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Dome lights

162K views 129 replies 59 participants last post by  Knowa 
#1 ·
I can't get my dome lights to come on when I open the door. And if I manually turn them on they won't shut off after I close the door. the owners manual doesn't even show marked buttons.
Help![:I]
 
#13 ·
Hi, first time poster here. Sonic blue focus s born may 2, recieved may 17th. Love the ride and handling, and no real problems so far, but the Dome lights operation are still a baffling mystery to me. "The dome lamp will turn on when: any door is opened" mine only turns on if the car is on, is this normal? "The remote entry controls are pressed and the ignition is off" This NEVER happens, normal or a glitch? the dash lights do come on, but not the dome lamp. When I use the remote key after car is off a short time the dome lamp sometimes comes on when I open the door but when its been off a while it doesn't. I own a very basic model focus, no light sensors that I know of. I tried to show my dealer what was happening, but since the car was just off a couple minutes, of course the dome lamp came on and they just looked at me like I was crazy. Every night when I use the remote key and enter, dash lights come on but no dome lamp. Is this uhhhh normal?? or a glitch?
 
#14 ·
[welcome]

I don't know if it applies to the S model, but on my wife's SE there is a little trick to the dome lights that's not covered in the manual. We actually found it out from one of the dealer techs when we were taking delivery and the dome lights didn't work when the doors were opened. He had it fixed in about 60 seconds:

To toggle the dome lights operation on/off (when doors are opened) - with the driver's door open, press and hold the dome light switch on the overhead until the light flashes.

Apparently this sets a software toggle in the Body Control Module, or makes the magic genies happy, or whatever.

Again, I don't know if it applies to S models, or to "Job 2" builds (which yours is, and that's a good thing) but it's worth a try.

Best of luck and congratulations on your new Focus.
 
#17 ·
That should be two map lights and one dome light control. The dome light control looks like the one on the left in this picture:




blank102 - If you had an "off" button for the dome light and/or your off button looked like the one on the right in this photo, or similar, then the trick with the genies probably doesn't apply to your car.

There appears to be multiple different dome light switch configurations within the 2012 model, and that doesn't even take into account the "moonroof/no moonroff" question.
 
#18 ·
I have the off button on a Job 2 SE and just cant figure this out. Held every button, car on, car off, door open, door closed and can't get the dome light to work on a regular basis with the door. Works about 30% of the time and sometimes with the keyfob when locking/unlocking. All other lights respond as expected. Not sure what to do short of visiting the dealer.
 
#19 ·
Is this true for both of the front doors or just the driver's door? It could be the door switch is intermittent if it's just the driver's door.

However, the keyfob issue would seem to argue against that being the cause.
 
#21 ·
At this point I'm just guessing, but I wonder if it's not an issue with the Body Control Module.

My SEL has the "OFF" switch shown in my picture above and the lights operate as you describe when it's selected to off (dash lights, footwell/ambient lights only). When it's selected to on, the dome light comes on every time the door is opened or the keyfob is used to unlock the door. I also tried on our 9/2011 build SE, and when they're set to on they operate the same.

At this point you've done all the things that could be reasonably expected of you, so it might be time to let the dealer take a crack at it.

Sorry I couldn't be more help.
 
#23 ·
Hey guys, this is probably a stupid question but when the Off LED is toggled so it is lit, I notice that the Off button stays lit even when the doors are closed and the footwell lights go off. Would having the Off button on constantly drain the battery? Probably not but I'm just paranoid about this stuff
 
#24 ·
Yes it would

Hey guys, this is probably a stupid question but when the Off LED is toggled so it is lit, I notice that the Off button stays lit even when the doors are closed and the footwell lights go off. Would having the Off button on constantly drain the battery? Probably not but I'm just paranoid about this stuff
Yes it would if left on all the time, for a long enough period of time of no charging (parked) because the battery is the sole source of its power. However, like the power port in the console the computer probably times out and shuts off the "off button" light after a set time to save the day (and battery).
 
#26 ·
None on mine either, so it probably is.
Only the two front two above the drivers and passengers seats have switches on them.

BTW does anyone know what kind of bulb, or LED is in the dome light and if it is a bulb.
How the hell do you get it apart to swap it out, for a new LED perhaps?
 
#27 ·
^^ Just pull it from the roof like you wanna break it. It won't break and will come right off.
 
#34 ·
If the sensor has something to do with it, I'd say the sensor doesn't always work properly. I tested it by unlocking and opening the doors a few times while parked at the same spot, the dome light turned on only once. Although the dome light isn't necessary for me, it bothers me to know we have no control over it.
 
