Interior lights won't shut off in 95 T-Bird

I'm having some trouble with the lights in my 95 T-Bird Gold Edition. The interior lights won't shut off on their own. They stay on after I start the car, and remain on after I've shut it off and locked it.

I've checked the door switches - they both make the 'door ajar' light turn on when open, and when both are shut the 'ajar' light goes out but the interior lights remain on. I've turned the instrument panel dimmer down until the panel lights shut off, but the interior lights remain on. I thought one of the button switches on my keyless entry pad might have gotten stuck closed, but I can still unlock the doors with my code. I even tried holding down one of the buttons I didn't need for my code while entering it - it won't unlock if one of the switches is stuck closed. (As an aside, if I push the 7-8 and 9-0 buttons together, it locks the doors - is this supposed to happen?)

If I turn the car off and leave it alone for about an hour, they eventually turn themselves out. However, once they go out, if I do anything that would make the light come on they'll stay on again. It's incredibly annoying to drive at night with a fully lit interior, so I've yanked the fuse for now.

I'd like some idea of what to look for before I start taking panels off and fiddling with the electrical system. Could this be a timer circuit somewhere sticking closed? Are there any other switches that would cause the lights to stay on if they stuck closed?

I'd appreciate any advice you could provide.

Thanks in advance!

- BB

About them going off after about an hour, thats normal. Even if the door was open for an hour, the lights would turn off then as well, so thats good, that means something is working, lol. This boggles my mind, but until you fix it, I may have a tid bit of helpful info for you. My lights have the rocker switches and if I balance the switch right in the middle of on and off (once you get good at it it only takes a second) it will make them stay off no matter what. Even if the doors are open, or if I turn on my interior lights with the dimmer switch.... they stay off. Maybe yours is the same. Oh, and can I ask you, what is the "Gold Edition"? Ive never heard of that.

I'll give that a try - power locks that don't work are more annoying than not having power locks at all. That's the biggest down side to yanking the interior fuse.

I'm not 100% sure what the gold edition is either (I bought the car at auction - I'm sure a dealer would have told me ALL about it) but it looks like it's got every option Ford put on the T-Bird. I've got the 4.6 V8, ground effects, power everything, leather, sunroof, premium sound, digital A/C, you name it. It says 'V8 Gold Edition' on the little plaque in front of the doors.

- BB

Check to see if there is a jamb switch. I had a problem with a switch and the light stayed on. I think that if the door switch isnt closed that the lock wont set either. (preventive lock out) Just a suggestion.

"gold edition"... sounds sweet. except for this little problem. Maybe thats why it was auctioned, lol. I dont think its the jam switch, because the door ajar light would stay on. If you cant ever solve the problem, just go to wal mart and buy some blue bulbs, and replace your interior lights, and then it'll be cool driving with the lights on lol.

maybe its a relay. I dont know what relays are, but maybe its that.