interior lights not working?

[damien.best]

when i bought the truck, it already had an after market head unit professionally installed. how ever, the gear selector light, tray light, defrost, and a/c control do not light up. are these tied into the stock head unit? or am i looking for a bad fuse?

[Towncivilian]

They are all incandescent bulbs, so it's possible they could have burnt out. There's no connection to the stock head unit. I don't think it's a fuse either, otherwise probably all of the interior lighting would not be functional. Does the bulb in the hazard switch still light?

[damien.best]

Yea the hazards light up... Only reason I thought it might be the head unit is because the past owner mentioned that everything worked until he switched radios... Idk tho. Havent had much time to dig around and look at the wiring

[Towncivilian]

You can take apart the shifter trim (remove the ashtray, unscrew the Phillips screw inside, and pull off that section of trim) and check the ashtray bulb to see if it's burnt out. That's probably the easiest bulb to check from the ones you've mentioned.

Does your glove box bulb light up?

Ensure your dimmer switch is at maximum.

[damien.best]

ill check it today. i havent paid attn but i dont recall glove box lighting up... ill check the bulb and get back to you. thanks for the help so far!

[damien.best]

so after about 3 minutes of something i should have done 6 months ago, turns out all the bulbs are just blown. just got in the wrong mind set ever since the past owner told me his coincidence. thanks!

[Towncivilian]

If I were you, I would replace the dead bulbs (if not every other interior dash light) with LEDs. They last longer, will likely not need replacement nearly as often as the incandescent bulbs, are brighter, use less power, and generate less heat.

Here is a list of bulb sizes/types for all interior lamps:

#74 - instrument cluster (around 20 of these - there are a couple threads about this topic here and here)
#74 - ashtray, glove box, A/C controls (if replacing A/C controls, get LED bulbs that have three LEDs with a 360 degree viewing angle, such as these, for best results)
#168 - gear selector (shifter)
BA9s - map lights
DE3175 - dome lights

Let me know if I missed a bulb.

[mass20v]

I'm having a similar issue but my bulbs and fuses are all okay. All of the door switches are okay. By that I mean if I open the doors one by one the door icon comes on in the dash. In fact, the only light that comes on when a door is opened is the cargo. Should they all come on in an "OEM" situation?

I tested the dome light with a meter and it's dead. Maps are fine as well as the cargo. I bought the truck like this so I really haven't missed it seeing that my prior car didn't work either. But it would be nice. Pop Dukes has an 03 too with the same problem.. Is it common and is there an easy fix? Or is it a trace and investigate type of thing? Hopefully not cause I'm not looking forward to tracing that in the headliner.. lol

[Towncivilian]

I'm having a similar issue but my bulbs and fuses are all okay. All of the door switches are okay. By that I mean if I open the doors one by one the door icon comes on in the dash. In fact, the only light that comes on when a door is opened is the cargo. Should they all come on in an "OEM" situation?

I tested the dome light with a meter and it's dead. Maps are fine as well as the cargo. I bought the truck like this so I really haven't missed it seeing that my prior car didn't work either. But it would be nice. Pop Dukes has an 03 too with the same problem.. Is it common and is there an easy fix? Or is it a trace and investigate type of thing? Hopefully not cause I'm not looking forward to tracing that in the headliner.. lol

If I recall correctly, my car doesn't turn on the "door ajar" lamp in the dash either if I open the driver's side door with the car started. I'll have to test the other doors sometime.

[damien.best]

led sizes were my next question... good info! thanks

[Chuck Tribolet]

I'm having a similar issue but my bulbs and fuses are all okay. All of the door switches are okay. By that I mean if I open the doors one by one the door icon comes on in the dash. In fact, the only light that comes on when a door is opened is the cargo. Should they all come on in an "OEM" situation?

