Few problems with 97 Jimmy (doors and interior lights)

I have a few problems that i need to find answers for on my 97 Jimmy.

1. my dome light will not go off--I have pushed in both of the plugs for the light when the door is open and that did not help, changed the dimmer switch and that did not help....dont know what to do next so if you can help me with that.

2. driver and passenger doors will not lock from the door lock switch I have to manually lock both doors and the back glass with the key....dont know what to do here either.

Its driving me crazy:banghead:

1. Don't forget to check the hatch switch for the dome light problem. After you open the glass, the push button switch is in plain view.

2. The key switch on the tailgate should lock and unlock all of the doors too. If all of the switches are inoperative, you'll be looking for something that is common to the lock circuit, rather than individual switches. You will likely find the problem lies with either a faulty relay, (one for lock and one for unlock) a fuse, or an open circuit for the relay. When you operate the switch on the door, you should be able to hear each relay "click". They are located in the fuse panel above the drivers feet.

Hope this helps.

when I lock the doors from the inside I can hear all the locks locking but the driver and passenger door does not actually lock.

and with the interior light it still stays one with them all pushed in and even stays on with the truck off and doors closed.

The lock issue is probably a problem with linkage. The trim panels will need to be removed to see what the problem is, at least it's not electrical, that could be a blessing!

The dome light however, is most certainly electrical. If you have delayed exit lighting, there may be a problem in the timer.

I have noticed that the wires for the hatch light have been cut could that be a problem? and the dimmer switch does not work either (I have replaced it with a known good one)

A cut wire could very well be the problem. The dome light circuit is hot at all times. When the circuit is grounded, the dome lights come on. It's possible that the feed wire is grounding on something near the cut wire causing the dome lights to come on, or in your case, stay on. As far as the dimmer switch is concerned, I assume you are referring to the instrument panel dimmer control switch and not the headlight dimmer switch. The dome light circuit does in fact go through the instrument panel dimmer switch. You can turn on the dome lights without opening a door, or activate the overide switch to keep them off at all times. Hope this helps.

so since those wires are cut my light will stay on, right?
so I would have to replace the back switch to make my dome lights go off (had to pull dome light to make them go off)
an the dimmer switch for the instrument panel does not even dim my instrument panel.

The wires being cut will not make the dome lights come on. The feed wire, (positive) needs to come in contact with ground for the lights to come on. Usually there are two wires in each connector to each switch. The positive feed wire and a ground wire. When a door is opened, the feed and ground are connected in the switch and the lights will come on.

The dimmer switch not being able to control the instrument lights is probably not related to the dome lights, unless the circuits are shorted together somewhere. Are there any other electrical issues with the vehicle? Possibly an aftermarket audio system, or perhaps some other accessory. Wiring can become a nightmare for everyone involved if the installer is a "rookie".

there was an after market stereo in before i bought it so there might be something they did when they put that in.

found the problem on the door lock situation.......the assembly is broke in two and when you hit the door lock, the top part of the assembly just jumps up and does not lock the doors.
Know if it can be abtained from a junk yard for a cheap price??

If the dome lights have been acting up since you've owned it, it's quite possible that the radio is the problem area. Remove the radio from the dash and disconnect all of the wiring that connects to the radio, (probably just one plug). Make sure there are no other wires spliced into the vehicle side of the wiring harness after the radio is disconnected. If the dome light issue goes away, the problem is in the way the radio is wired in to the vehicle. If that's the case, contact the radio manufacturer or go to their web site and get the installation instruction manual.

A junk yard should have a door lock switch. Glad you have one of the problems under control. ;)

:shakehead temporary fixed problems with doors now I have to concentrate on that dome light, have not pulled radio yet to see about the wires but will do that sometime this week.