Interior lights - I searched and couldn't find the answer

[Msimanyi]

Two weeks ago I bought a 2012 3500 DRW Megacab Limited. The interior lights go on at all the usual times, but last night I noticed that they are not turning on when I turn off the engine. All the lights went out except the stereo screen, leaving the cab oddly dark. I don't recall this from other nighttime drives, but it's possible I opened the door so quickly after shutting off the engine that I never noticed.



I don't see any configuration option in System Setup that controls this. Is this normal behavior? Can I change it or do I need to see the dealer?



Thanks for any info,



Mike

 

[muchsnow]

Should be a time delay setting somewhere in the lighting section of the setup menu... ..... set for 30 or better..... radio is seperate setting but will shut off when you open a door. Make sure your dimmer switch isn't set all the way to the lowest too, this turns off interior lighting...

 

[Msimanyi]

Thanks. I checked all that before posting too. I'll check fuses tonight and if that doesn't show a problem I'll drop it off at the dealer for debugging.

As a small addendum, the headlights are on Auto and the outside lights remain on for the programmed time. It's only the interior lights that all go black, and those go on as soon as I open the door (making me think the fuse issue will not be the answer. )

Mike

 

[muchsnow]

We had a problem with the interior lights in our 2011, they often wouldn't work when you'd try to use the map lights, visor lights, or turn them on once you were inside the truck and running. Five trips to the dealership and a lot of tear apart and air-balls they finally found it. It was the passenger side visor... .

 

[Hoefler]

The dash lights dimmer rheostat controls the interior lights. You could of mistakenly turned it to far when dimming the dash lights.

 

[Msimanyi]

I experimented with that before the original post and excluded the comment for brevity. In the "full dim" position, the lights don't come on even when the doors are open. In every other position (besides "on", fully to the right) they come on with the doors open but don't come on when I turn off the engine.

Everything else seems normal. When I unlock the doors at night to get into the truck, the interior lights come on, brightening to full strength within a second or two, meaning the dimmer function seems to work fine. When they go off after I close the doors and lock the truck, they slowly dim to being off after the prescribed delay (which I think is now set to 60 seconds. )

It's only the one function that isn't working: turning on the interior lights and leaving on the dashboard lights when I turn off the engine at night, despite the headlights and parking lights remaining on for the prescribed time.

I'm thinking it's dealer time to find the problem...

Mike

 

[mwilson]

Don't have a 4th Gen, BUT I do have a dooryard full of vehicles that possess MOPAR artificial intelligence... ... .



What happens if you pull the key out before opening the door??? Do the interior lights come on then???



Also, what was your previous vehicle??



Mike.

 

[seafish]

Don't know if it still works on the 4th gens, so PLEASE someone chime in here, but on the 3rd gen trucks when the interior lights started to act funny interms of time on/off, one could disconnect OLNY the GROUND cables to BOTH batteries and let the vehicle sit for about 15 minutes, and the ECM/BCM/PCM/TIPM that controlled the lighting would "reset" to factory defualts and much more often then not, it would fix the interior lighting problem, at least as long as the problem was not hardware related. Of course, you might also lose radio presets, but that was no big deal. But like I said, I DON'T know if that is a good idea with the 4th gen, given there increasingly reliance on modules to run the truck.

 

[Msimanyi]

Don't have a 4th Gen, BUT I do have a dooryard full of vehicles that possess MOPAR artificial intelligence... ... .



What happens if you pull the key out before opening the door??? Do the interior lights come on then???

Nope. In or out of the ignition, no interior lights. Headlights set to on or auto, no interior lights - until I open a door.

Also, what was your previous vehicle??



Mike.

GMC truck & a couple older BMWs. All of them turn on the lights when the ignition turns off.



Mike

 

[Bob4x4]

I have to ask does the owners manual say that function or are you comparing it to other vehicles you have had??

 

[Msimanyi]

Frankly, that's why I searched and posted here. I don't recall the truck behaving this way earlier, only for the past few days. It's possible I hadn't noticed the details before, but it's such a glaring black hole (pun intended) in the truck this way that I think I would've noticed much earlier.

So tell me: when you turn off your truck at night do all the interior lights remain off until you open the door?

Mike

 

[Wingate]

mine stay off until I open the door... Cant say that I would want it to come on when I shut the truck down. . just when I open the door. I guess I always thought thats what the interior manual courtesy lighting was for...
Interesting... .

 

[mwilson]

Dooryard survey completed, the results when vehicle is shut off are...



'97 is barnyard basic, of course. Does only what you make it do..... :-laf

'06 is lights out until you open the door.

'02 T & C is lights out until you open the door.

'08 T & C is like your '11, shut key off and the My Gig remains on, also odometer is illuminated. Open door, stereo and odometer go dark, interior lights come on.

'03 Jetta is lights out, when you pull the key out of the switch the interior lights come on.



I do think my '08 GMC parts pick-up pops the dome lights on when you shut it off. I'll check the '06 Chevy as well tomorrow when I am in Houlton.







Mike.

 

[Msimanyi]

Thanks guys. I *greatly* appreciate the feedback.

Mike

 

[mwilson]

Just tested the Chevy,



Shut it off, the dash lights remain on. Pull the key and the interior lights come on. Open door and dash lights go out.



Is it possible that your previous GM worked like my '06 Chevy and you have just now noticed that the Ram does not do so????



Mike.

 

[RonD]

Yours is correct, what you described is the way they are, interior lights do not come on at night when you turn off the engine, when you open the door they come on then

I experimented with that before the original post and excluded the comment for brevity. In the "full dim" position, the lights don't come on even when the doors are open. In every other position (besides "on", fully to the right) they come on with the doors open but don't come on when I turn off the engine.

Everything else seems normal. When I unlock the doors at night to get into the truck, the interior lights come on, brightening to full strength within a second or two, meaning the dimmer function seems to work fine. When they go off after I close the doors and lock the truck, they slowly dim to being off after the prescribed delay (which I think is now set to 60 seconds. )

It's only the one function that isn't working: turning on the interior lights and leaving on the dashboard lights when I turn off the engine at night, despite the headlights and parking lights remaining on for the prescribed time.

I'm thinking it's dealer time to find the problem...

Mike