Map light wont turn off.

Hi Everybody,
Noob here to the Lincoln forum.

I'm writing on behalf of my parents who just bought a 1994 Lincoln Continental Signature Series and they can't get the map lights to turn off.
They looked through the manual but nothing they do seems to work. I haven't had a chance to look at it myself yet. Does anyone have any idea what to do or what might be causing this problem? I'm a BMW guy so I know absolutely nothing about Lincolns.

Thanks,

Which Map lamps, there's three types?

1) With Moonroof 2) Without Moonroof 3) Rear passengers

1) With a moonroof, the front map lamps are incorporated in the rearview mirror, one on each end of the bottom surface. The on/off switch is beside each lamp.

2) Without a moonroof the map lamps are incorporated into the dome lamp assembly with pushbutton on/off switches located close to the lamp bulb.

3) Rear passengers have their own map/reading lamp on each side of the vehicle located above each rear door, on the headliner handle/coathook/reading lamp assembly. These ones double as courtesy lamps that activate several ways:

Either front door handle lifted
Dimmer control turned all the way up (courtesy lamp position)
Any door is opened
With the key on, or driving, a rear passenger can lite the lamp using the rocker switch located beside the lamp.


http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/5566/map01oo2.jpg

http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/4796/map02rn6.jpg

http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/3324/map03bk8.jpg


EDIT: My BAD!!
The information above is for 1996.... the 1994 is similar in operation...

Thank you Towncar. The car in question doesn't have a moon roof. I looked at your diagrams however none of them match the car. The map lights are the ones above the rear view mirror. There are two separate push button switches independent of the mirror. Are you saying if the dimmer control is turned all the way up it will light the map lights continuously? If so, that somewhat makes sense. I think they checked all the doors to see if they were closed so I don't think that is the problem.

Yep, you hit that nail on the head. I don't even have a sketch of the 1994 system. There is however, a whole bunch of reading in the 1994 manual :)

I copied / pasted from the section marked "Interior Lighting" "Description and Operation".

Other sub-sections (not included here) Diagnosis & Testing, Removal & Installation, & Specifications.

Illuminated Entry

The illuminated entry system assists vehicle entry during the hours of darkness by illuminating the door lock cylinder so it may be easily located for key insertion. The vehicle interior is also illuminated by the courtesy lamps.

Activation of the system is accomplished by raising the outside door handle or by pressing a code button on the electronic door lock control system.

This action momentarily closes a switch mounted on the door latch mechanism, which completes the ground circuit of the illuminating entry actuator and switches the system on. The vehicle interior lamps turn on, and both front door lock cylinders are illuminated by a ring of light. This illumination will remain on for approximately 25 seconds, then automatically turn off. During this 25 second period, the system can be manually deactivated by turning the ignition switch to either RUN or ACCY position.

The system will be activated every time the outside front door handles are operated, whether the vehicle is locked or not. Opening the doors from the inside of the vehicle will not activate the system.

If the outside door handle is held up indefinitely so that the interior lamp switch is continuously closed, the system will operate as normal and turn off after 25 seconds. At the completion of this cycle, if the door handle is still in the raised position, the system will remain off, and it will be impossible to activate the system from the other front door handle until the raised handle is returned to its normal position. This function is built into the logic circuitry of the system to prevent battery discharge should the outside door handle be intentionally propped up or become jammed in any way.

The system consists of four main components: illuminating entry actuator, illuminated door lock cylinder, interior lamp switch and wiring harness.

Housed within the illuminating entry actuator is a printed circuit board, the logic circuitry and a relay to switch battery positive voltage (B+) to the various circuits. The normal operating voltage is 9 to 16 volts, but the unit will withstand voltage up to 24 volts for a period of 15 minutes. It cannot be damaged by reverse voltage and is unaffected by vehicle transients.

The rectangular door lock cylinder is unique to this system. A light-emitting diode (LED) provides the light source to a lens system built into the cylinder. Normal operating voltage of the LED is 3 volts. A resistor built into the harness protects the LED. It is important when checking the lock cylinder illumination that 12 volts is applied only to the connector terminals. If the resistor is bypassed and 12 volts is applied to the wires between the resistor and the lock cylinder by the use of needle-type probes, the LED will be instantly destroyed. Correct polarity must be observed by applying B+ to the orange wire; otherwise, the LED will not light. If leads are reversed, the assembly will not be damaged.

The lens system built into the cylinder is made of clear polycarbonate with a highly polished lustrous surface, and will retain its fine appearance if given proper care. A mild soap and water solution is all that is usually required to keep the lens in its original condition. Should the lens become contaminated with oil or grease, clean with approved solvents such as hexane, dry cleaning naphtha or methanol. Since these solvents are flammable as well as toxic, use with adequate ventilation and away from open flames. Solvents such as benzene, gasoline, acetone, carbon tetrachloride or denatured alcohol should never be used, as they will soften and deteriorate the lens surface, causing a permanent loss in light output.

The interior lamp switch is a grounding-type switch connected to the latch mechanism by one screw.


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http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/5240/image5mk1.jpg

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/9687/image6au9.jpg

http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/7940/image7bs7.jpg

http://img474.imageshack.us/img474/7633/image8dp7.jpg

Wow! Thank you so much for the information. I'll sift through this when I have a little bit more time. The features you mentioned are identical to my 7 Series. As I said earlier, I haven't seen the car for myself yet, I'm going to try and get out there this weekend. They're about 40 miles away from me. I'm sure with the info you've provided along with their manual, we'll be able to take care of this problem. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks again for the info Steven,
Scott