1996 Sable Lights On, Cars Off..Help!!

[sams jam]

My husband drove home from work on a sunny day, therefore no lights were on. Four hours later, he looked out at the car. The running lights were on!! Fuses are good under the dash. No other lights were on. He had to disconnect the battery to turn them off. We can't figure out how this could possibly happen? Any help at all would really be appreciated!! Please help us!!

Update..
We did a little searching in our manual and decided to check out the Power Distribution Box under the hood. We reconnected the battery and pulled out a few 15 amp fuses, one at a time of course. When the lights went out. The fuse was good. We replaced it with a new 15 amp fuse, then the running lights came back on. So, we still have a mystery why they are on when the car's not running, and why they came on by themselves? At least now, we can leave the battery connected..we just no longer have that 15 amp fuse hooked up. I just love a mystery!

[reekor]

It's no mystery, your daytime running light module crapped out on you. It's a black box with cooling fins on it that says made in the UK, should be mounted on your driver's side headlight area. I you live in the U.S. and can live without
daytime running lights you can replace the module with a DRL jumper. The DRL modules and jumpers are the same on all fords from 1990-1997.

Originally Posted by sams jam

My husband drove home from work on a sunny day, therefore no lights were on. Four hours later, he looked out at the car. The running lights were on!! Fuses are good under the dash. No other lights were on. He had to disconnect the battery to turn them off. We can't figure out how this could possibly happen? Any help at all would really be appreciated!! Please help us!!

Update..
We did a little searching in our manual and decided to check out the Power Distribution Box under the hood. We reconnected the battery and pulled out a few 15 amp fuses, one at a time of course. When the lights went out. The fuse was good. We replaced it with a new 15 amp fuse, then the running lights came back on. So, we still have a mystery why they are on when the car's not running, and why they came on by themselves? At least now, we can leave the battery connected..we just no longer have that 15 amp fuse hooked up. I just love a mystery!

[sams jam]

Thanks for replying so quickly! So I'm guessing it's okay to just not reinsert that 15 amp fuse that's for the running lights since they're really not necessary?

[reekor]

Originally Posted by sams jam

Thanks for replying so quickly! So I'm guessing it's okay to just not reinsert that 15 amp fuse that's for the running lights since they're really not necessary?

Looking at my manual, it shows that the DRL circuit is also shared by the transmission ranger sensor and speed control module. In light of that, the answer to pulling that fuse is not a good idea. You can try unplugging the wiring harness from the DRL module, This will turn off the lights when the car is off, but... The only thing that may stop working if it has not already is your highbeam light by your speedo. If this is the case simpley install a DRL jumper in the harness that you unplugged from the DRL module. Call your local wrecking yard and ask them for a DRL jumper from a 1992-1997 crown victoria or grand marquis (both are Canadian made). The DRL harness jumper is located in front of the rad support on these models.

[sams jam]

Thanks again..Just curious though, what might we expect to happen..what should we watch out for with that 15 amp fuse pulled? The car ran fine today without that fuse.