Interior lighting question '00 LS

craigh

Dedicated LVC Member
Joined
Nov 27, 2004
Messages
525
Reaction score
46
Location
Chanhassen, MN
I have stored my LS over the winter and before I got it back on the road I did some work to the sunroof. Had the headliner down and such. When I got it back on the road I noticed that the interior lights all stayed on. This is the front and rear interior dome lights and also the side marker lights in the front doors. The door ajar light is indicted on the dash. So this is an anomaly.

I tried turning on and off the master dimmer switch and this does not affect the lighting. I also pulled the plug connector on the lighting switch and the interior lights did not go off. I have looked at the wiring diagram and it looks like this might be a FEM fault that is causing the issue, but I don't know.

Has anyone had this issue and if so how did you fix it?

Has anyone changed out the FEM? I noticed that it says that it is a programmable part. Has anyone replaced one of these and was it just a plug and play for you.

Any ideas on tracking this issue down?
 
Have you tried a power reset by removing the battery power for an overnight? I solved on crazy problem that way, once. But it is also possible that you lost a door ajar switch. There may be a way to see what is triggering the all of the lights. And it could be just a confused processor.
 
Have you tried a power reset by removing the battery power for an overnight? I solved on crazy problem that way, once. But it is also possible that you lost a door ajar switch. There may be a way to see what is triggering the all of the lights. And it could be just a confused processor.
MileHighMikey This sounds like a good place to start. You and I have the same car, I just have less miles on mine. I am going right out to disconnect the battery for the night.
 
Sounds good, yes, I racked up a total of 5-600 miles on it last year, things are stuck in low utilization mode. When it's cold season, I use my subaru, when it's warm season, I can use the LS, but when it's hot, I refrain from using it because both times I blew up the cooling fan solenoid, it was in the 90s outside. I know that those are no longer available and I don't have the desire to convert to electric, the body is not going to last long enough to put money into the car. It serves me well when the subaru is on my lift and I need to make a parts run. Totally not worth the insurance and registration costs but it's always ready. I keep my snow tires on it all year round so that is another reason to stay off the highways in the summer time. The summer tires and wheels are such a hard compound that the car understeers in the rain and loses traction at the blip of the throttle in the rain as well. Again, no money to pour into it. Best of luck with the battery disconnect!
 
The door ajar light is indicted on the dash.

Sounds like the drivers door latch has a mechanical issue... that is causing an electrical issue, by thinking the door is open. Or it could be one of the 3 other doors... but most likely the DD because it gets the most use.
 
Sounds like the drivers door latch has a mechanical issue... that is causing an electrical issue, by thinking the door is open. Or it could be one of the 3 other doors... but most likely the DD because it gets the most use.
I wrote that wrong. I should proof read before posting. The door ajar light is NOT indicted on the dash. Hence the anomaly. If the light was on I would believe it might be one of the doors or the trunk.

I did disconnect the battery overnight and for one cycle the lights worked correctly, turning off when the door was closed.
So now I know that the issue is intermittant. Lucky me. I am going to try QD on all the FEM connectors. If that does not work i do have another FEM from an '02 that I can try. I will keep posting as I go through this. I will find the problem, just don't know how long it will take. Collective group wisdom is appreciated.
 
Craig, what makes you think that the problem will return? Just curious. The one that I cleared that way never returned.
 
Just a note?
When I had to do a FEM replacement on my 2003 LS Sport. It did require programming and I had JUST that done at a Ford dealer for around $89. I am sure it will be higher than that now.
.
.
.
 
Just a note?
When I had to do a FEM replacement on my 2003 LS Sport. It did require programming and I had JUST that done at a Ford dealer for around $89. I am sure it will be higher than that now.
.
.
.
It can be done with Forscan too, but you will need some data from the old FEM or someone else's FEM from an LS of the same configuration. If the replacement FEM is from a car that is very similar to the one it is going in, then programming will not be needed.
 
Thank you everyone for your input. I did locate the issue today and have it fixed. After my last post I did remove the FEM and cleaned all 6 connectors and the nearby ground with QD. I love that stuff, it has helped me fix issues that I had due to corrosion in my cars for years. Well that did not work. So I did r and r the FEM with an extra I had. Did not need to program it as the issue was still there. This told me that it probably was not the FEM. Started disconnecting lighting inputs and eventually got to the interior front maps lights. There it was! The passenger switch was bad and again, intermittent. It worked once! My garage is like a parts warehouse for LS parts, so yes I had another switch around here. Replaced it today and i am back in business. Again, thank you everyone for your help.
 

Members online

No members online now.
Back
Top