Interior Lights

[Wes]

Merry Christmas everyone,

Looking for a little help, my 97 esprit for some unknown reason won't turn off the interior lights. Checked the door switches but can't seem to find out whats going on, so I was thinking of pulling the fuse to save the battery until I figure it out. Any ideas or common problem I don't know about?

Thanks in advance.

Wes

PS we got 6 inches of snow here in Wyoming. I'm about 45 miles from Yellowstone park!

[gmendoza]

I'm not sure about the '97s but on the newer ones, the light is also a switch.

[martynv]

Merry Christmas everyone,

Looking for a little help, my 97 esprit for some unknown reason won't turn off the interior lights. Checked the door switches but can't seem to find out whats going on, so I was thinking of pulling the fuse to save the battery until I figure it out. Any ideas or common problem I don't know about?

Alarm fiters often seem to wire on to the interior light circuit as a quick way to alarm the tailgate or bonnet, so if you've got any extra pin switches for an alarm it might be worth checking those. I don't know about the wiring on the V8 but the fuse for the interior light seems to feed quite a few other circuits on the earlier cars so if you can remove the bulb from the interior light easily this might be a better temporary fix. Good luck hope you get it fixed.

Martyn B)

[Wes]

Thanks for taking the time to respond, The overhead light and the two red lights (one in each door) are all lit. I pulled the fuse and have not replaced it yet to see what happens. There are two push switches in the drivers door and one on the passenger. I've not taken a meter to them yet but will do that next.

Merry Christmas Martyn

Wes

Alarm fiters often seem to wire on to the interior light circuit as a quick way to alarm the tailgate or bonnet, so if you've got any extra pin switches for an alarm it might be worth checking those. I don't know about the wiring on the V8 but the fuse for the interior light seems to feed quite a few other circuits on the earlier cars so if you can remove the bulb from the interior light easily this might be a better temporary fix. Good luck hope you get it fixed.

Martyn B)

[martynv]

Thanks for taking the time to respond, The overhead light and the two red lights (one in each door) are all lit. I pulled the fuse and have not replaced it yet to see what happens. There are two push switches in the drivers door and one on the passenger. I've not taken a meter to them yet but will do that next.

Merry Christmas Martyn

Wes

Hi Wes,

I've just had another thought, maybe the interior lamp delay module may have an internal short in it which is holding the interior lamp on permanently rather than just a short period whilst you get in to the car as it should. Assuming Lotus haven't moved things about to much over the years the module is mounted in the relay mounting bracket just in front of the fuse box under the bonnet (hood ? in the USA) and is covered by a large black lid. Once you've removed the lid the delay module is the one nearest the inner wing directly below the fuse box (I'm assuming your car is left hand drive here). You should be able to confirm its position by checking your owners manual in the Fuses and Relays section. Once you've found the module try pulling it out and see if the interior and door lights go out, if so this could be whats causing the problem. Good luck, let me know how you get on.

Happy Christmas

Martyn B) .

[Wes]

Martyn,

Thanks again for the insight. Went down this afternoon and spent some time and figured it out. The front bonnet has it's own light switch on the right side front. I noticed when I was giving the car a good once over that the switch was unplugged. Not thinking I plugged it back in. Well its not adjusted correctly and the light stayed on even after the bonnet was latched shut. Unplugging this switch corrected the problem. So now I just have to figure a way to adjust that switch and should be good to go.

Have a wonderful Christmas.

Wes

Hi Wes,

I've just had another thought, maybe the interior lamp delay module may have an internal short in it which is holding the interior lamp on permanently rather than just a short period whilst you get in to the car as it should. Assuming Lotus haven't moved things about to much over the years the module is mounted in the relay mounting bracket just in front of the fuse box under the bonnet (hood ? in the USA) and is covered by a large black lid. Once you've removed the lid the delay module is the one nearest the inner wing directly below the fuse box (I'm assuming your car is left hand drive here). You should be able to confirm its position by checking your owners manual in the Fuses and Relays section. Once you've found the module try pulling it out and see if the interior and door lights go out, if so this could be whats causing the problem. Good luck, let me know how you get on.

Happy Christmas

Martyn B) .

[martynv]

Martyn,

Thanks again for the insight. Went down this afternoon and spent some time and figured it out. The front bonnet has it's own light switch on the right side front. I noticed when I was giving the car a good once over that the switch was unplugged. Not thinking I plugged it back in. Well its not adjusted correctly and the light stayed on even after the bonnet was latched shut. Unplugging this switch corrected the problem. So now I just have to figure a way to adjust that switch and should be good to go.

Have a wonderful Christmas.

Wes

Good to hear you've found the problem Ok and it sounds like a fairly cheap fix as well . If all the switch on the bonnet does is light up the interior light its almost certainly just a quick way of alarming the bonnet.

Martyn B)

Edited December 25, 2006 by martynv