Interior lights are staying on... Help!

[blackandredvette]

My courtesy lights are staying on as well as my gauge lights on my 2002 vette. Eventually my courtesy lights will go off after about 10 minutes but the gauge lights stay on. This has caused the battery to run down a few times. The problem is not constant. Sometimes they go off like they should but not always. Any ideas?
Thanks,
Brad

 

[Toms007]

Are you sure that the doors and hatch are closed completely? I know, it's a simple thing, and a no brainer, but mine was doing that occasionally and I found that the hatch wasn't completely closed. Looked like it was latched, but wasn't quite.

 

[LLC5]

My courtesy lights are staying on as well as my gauge lights on my 2002 vette. Eventually my courtesy lights will go off after about 10 minutes but the gauge lights stay on. This has caused the battery to run down a few times. The problem is not constant. Sometimes they go off like they should but not always. Any ideas?
Thanks,
Brad

When you say gauge lights, are you talking about all the back lights for the speedo and tach including the heater controls and radio? If so then your outside parking lights should be on also, maybe your headlight switch is in the middle position. Good luck with it.

 

[blackandredvette]

When you say gauge lights, are you talking about all the back lights for the speedo and tach including the heater controls and radio? If so then your outside parking lights should be on also, maybe your headlight switch is in the middle position. Good luck with it.

Yes, those are the lights that are on. I checked on it this morning and the radio, ac/heater control lights and the transmission selector lights were still on. The parking lights were off.
I had a trickle charge on the battery overnight so it stay charged though. I opened the passenger side door halfway and the dome lights didn't come on. I fully opened the door and they came on. When I shut the door the dome lights timed out like they should and the rest of the lights finally went off.

 

[LLC5]

Yes, those are the lights that are on. I checked on it this morning and the radio, ac/heater control lights and the transmission selector lights were still on. The parking lights were off.
I had a trickle charge on the battery overnight so it stay charged though. I opened the passenger side door halfway and the dome lights didn't come on. I fully opened the door and they came on. When I shut the door the dome lights timed out like they should and the rest of the lights finally went off.

Do you have an aftermarket alarm system?

 

[Junkman2008]

Another obvious and missed item to check is the courtesy light knob. You may have inadvertently turned it on, which would cause the exact situation that you are experiencing. Have you checked that knob to make sure that it is not turned on?

 

[LLC5]

Another obvious and missed item to check is the courtesy light knob. You may have inadvertently turned it on, which would cause the exact situation that you are experiencing. Have you checked that knob to make sure that it is not turned on?

The courtesy light knob is independent of the dash lights for the gauge cluster and HVAC lights. If the knob is in the on position, the interior lights should not time out as the OP has stated that they do.

 

[Junkman2008]

The courtesy light knob is independent of the dash lights for the gauge cluster and HVAC lights. If the knob is in the on position, the interior lights should not time out as the OP has stated that they do.

He said that the lights are staying on all night and draining the battery. They are not timing out from what I'm reading. Am I reading this wrong?

 

[blackandredvette]

Do you have an aftermarket alarm system?

No.

Another obvious and missed item to check is the courtesy light knob. You may have inadvertently turned it on, which would cause the exact situation that you are experiencing. Have you checked that knob to make sure that it is not turned on?

I checked the knob and its ok.

He said that the lights are staying on all night and draining the battery. They are not timing out from what I'm reading. Am I reading this wrong?

The lights are staying on and are not timing out unless I fully open the passenger door and then closing.

Here are some more oddities: the passenger side window and locks intermittenly do not work and the reduced engine power alert comes on every so often. Is all this related to the same problem?
thanks, Brad

 

[Junkman2008]

... Here are some more oddities: the passenger side window and locks intermittenly do not work and the reduced engine power alert comes on every so often. Is all this related to the same problem?
thanks, Brad

Now that is goofy. The lights timing out when you open and close the passenger door tells me something. Pull and post your codes. The engine problem has nothing to do with the door locks and window. Your codes will shed more light on your issues.

 

[LLC5]

He said that the lights are staying on all night and draining the battery. They are not timing out from what I'm reading. Am I reading this wrong?

In post #4 I thought the OP stated that the gauge lites were staying on over night and that the interior lights were off, but the interior lights did come on when he opened the passenger door 1/2 way open. Maybe I read it wrong?

 

[Junkman2008]

He cleared it up. Something appears to be up with his passenger door sensor but I'm waiting to see what codes he has.