Interior Lights won't turn off!

So, I was poking around underneath the hood today trying to clean up whatever I saw that could be cleaned. I shut the hood and everything and put some stuff I grabbed out of the glovebox back into it. I shut the passenger door and look outside my house a few minutes later, and my interior lights are still on. Okay, maybe I didn't shut the door all the way. I reopen the door, shut it, and the lights still won't go off! I open everything back up including the trunk and hood, and the lights still won't go off. I pull the interior lights fuse from near the driver's door and the lights still wouldn't go off. I finally dug around underneath the back seat for the interior lights fuse there, and was finally successful. Does anyone have any idea why my lights wouldn't turn off? I'm pretty sure I didn't hit anything on the interior, and if I did, what could I have hit? I unplugged one electrical thing that goes into the air filter housing, but plugged it back in. I'm lost.

The headlight knob also twists to adjust the interior brightness. I forget which way, but if you keep twisting it it will click to turn on the interior lights and leave them on. It had me confused one time after I got an alignment done and my lights wouldn't go off. Took me a minute to remember it did that.

Hmm, I'll check that in the morning before I leave for school. Does it matter what fuse goes where? They both look exactly the same to me.

It does matter. The fuse diagram shows which fuse to put where. If you put one in that is a different amperage than what was in there you could either mess something up or blow a bunch of fuses. Not fun.

I don't think I worded that correctly. Both of the interior light fuses I pulled are red and are 10 amps. I pulled one from the panel by the driver's door, and the other from underneath the back seat. As long as they go back from where I pulled them, does it matter if I put the fuse from the driver's door in the spot of the fuse from underneath the seat?

Oh ok, that makes more sense now. As long as they are the same size physically it won't matter. I like to put in brand new fuses for peace of mind whenever I pull any, but that's just me being pedantic.

Can I just find these fuses at any auto parts store?

Yep. Walmart even has them.

Even Walmart has them. Dang. I'll have to pick me up a few.

Well since I'm actually having this problem, I'll check in here.
I haven't really checked much into it yet but my interior lights intermittently stay on. Been like this for about 6 months I guess. It seems like the action of opening or closing the driver window prompts it a lot so I'm kinda thinking about the door sensor.

turtleman wrote:

the door sensor.

Bingo. I think you have to buy the entire latch assembly though.....

In either case, your interior lights -should- automatically turn off after 10 minutes, so your battery won't accidentally drain.

I don't understand why more cars don't have that feature. I've had people look at me like I'm from the future when I mention the 16-year-old Riv turns its own lights off. It's perplexing that in 2014 it's still possible to drain a battery that way!

Daymon is it possible that while cleaning you just hit the switches on the reading lights over the rearview mirror?

deekster_caddy wrote:

Daymon is it possible that while cleaning you just hit the switches on the reading lights over the rearview mirror?

I wouldn't say I didn't.

After pulling the fuse and putting it back, everything is back to normal now.

matt270avian wrote:

The headlight knob also twists to adjust the interior brightness. I forget which way, but if you keep twisting it it will click to turn on the interior lights and leave them on. It had me confused one time after I got an alignment done and my lights wouldn't go off. Took me a minute to remember it did that.

Thanks for the info. My Riv had been in a garage for 4 years. The other day I decided to start using it sometimes and I would put it in a garage close to where I live. I ran the car for quite some time and cleaned it etc. and then left it until the next day when I was going to move it to its new home. Next day I found that it was totally dead! I put it on charge and noticed that the internal lights were on and would not go off. I thought that it would not be able to charge fully. Today your write up above saved things. It had been so long since I drove the car I had forgotten about that sneaky headlight knob. Thank you so much for reminding me!!. All is now well !!

KnottyEagle wrote:

Even Walmart has them. Dang. I'll have to pick me up a few.

Next time you are at a pick-n-pull, pull some fuses from any donor car with fuses the right size. They *may* let you have them for free. You can test them at home with a meter. If they are good (they most likely will be) you then will have lots of spares. Be sure to snag the thermal breakers from under the rear seat as they are now not all that available.

KnottyEagle wrote:

So, I was poking around underneath the hood today trying to clean up whatever I saw that could be cleaned. I shut the hood and everything and put some stuff I grabbed out of the glovebox back into it. I shut the passenger door and look outside my house a few minutes later, and my interior lights are still on. Okay, maybe I didn't shut the door all the way. I reopen the door, shut it, and the lights still won't go off! I open everything back up including the trunk and hood, and the lights still won't go off. I pull the interior lights fuse from near the driver's door and the lights still wouldn't go off. I finally dug around underneath the back seat for the interior lights fuse there, and was finally successful. Does anyone have any idea why my lights wouldn't turn off? I'm pretty sure I didn't hit anything on the interior, and if I did, what could I have hit? I unplugged one electrical thing that goes into the air filter housing, but plugged it back in. I'm lost.

There is a microswitch in each door latch that eventually fails. You can replace the door latches.

'microswitch in each door latch', Is this on both the earlier 1995 Riv or is it only on the later one? Thanks.

Britman1 wrote:

'microswitch in each door latch', Is this on both the earlier 1995 Riv or is it only on the later one? Thanks.

same latch all years... if a person was clever enough that person could install a pin switch in the door frame HOWEVER it'd have to be isolated from ground not attached like in the 60's cars. The Riviera ground "floats" which is why installing powered accessories is so vexing.

Albert,
Wonder if you have any input on my latest GM venture. The vehicle has the same traits as the Riviera in that when you turn the key off the radio stays on and the interior lights come on.
The radio should shut off when you open the door and lights will dim and go off after a short period of time, same as the Riviera.
But, it seems like 50% of the time when I pull the key out of the ignition and open the door the radio doesn't turn off and the interior lights stay on after closing the door. I can wait more than several minutes and the radio is still playing and the interior lights stay on.
My remote transmitter will work some of the time when I select "Door Lock" and the radio will go off as well as the interior lights and the doors will lock. But for some reason, even with a new battery in the transmitter, it won't lock the doors or shut anything off the other 50% of the time.

I am unable to buy the FSM for this vehicle, as Helm's want's $600.00 for the several volumes for this truck. Have been totally unlucky to find a used set on EBay Motors and Amazon.

At that price they are currently out of my price range. I know the Riv had the same functions, I believe GM calls it RAP.
Forget the definition of the abbreviation at the moment because I'm dealing with some serious pain after attempting to look under the dash. (Sometimes my life just sucks because I can't perform the diag tasks I used to be able to do.)

Anyway, so much for my whining. Thought you might have some insight into the Retained Accessory
whatever. (RAP)

Well, just thought you might be able to give me a direction to look into this problem.

Thanks for listening and I always appreciate your input and knowledge.

Rickw wrote:

Albert,
Wonder if you have any input on my latest GM venture. The vehicle has the same traits as the Riviera in that when you turn the key off the radio stays on and the interior lights come [rest omitted]

...suggestions (these are kind of wild guesses)

1) look in the fuse panels for any aftermarket wiring that might have been added
2) look for an unrelated short - like a scraped wire that touches the seat frame under the power seat or into a door (front hinge jamb)
3) look for bad grounds - just trace wires from the starter and fuse panels and battery, and clean the grounds
4) check owners manual for info about any settings that might apply (Riv has "personal choice" settings for instance)