I tested the dome light with a meter and it's dead. Maps are fine as well as the cargo. I bought the truck like this so I really haven't missed it seeing that my prior car didn't work either. But it would be nice. Pop Dukes has an 03 too with the same problem.. Is it common and is there an easy fix? Or is it a trace and investigate type of thing? Hopefully not cause I'm not looking forward to tracing that in the headliner.. lol

The dome light has a three position switch on it. The three positions are ON no matter whether the doors are open or closed, ON when the doors are open, and OFF no matter whether the doors are open or closed. I don't remember which position does what.

[mass20v]

led sizes were my next question... good info! thanks

+1

I'm having a similar issue but my bulbs and fuses are all okay. All of the door switches are okay. By that I mean if I open the doors one by one the door icon comes on in the dash. In fact, the only light that comes on when a door is opened is the cargo. Should they all come on in an "OEM" situation?

I tested the dome light with a meter and it's dead. Maps are fine as well as the cargo. I bought the truck like this so I really haven't missed it seeing that my prior car didn't work either. But it would be nice. Pop Dukes has an 03 too with the same problem.. Is it common and is there an easy fix? Or is it a trace and investigate type of thing? Hopefully not cause I'm not looking forward to tracing that in the headliner.. lol

If I recall correctly, my car doesn't turn on the "door ajar" lamp in the dash either if I open the driver's side door with the car started. I'll have to test the other doors sometime.

That's the thing, the door ajar light on my dash is working. Which leads me to believe that the door pins are working seeing that every time a door is opened and closed (including rear glass and trunk) the light on the dash comes on. A common problem with trucks/cars especially in the northeast is corrosion (of everything!) including the door pins/hood pins making them temperamental, leading to dome lights freaking out/having a mind of their own and or alarms tripping randomly (this is due to the fact that most if not all alarms are wired to the dome light as a "trigger" to let the alarm know that a door has been opened)

The only ambient lighting that turns on inside of my truck when the door is ajar is in, the cargo area. In a perfect world, what ambient should turn on when a door is opened? (ie: maps, dome, cargo, ect....) Also, should the ambient lighting come on when you turn/spin the dimmer switch on the dash till it clicks? or is that just suppose to return the dash lighting to "normal?" In my case the dimmer switch dims all of the dash lighting. But when it's turned all the way up till it click, the lights don't come on..

Fawk I'm late for work...!

[Towncivilian]

I'm pretty sure this is how the dome/door situation works (if I'm wrong please correct me):

Unlock on keyfob pressed: center dome light turns on if set to "door", no trunk light even if set to "door" (unsure about the trunk light)
Driver/passenger door: center dome if "door" is set, no trunk light even if "door" is set (will confirm this later)
Backseat doors, trunk, rear glass hatch: both lights lit if set to "door" (have not tested rear hatch but I'm assuming it applies)

The dimmer switch controls the following and works only if the headlight switch is in the side-illuminators or headlight position, or the switch is on "AUTO" and the computer thinks it's dark enough for interior lighting:

Instrument cluster (all gauges and odometer)
Window switch pack LEDs
Shifter lamp
Ashtray lamp
A/C controls
Glove box lamp

I also assume that any other switches, such as the hazard switch, rear defroster, heated switch, cigarette lighter ring, etc. are controlled as well. Probably the stock head unit's lighting too. If the headlight switch is set to "auto" (and assuming interior lighting is off by auto-detect) or "off", the dimmer switch has no effect. The odometer remains lit, but at a lower brightness than maximum.

[mass20v]

Tons of great info man, thanks! So when you take turn the dimmer switch all the way up to where it stops and you continue past that to where the dimmer switch seems to "lock" the interior lights are not suppose to come on?

I'm not sure if I'm explaining myself correctly, rem the "old school" dimmer switches in like an old chevy or something? Rem when you needed something and it was dark, you simply spun the dimmer switch to its highest position and then it would click and lock into place. then POW you got interior lights... Does the pathfinders dimmer switch operate the same way?

cheers..

[Towncivilian]

The dimmer switch actually dims the lights, it's not just a straight on/off switch. Maximum is swipe up until it clicks, minimum (aka off) swipe down until click.