Okay, I got a 1982 280ZX 2+2 and the interior lights like on the doors and under the dash don't go out when you close all the doors. I noticed that when I close all the doors the lights dim a little bit, but never completely shut off. The switch for the doors and hatch work, because when I turn the key on with the doors shut the dash shows everything is shut. Is there some kind of relay or module that control all of them, I couldn't find anything in the FSM, I didn't know what they would even be called (door lights, warning lights, etc....). Thanks in advance.

 

First test the buttons by the doors.
Open the door and press in that button on the lower portion of the door jam. Hold it in until the lights dim. See if they go out all the way then. If they do, then you need to adjust your doors to close a little tighter on the frame or put something on the outer edge of the button to push in further.

If they still don't go out all the way it could be the dimmer. Yes on 1982-83 there is a control module that dims the lights. It is located behind and above the ECU on driver's side. I think it says Dimmer Module on it or something like that.
Parts car?

 

Yeah, tried the buttons on the door and they do contact the door. They dim, but just don't ever go out. When I bought the car they were fine, I took some parts off to paint it and redo the interior and now it does this. I'll check that module, but do you happen to know how it works? Does it just have voltage going to it and when the switch on the door gets pushed it goes out and voltage is cut to the lights? Thanks.

 

www.xenons130.com for the FSM. Those will tell you how the light/switches work. IIRC you should be able to remove each of the lights and unplug them then find the one that isn't working. If you painted stuff do you have a bad ground?

 

I had a similar issue in my Rx7, the door lights stayed on no matter what. It turned out to be a bolt grounding the + door switch to some ground wire in my rearview mirror (where another light was located). Process of elimination. If it isn't the door switch itself, its a wire in-between.

 

I have spent some time looking at the wiring diagram trying to figure out your problem, and ive found a huge can of worms, are any other weird things happening? like electric windows doing anything weird? are the lights flickering at all when driving? and do you smelling anything burning under the dash?

 

Okay, figured out the problem the rear hatch switch to tell that all doors are closed was stuck. The little terminal on it would always rub on it when you push the latch down or up. I bent it back so when you put the hatch down and it latches the contact point doesn't touch. Now they all go out. That is a big relief, I thought I would have start taking things apart to figure it out. Thanks guys for all the response.

 

 

.... grounding issue.... was grounded when it wasn't suppose to be