My dome light will not shut off! (fix inside)

Captain Ledd · Aug 8, 2007

Seems a common Ranger issue is with the dome light never ever shutting off, it's actually a very easy fix.

Most will tell you to throw some penetrating oil the door switch, most cars have a peg or something similar which presses in and disconnects the switch (to turn the light off), Rangers do not.

The switch on Rangers is in the door latch itself (or right by it, I've never taken one apart). But, all you do is give the whole latch assembly a good coat of PB Blaster or WD40, give it a couple solid shuts, and your dome light shold turn itself on and off as it should.

I had this issue for years, and could not figure it out. I never posted about it fearing ridicule that I couldn't find the post switch, and in fact there never was one. Someone else eventually posted up with the issue and this was the suggested fix, I also tried it and it has worked fine since, going on almost a year now.

Boomer · Aug 8, 2007

I had the same problem after a heavy rain once and the door seal was shot. I figured water had gotten into the switch and kept it grounded making the light stay on. After a dead battery and a destroyed dome light replacement, I too found the switch and shot it with WD-40...replaced the door seal and no more problem.

98greenrangerguy · Aug 8, 2007

That's always been one of the few gripes I have with these trucks. Grease and other filth from the latch tends to make its way onto the switch below and gum it up. I usually end up taking the switches out and cleaning them with q-tips and alcohol.

WIEGS · Aug 13, 2007

Mine is a 2000 with the four doors and they are the worst.. both of my back doors have seized to the point of wd40 isnt gonna help. So I just removed em completely. doors shut better with just the top latch.. I might replace em some day..

thegoat4 · Aug 18, 2007

When it happened to me I just went ahead and dug out the faulty switch and replaced it. It's a bit of a chore to take the door apart the first time, but the second round goes by in five minutes.

I had to go a second round because after driving a bit I couldn't open the door from inside anymore. Oops.

Anyhoo, when I put in the new switch, I slathered it and the latch with marine grease, so it'll hopefully keep the water, muck, and other shit out. Door opens and closes a lot easier as a bonus.

WD40 is fairly bad about displacing lube as well as water. If you use it to free up that switch, you might want to go back and spray it all down with PB blaster to get at least some lubrication back in it. Never heard of a ranger door rusting shut, but I wouldn't want to risk it anyway.

S.Bow · Sep 9, 2007

well i having same proplem spent hour last night trying to get the dam light off finaly just pulled the bulb out off the socket GRR..
so where do i shoot the WD40 up under the handle to open the door or in the hinges of the door ?

2002 edge 4X4 ext cab 4 door

Loanranger · Sep 10, 2007

WIEGS said:
Mine is a 2000 with the four doors and they are the worst.. both of my back doors have seized to the point of wd40 isnt gonna help. So I just removed em completely. doors shut better with just the top latch.. I might replace em some day..

Are you saying you removed the bottom latches? Better hope you don't get t-boned.

Loanranger · Sep 10, 2007

S.Bow said:
well i having same proplem spent hour last night trying to get the dam light off finaly just pulled the bulb out off the socket GRR..
so where do i shoot the WD40 up under the handle to open the door or in the hinges of the door ?

2002 edge 4X4 ext cab 4 door

In the latch itself.

htgreen3 · Sep 20, 2007

Great Thread -- Just got my 1999 Ranger back from my daughter, she's had it since summer of 2002, that going to college and Vet school thing, finially bought herself a new car. Oh my god, a new house in May and a car in September, Vets sure do get paid good for only being out a year.

Anyway, all the way home the door ajar light about drove me crazy. Called her about it and she said that its been like that almost as long as she has been driving the thing. She also pulled the dome light bulb. I'm going to try the PB Blaster trick this weekend.

This little truck is amazing, only service has been regular oil changes, I did the timing belt at 75,000, and plugs (I hate the dual plug 4 banger after doing that job) every 50,000, and it lost the speed sensor in the rear axle once. Thanks to this site, I was able to give her some hints for when she took it to her local garage to have it looked at. They were amazed that she was able to tell them what to look for.

pacodiablo · Sep 20, 2007

I had this problem on my Explorer one day. I had just cleaned out the interior, and was driving it to the car wash when I noticed that the dome lights were on. Out of fear that I would drain the battery, I removed all five dome light bulbs in the truck. I discovered the problem a few hours later, no WD-40 required......I had accidently turned the dimmer switch all the way up, turning the dome lights on. Lesson: check the stupid stuff first!

94STXRanger · Oct 1, 2007

Are we sure all the switches are in the latch? On my 94 i have the peg on the pillar by the dash, about half way down and when i press it the truck stops dinging and the light goes off. Am i talking about the same thing as you guys?

Anger · Oct 13, 2007

94STXRanger said:
Are we sure all the switches are in the latch? On my 94 i have the peg on the pillar by the dash, about half way down and when i press it the truck stops dinging and the light goes off. Am i talking about the same thing as you guys?

NO.

4x4RangerGuy · Oct 13, 2007

pacodiablo said:
I had this problem on my Explorer one day. I had just cleaned out the interior, and was driving it to the car wash when I noticed that the dome lights were on. Out of fear that I would drain the battery, I removed all five dome light bulbs in the truck. I discovered the problem a few hours later, no WD-40 required......I had accidently turned the dimmer switch all the way up, turning the dome lights on. Lesson: check the stupid stuff first!

+1

After days of going through wiring and the door switch, and a couple of dead batteries, I finally found that I had bumped the dimmer switch to the always on position. Stupid me...I had gone through almost the entire electrical system before I thought of that.

marc61 · Oct 19, 2007

My dome light was always on, so I replaced the door latch switch on both doors. One of them was stuck in...anyways, now with new 2 sitches, the light wont come on.

Aggravating i tell ya

:bawling:

89blacklx · Nov 20, 2007

I just put some new switches in my exploder and the stupid a$$ lights still will not go out. Can someone tell me where the switch is for the trunk lid on a 96. This is really pissing me off. I have cleaned all the switches 50 times. When I open each door I hear the chime so my only guess is they work but maybe the hood or trunk switch is bad. :annoyed:

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My dome light will not shut off! (fix inside)

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