98 Taurus - interior light does not shut off

When I turn on my car, the "car door open" light and interior light will not shut off even though all the doors are shut securely. Also, when I turn off the car, the interior light stays on. If someone could let me know what the possible cause of this is that would be great.

I want to know too.

My 98 Taurus SE has the same problem too.It hapens sometimes.

check your door ajar switches, if they are pin switches clean and lubricate them, if they are in the latch take it to the dealer and they'll tell you which door is ajar. It is a common problem in those vehicles

spray wd-40 or contact cleaner up into and around the latch on the door the switch is integral with this assembly spray all over especially UP UP AND UP

I heard WD-40 spray works, What I did two years ago is take out your interior light relay and that will keep the light off. I have since lost the relay. And here in Canada they wont 40 dollars to tell me which door and 20 dollars for the latch. I need a AXOD trany before I do that.

I had the same problem last year. I took the car to the dealership and after connecting the computer, they told me two of my door switches had gone bad. Fortunately, I had recently purchased the car from a ford dealership, so the repair work was covered under warranty. Only cost me $100 for the whole job.

I had problem with a Taurus wagon a few months ago.
I traced problem to the timer module, (this delays the dome light
shutoff when doors are closed).

On the wagon, the module was located in left rear fender, behind
spare tire. This little black box would get wet from a rusted wheel
well and not turn off lights. I just removed box and dome light would
work as normal, ie. no delayed shutoff or courtesy turn-on when
door handle is lifted.

I'm not sure of the location of timer in sedans, but I found this one
by getting relays to click (I think I did this by operating pin switches
or manually turning on dome light).

Hope this helps.

I have been having the same problem intermittently for a couple of years but just remove the bulb because I was lazy. Now I'm ready to fix this properly.
It seems to occur in the summer and not in winter which leads me to believe it's heat related.
I have heard a noticable 'click' under the dash from the fuse panel area when it does finally decide to go off but the 'autolamp park relay' is apparently under the hood
I'm hoping that replacing it will solve this problem.

LUBRICATION IS GOOD. :bananasmi When ever you get or do an oil change lubricate the the door latches, door locks, and hinges. If this is done on a regular basis you should be fine. 9 times out of 10 the only thing wrong with a door ajar switch is that is stuck from lack of lubrication. :sunglasse

While at the Ford place today picking up a blower motor resistor I was talking with the parts manager.
He said 90% of the time it is the switch in the door.
I told him about how so many here say WD-40 is the ticket. He said brake/parts cleaner is much better because it evaporates quickly where WD-40 will stay in there and promote gunk buildup.
I cleaned the thing really good and will keep my eye on it in the coming days and weeks.

Oh, he also said that if it was the relay(as I suspected), the 'door ajar' light on the dash wont be on. It's a seperate circuit. If it's the switch sticking the dash light will be on while the dome light is lighted and both will go off at the same time when, like mine, it does click off.

Just wanted to let anyone who cared know that I was having the trouble with the dome light staying on and getting the door ajar warning on the dash. It was raining out tonight and the damn thing would not go out and I was sure it would run down the battery. I found this site and followed the advice about spraying wd40 into the dook mechanisms and it worked like a charm. I dont know how long it will stay fixed, but for now - GREAT.

Thanks to all that reccomended it - I appreciate it!

[B]The WD 40 cure is it. I have never been so happy with a "fix". Two dealers told me I would need a whole new "blah blah blah". They knew all along they would squirt a little WD and charge me for God knows what. To allm of you who replaced all that other stuff I am sorry but this is the cure.