Interior Lights Won't Shut Off - How to Troubleshoot?

[BLSJDS]

I did a decent amount of searching and found many similar issues, but no resolutions, so here goes:

2006 X5 3.0 with Manual Transmission - I got off the train this evening and the battery was completely dead. Called my wife, jumped it, and drove home.

When I got home and got out of the car, I noticed that the interior lights would NOT slowly dim and go out. I pressed the interior light button and held for 3 seconds and the interior lights went out. A few minutes later, they were back on!

Obviously this was the cause of the dead battery, but what is causing the interior lights to stay on, even with all doors closed tightly? I couldn't visibly locate any door "open" switches to test, and I did disconnect the hood switch, but that didn't solve the problem.

Any ideas? For now, I just pulled the interior lights fuse in order to keep the battery from draining. Everything else seems to work fine.

Thanks in advance for any / all help!
Dan

[Yii]

See if there's any battery drain after you unplugged that fuse. If there isn't Try disconnecting the battery or even test the battery. A lot of members say that when the battery is about to go a lot of electronic mishaps arise. Have you replaced that battery btw? That's all i can think of for now =/ hopefully more members have more insight on this

[JCL]

Door switches are built into the latches. They will be Hall Effect sensors, not simple plungers. They can fail and keep the interior lights on.

The General Module controls interior lighting I believe (not the LKM, or Light Control Module, which is for headlights). Could be a fault there. There will also be relays controlling the interior lights, you can try reseating the relays to see if that helps.

[BLSJDS]

Yii - I didn't test for battery drain, but it started right up this morning with no issues (other than the interior lights are off because I didn't put the fuse back yet ). Maybe I'll disconnect it completely and test it. AFAIK, it is the original battery (we are the second owners and there was no mention of battery replacement in BMW service records). From past experience, batterys are generally on borrowed time after 5 years, so it might be time.

JCL - thanks for pointing me in the right direction re: Hall Effect sensors and the relays; I will research troubleshooting those as it certainly could be the problem. I've had issues in the winter with the driver's side door handle freezing after very heavy rains and cold temperaturs and not opening (which I've read is common) - do you think there is any relation between the two issues?

As an FYI for anyone else, I found this information while searching:

http://www.bmwmotorsports.org/BMW_docs/x5zkeIII.pdf

Door lock info and Hall Effect sensor info starts on page 23.

[JCL]

Sounds like you may need a driver's door latch, which includes the Hall sensors. Not uncommon.

Jeff

[BLSJDS]

It probably wouldn't be a bad idea for me to get into the driver's side door to see what's happening in there re: the latch and sensor.

I read about testing the Hall Effect sensor; I've got a good digital voltmeter, so I should be able to accomplish this. Is there any easier way of testing these sensors (besides pulling the door panel off to access the latch, etc)? I guess I could measure mA at the GM, but I don't have wiring diagram.

Probably time to invest in a service manual . Or would the dealership be able to easily diagnose (and fix) the issue?

Thanks Jeff!
Dan

[Yii]

Keep on eye on that Bat too, you don't want to strain the alternator and don't want to be stuck in the middle of no where either. Cheapest preventive maint there is =D and theres a DIY to choose which battery for you as well. Hope everything else goes well!

[BLSJDS]

Will do! Yeah, my wife won't be happy if she's stranded and I could / should have prevented it .

[o. l. t.]

Originally Posted by JCL

They will be Hall Effect sensors, not simple plungers. They can fail and keep the interior lights on.

Because putting a damn plunger there just wouldn't have been elaborate enough, and have the potential to fail as massively and commonly.....

[JCL]

Originally Posted by o. l. t.

Because putting a damn plunger there just wouldn't have been elaborate enough, and have the potential to fail as massively and commonly.....

Hall effect sensors are not subject to freezing and contamination. Now if we could just figure out how to use one as a crankcase ventilation valve, we'd be set.