yes i have tried to turn off the (stupid) auto dim feature. anyways and the switch isnt on. the lights turned on when i started it and wont turn off, i had to disconnect the battery. any one with any ideas?? :banghead:

Welcome to the forum!

What lights are you referring to, the interior lights (since you mention 'dim') or the headlights (which might have the 'auto') feature? Is your Explorer equipped with Daytime Running Lights?

-Rod

the headlights and tailights stay on like i have turned them on with the switch. they do not turn off (at all) after i turn off the vehicle. eventually i ended up taking the battery cable off. i think it has something to do with the "autolamp sensor" but i'm not sure. and even if it does have somthing to do with that i am not sure where to go from there (well, except to the ford dealer lol which i am trying to avoid for now) thank you for your reply. i hope someone has an idea lol :crying:

Since your DRL's don't operate the tailights you can rule that out. Pull the fuse for the headlights. If they go out you can rule out a short in the fuse box. I suspect the wires to the Autolamp switch may be shorted out. I replaced a windshield in an Explorer and accidentally stripped the insulation off the wires with the windshield tool. Lights wouldn't go out. I had another customer with the same problem. I pulled the headlamp fuse from the main circuit box under the hood. Lights went out. After putting it back in the light switch would turn the lights on and off. Why? I don't know. Another time a customer had the same problem. After moving the high/low beam selector back and forth the lights would go out with the switch. Why?........Just kicking some ideas around for you. Of course, it could always be the switch. Disconnect the wires to it and see if the lights go out. Hope you get the problem fixed. These things can be exasperating.