Interior lights stay on when door is open and car is off

[brots06]

I have a '99 grand am gt, how do i make it so the interior lights turn off when the car is off and the door is open? I have the switch that turns up the intesity of the lights behind the pannel to the off position so it doesnt make the interior lights come on, but it doesnt stop them from coming on when the car is off and a door is open, any ideas?

[lionelkirk2004]

I have a grand am that does the same thing but I just wait and it goes off, it just takes a minute

[Hoags]

That is a security feature, just as the interior lights come on when you lift the door handle when first getting in the car. They've done that to help carjackings by letting you see in the car before getting in but because the light is set up that way it will only go off on what is called "theater dimming" the gradule fade of the lights. The lights will go out in a short time. The interior lights are also supposed to go out if you accidently leave them on so that the battery does not die.