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Interior Lights or Dome Lights are the lights inside your car located on the roof. Some cars also have lights at the doors and under the dashboard. The dome lights illuminate the interior of the vehicle. But their main purpose is to warn you about the doors. They are turned ON as soon as you open the door and remain ON until you close the door properly. Sometimes, it may happen that you might have not shut the door properly, the dome lights remain ON in this case and warn you about it. Sometimes, due to some problem in the circuit or the switch of the lights, they might not turn off even after closing the door properly. So let us discuss how to fix the inside car lights that won’t turn off.

How Do The Interior Lights Work?

Before discussing how to fix interior car lights not turning off, let us understand the mechanism of the interior dome lights. It is very simple and works on a basic switch mechanism at the lock of the doors. As soon as you open one of the doors, the switch turns ON and when you close the door, it gets turned OFF. This mechanism is also used in refrigerator lights.

When the doors are closed, you can turn them ON by pressing the button on the light itself. In some cars, there is a knob on the left of the steering wheel or the headlight switch.

Methods To Fix Inside Car Lights Not Turning Off?

Now let us discuss some methods on how to fix interior car lights not turning off. We will discuss all the causes leading to this problem and look for its solutions.

1. Adjust The Switch

Sometimes, you may leave the light switch near the dashboard or on the light ON. This won’t turn OFF the lights even after you close the door. This might drain the battery of your car if the lights remain ON for too long.

How To Fix It?

Turning the switch OFF near the dashboard or at the light would fix the problem of your inside car lights won’t turn off if this is the case. If you are not able to locate the switch on the dashboard, see the video below.

2. Check The Switch At The Door

Sometimes, the switch at the door might get damaged. When you press the door against it, the lights should turn OFF immediately. If they don’t, there is a problem with the switch.

How To Fix It?

First of all, check every switch at the doors by manually pressing it. You should feel the click of the switch when you press it and the lights should turn OFF. If they do not turn OFF, the switch is faulty. Replacing the switch would fix this problem. If you don’t want to replace it, you can try fixing it yourself. Just remove the switch and clean it and lubricate it. Fix it back and you are done.

Refer to the video below for more help.

3. Check The Wirings

If the first two solutions do not work, there might be a problem with the wiring of the light switch. There might be a mismatch or intersection of wires of the interior lights keeping them ON.

How To Fix It?

Tracing the wiring of the dome light is the solution for this. The wiring of the dome light runs from the switch at the door through the frame of the vehicle into the dashboard. The wirings from the switch of all doors cross at a junction in one of the wirings to harness the lights. This case should be handled by a mechanic only because you might mismatch the wires at the dashboard leading to other problems.

4. Check The Setting On The Headlight Switch

In some cars, there is a knob that controls the brightness of the lights on the dashboard. This also affects the dome lights and if the setting is at the highest, they won’t turn OFF.

How To Fix It?

Changing the settings on the left side of the steering wheel controls the brightness of the dashboard lights. This would fix the problem.

Frequently Asked Questions-

So, here are some of the frequently asked questions about the causes, and how to fix inside car lights that are not turning off.

-1. Why Won’t My Interior Lights Turn Off In My Car?

– Interior Lights when turning off in the car, the main reason behind it can be one of your switches in the car got stuck at one place or we can say the controlling knob has been started.

– Sometimes this can be due to headlights that remain on for a certain period which can create a problem.

2.  What Would Cause My Interior Lights To Stay On?

Cause- It happens when the switch got bumped accidentally we can say by a valet or a car wash employee.

-In this situation what you can do is call a mechanic if your interior lights are still on to overcome this problem.

-You may check the wring, headlight switch setting also check if there is any damaged switch.

3. How To Fix Inside Car Lights Which Are Not Turn Off?

You can fix inside car lights that are not turning off

– First of All, you should adjust the switch of the light, you simply check whether you have mistakenly forgotten to switch it off. If Yes then switch off.

– Next, you can check that if the headlight switch setting is on highest then it can create a  problem and your interior lights would not be off so you can fix it to the lowest level.

4. Can Interior Lights Drain the Battery?

Yes, if the vehicle is parked for a long time then interior lights can drain the battery.

CONCLUSION-

We have discussed in this article how to fix inside car lights that won’t turn off. and have looked for its solutions. We hope you would be able to fix it yourself, but if you can’t, let a mechanic handle it.

If you like this article and have any queries, let us know in the comment section below. Drive Safe.
Cheers!