The switch in the door jamb of my left rear door that turns off the interior lights is not working properly, so the interior lights do not go off. I can’t figure it out, so I have to take it back to the dealer for an opinion. I can’t get over there for a few days, so here’s what I did:
First, I pulled the fuse marked “courtesy” and all was good, until I realized that it also controlled the horn and radio. The horn isn’t such a big deal, but I know that if it wasn’t operational, the sounding of the horn will have saved a life or caused an accident to be avoided, so I don’t want to risk not having a horn. It’s also an inspection point-- No horn, no passing sticker. And the radio (Dopers with small children will relate) is a must. It serves, at the same time, to drown out and soothe a restless child passenger. So I put the fuse back in.
I decided to pull the bulbs from the interior floor lights and the dome lamp. The horn and radio work this way.
My thinking was that if the interior lights stayed on, they would drain the battery, not to mention make night driving difficult.
Am I correct in believing that since the bulbs have been removed temporarily, there is no continuation of the circuit, and therefore, no wear on the battery?
As I said, this is only a temporary solution. The bulbs are in the glove box to be put back in when (if) the problem can be fixed mid-week. I just want to make sure my train of thought hadn’t derailed.
On an older car that is true. If the bulb isn’t there, then there’s no current flowing. On some newer cars, the interior lights are actually controlled by a computer, and it is possible that some current is flowing even though you’ve stopped the current path through the bulb. If the light would normally go off immediately when you close the door and it doesn’t do anything fancy like stay lit until you put the key in the ignition, then don’t worry about it. Even if it is computer controlled, chances are the current flowing is small enough that it won’t drain the battery overnight.
It’s a 92 Buick Century. Now that you mention it, ECG, the light is on a delay. I just realized it. Everything stayed on well past the time it should have gone off, though. I was thinking it may be the timer that turns off the light that is malfunctioning, after I read your post, but the courtesy floor lights should go off when the doors close, and they don’t, so I ruled that out.
No alarms billy, so based on the two posts, I guess I’m ok.