Interior lights won't turn off

[kalmwill]

Hi everyone. I am a recent owner of a late model 86 Vette. The interior lights on my Vette stay on all the time, with doors closed and even when the engine is running. It is a problem that just developed recently. I used the trouble guide in my manual and I think that the problem might be with the 'interior light delay timer' though I am not entirely sure. The difficulty there is that this part is no longer available from GM. I had the dealer do a North America wide dealer search to see if there might be one gathering dust somewhere in their stock. No dealers had one anywhere. Are there any suggestions as to where I might look to find a timer? Also are there any other suggestions that anyone might have on solving my problem with the interior lights I may be going about this all wrong. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks.

 

[L82Dan]

I don't own a C4, but I am familiar with the interior light timer, as the one in my 79 failed many years ago. I ended up disconnecting it. In any case, that device that you are speaking of, may be the same as the one used in my car. If so, Eckler's has that part available on their website. Try and go to this link, http://www.ecklers.com/product.asp?pf_id=23101&dept_id=1149&mscssid=MKRHMBC2CXKX8LPMLXS0V0GERDW2BPB8
If it doesn't work, just go to www.ecklers.com and then type in timer and hit "go". Then select the 78-82 interior timer item to see a picture of it.

Like I said, this may not help, but I did find any similiar part for a 1986. Good luck with the search.

 

[lyle nelson]

My 90 has the same problem intermittenly. It can be several things. The most common suggestion is the door switch. Over time, it gets worn and won't compress enough to turn the lights off when the door closes. If you will search under this websight, you will find plenty of info on this. Generally, you have to be extremely careful, because there is not much play in that switch. as I recall, you loosen the switch, insert a very thin washer so the switch will stick out a little more, and that usually helps. The problems can be if your not careful, the nut will drop inside the door.

Also, sometimes it's the lock itself. That get's a short in it. I had that problem. The lock is wired in the sense that when you unlock the door, note the lights turn on. If that sensor/wiring gets bad, it can mess with you as well.

 

[rrubel]

Does your hatch release switch in each door work? When the interior light module fails, that also usually stops working. There are a couple people here who rebuild them for about $25 (jeff@rsmail.com is one, though I think he doesn't frequent this board; Eagle254 or something similar is another on here); they're NOT the same as the earlier C3 parts (checked while I was at Carlisle).
[RICHR]

 

[c4ever]

rrubel is correct, the timer on the 86 is a different beast from the C3 and prone to breakdown. I found one in a boneyard, check around. If not Eagle85C4 (Ray) can rebuild it for you. The location is tucked up in the dash on the passenger side usually taped to the harness. It's a small black box with a connector. Easy to get to.
Good luck with it.
Carlo

 

[kalmwill]

Thanks for all of your replies. They are much appreciated and it gives me a starting point from which to begin diagnosing the problem.