interior light on 95/96 Explorer

I know that this question has been posted before, but it was never answered. The interior light on my mother's Ford Explorer takes a very long time to go out. She is about to move to Florida and is nervous about the battery. This problem did not begin until the car was wrecked. It was clipped from behind by a semi. The car was fixed, but the mechanic has no idea why the interior lights wait 45 mins or more to go off once the door is closed.

Could anyone please help us to figure out just what this problem is and how we can fix it? And I don't want to simply unhook a fuse and prevent the lights from working. She needs those lights, but she needs them to work properly. Assistance would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks.

i had that problem once before with a different model vehicle.it took 2hrs to go off.so i had the sensors replaced.i dont recall the name of the sensor .which ever one senses that the door is closed.sorry bout my memory
:sorry:



flatire

It sounds like your battery saver relay is turning your lights off when your interior lamp relay should be. Is it consistantly 45 minutes to turn off? Are they always on while the vehicle is running? If so, I'd start by checking the Interior lamp relay. On the 98s it's located behind the console just below the heater-a/c controls.