Which white connecter do I un-plug? In your picture, is the the box on the right or left? Do I unplug whatever plugs to the big white connector on the left side of the box, that also looks like the blue connector on the opposite side? Or is it that electrical white band that connects the two boards together?

I greatly applogize for the questions... I'm at a complete loss when it comes to this stuff and your assistance is really appreciated!!

Thanks,

Andy

Jrs3800 - I was wondering if you had anymore thoughts with this topic. If not, no biggie... Thanks!

Andy

I honestly wish I had the Pics for you but I don't... I have been through a couple of the Keyless Modules myself as their distance became very short and at times non functional...

What you will remove will be the Black Plastic hush Panel on the passenger side.... Might have a few screws holding it in place as well as a couple of wing nuts( of sorts ) on the rear part of the hush panel( firewall side )...

When you look up into the underside of the dash, you'll see a Silver looking Box... This you will leave alone( it will be parked on the upper right side of the firewall...

If you look towards the front of the dash you will see a couple of modules.... There will be a White connector on the bottom of the Module, should be at a bit of an angle... iirc it will have 8-10 wires( GM used different colors over the years for the wires ) Once you unplug that connector the lights should go out...

I may be able to get a pic later( possibly tomorrow ).... Its really nasty outside right now.... Gotta love Florida Thunderstorms

Don't want to hijack this thread, but maybe we and others can learn from it. My lights are now going crazy (flickering like mores code). This time it's on more. They stayed on for up to 5 minutes a few times before flickering again.

What should I look at if mine didn't come with keyless entry from the factory?

(Yes, I did give my VIN# to the Dealer and they looked it up and verified it didn't come with factory keyless).

Thanks for any help, this is driving me crazy!!

Chris.

Don't want to hijack this thread, but maybe we and others can learn from it. My lights are now going crazy (flickering like mores code). This time it's on more. They stayed on for up to 5 minutes a few times before flickering again.

What should I look at if mine didn't come with keyless entry from the factory?

(Yes, I did give my VIN# to the Dealer and they looked it up and verified it didn't come with factory keyless).

Thanks for any help, this is driving me crazy!!

Chris.

You don't have to have keyless entry.... If you car had illuminated entry... Say your doors are locked and you went to open the door would the lights come on? If so you have Illuminated entry and a Module that controls that... If you have this feature you will also have Retained accessory power... And to test this I would also say Unplug the 8-10 wire connector from the black box...

Can't remember if they come on just unlocking the doors. My lights do come on when I shut off the car I think.
My BCM Controls that.
I went on a trip this weekend. I remember it starts doing it when I've gone on trips other times (not always on trips tho). I was thinking it might be the back doors since I put suite cases and stuff in the back seat.
This, like others things might have nothing to do with it tho.

I hate to take it to the dealer, this one told me they need an hour to program the new BCM I bought. I found out it's plug and play, no need to "program' it.

Chris.

Thank you for the response Jrs3800. From what I gather now, I don't need to remove the module... I just need to unplug the white connector. Here's what I'll do... I'll attempt to start taking it apart, and see what I find. I'll take some pics in the process.

I'll be in touch... thanks!

Andy

Thank you, I'll be looking forward to the pics.

I didn't want to go to the dealer, so I went to the best, non-dealer place in my town. I asked if they're was anyplace in town with, not a code reader, but one like the dealer has that can tell everything. The guy told me it just probable needs the BCM Programed.

Oh well, I'll keep trying,
Chris.

I'm hoping I get a chance this weekend to look at it... stay tuned.

Andy

Any update on this issue? My 95 seems to be doing the same damn thing.

Had similar issue with 95 cutlass. Bad door jamb switch.

These don't have door jamb switches....the switches are built into the latch assembly....question is, which door is doing it?

This is an easy fix. I have my books in storage, but there is a thing you can do to put it in diagnostics mode. It's like you push the light switch 5 times, then do something else, then it goes into diagnostics mode.
If the light is on, there will be a bell dinging, when you open up a door, that door makes a ding (will be 2 dings going on). You keep opening up doors until just the one dig, this tells you what door it is, if it's a door.

Mine ended up being the light switch. I had a ding (diagnostics mode) and each door open made another ding. When I pushed the interior lights over to off, I still had a ding (without having two) so this told me it was my light switch.

I'll go to my storage and find my shop manuals and post how to get into diagnostics mode. If anyone knows how, you can post it.

Sad, the dealer told me with this kind of thing, they could be tracking down electrical problems until it's worth more then the car. When I found out about the D-mode, it was a very easy 5 minute trouble shoot.

Chris.

Must admit, I never heard of that diagnostic mode.......If there was data on the scan tool(not sure which year started this), it was easy to observe the "door ajar" input.....usually the LF was one input, and the other three were all parallel......

Otherwise you would have to use an ohm meter at the harness going into the light module to find which door had a problem....

More often than not, it was the LF since it is used most often.....but that wasn't written in stone....