#35 · (Edited)
Mine turn on about 30% of the time. Cant figure it out.
I have the off button on a Job 2 SE and just cant figure this out. Held every button, car on, car off, door open, door closed and can't get the dome light to work on a regular basis with the door. Works about 30% of the time and sometimes with the keyfob when locking/unlocking. All other lights respond as expected. Not sure what to do short of visiting the dealer.
...the Dome lights operation are still a baffling mystery to me. "The dome lamp will turn on when: any door is opened" mine only turns on if the car is on, is this normal? "The remote entry controls are pressed and the ignition is off" This NEVER happens, normal or a glitch?...I tried to show my dealer what was happening, but since the car was just off a couple minutes, of course the dome lamp came on and they just looked at me like I was crazy. Every night when I use the remote key and enter, dash lights come on but no dome lamp. Is this uhhhh normal??...
...Btw, my dome light still doesn't turn on consistently whenever I unlock the doors with the remote.....
Hey guys -

If your dome lights aren't working properly, please see your dealer about it as soon as possible (even if you have done so already). If you'd like, please shoot me your VIN, mileage, phone number, and dealer information; I'll send these details to your region's Customer Service Manager for review.

In the meantime, please use this link if you'd like to access the owner's manuals: https://owner.ford.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Owner/Page/OwnerGuidePage.



Did this not work?
Thanks for putting this image in the thread! [thumb] It's the exact page in the owner's guide.

^^ Just pull it from the roof like you wanna break it. It won't break and will come right off.
Oh my gosh! [:0] I think you could've also said, "be careful." LOL [:)]

Signing off,

Thomas
 
#36 ·
Manual doesn't match buttons

I'm also having the dome light issue on my 2012 Focus SEL Hatch. No rhyme or reason as to when they go on. I have the "off" button configuration but do you think a button that lights up with the word "off" could be any more confusing?

I'd really love to find out what moron designed this button. If the word "off" is lit up, does that mean that it is off, or does that mean that I have to press the button to turn off the light???!?!?!

Honestly, it shouldn't be that difficult to get a dome light to light up.

And, why doesn't the manual match the button configuration?
 
#37 ·
I'm also having the dome light issue on my 2012 Focus SEL Hatch. No rhyme or reason as to when they go on. I have the "off" button configuration but do you think a button that lights up with the word "off" could be any more confusing?

I'd really love to find out what moron designed this button. If the word "off" is lit up, does that mean that it is off, or does that mean that I have to press the button to turn off the light???!?!?!

Honestly, it shouldn't be that difficult to get a dome light to light up.

And, why doesn't the manual match the button configuration?
Agreed! Why doesn't the manual match the buttons in the car??? By the way, I had the same problem with my car. What I did was to make sure the OFF button was not illuminated. Then I set the button on my key fob to unlock all the doors of the car with one push and not two. Dome lights have been working since then. Saw it posted on another thread and it worked.
 
#42 ·
My dome lights will not come on with 1 or 2 presses of the remote. Had the car to the dealer for the grill shutter harness recall, I told the service manager about the dome light. He took the keys to all the Focus on the lot and found one that did not light as well. He will look into it and have an answer for me the next time I come in.
 
#43 ·
Good luck and please let us know what you find out. I told the service person about the same thing, he just looked at me like I was crazy and said "That makes no sense" He said I could leave it there ... but I don't live very close so just for that it wasn't worth it. I did find out through experimenting that if I push unlock, then lock, then unlock again on the key, the dome light will come on. I do a lot of night driving so the dome light comes in handy, when it works. Don't want to sound like a whiner, aside from the dome light I love the car and have had no other problems with it.
 
#45 ·
Dome lights not turning on

I have tried every combination of suggestions on this page and my dome lights still do not consistently turn on when I unlock the doors with the remote or open the door. Sometimes it works, other times, only the ambient lighting goes on.

Just out of curiosity, a question for those experiencing the same problem, did you at some point disconnect the main battery terminal?

I disconnected the terminal to reset the date. It was one day ahead and I read that I needed to disconnect the terminal to fix the date. This worked in fixing the date but I wonder if it somehow messed up the lighting?
 
#48 ·
I have tried every combination of suggestions on this page and my dome lights still do not consistently turn on when I unlock the doors with the remote or open the door. Sometimes it works, other times, only the ambient lighting goes on.

Just out of curiosity, a question for those experiencing the same problem, did you at some point disconnect the main battery terminal?

I disconnected the terminal to reset the date. It was one day ahead and I read that I needed to disconnect the terminal to fix the date. This worked in fixing the date but I wonder if it somehow messed up the lighting?
We're definitely talking about trying this only in low light correct? Because the 5th printing of the 2012 Focus manual doesn't specifically mention it but I think that due to a light sensor, the dome lights only come on in low light. The ambient lights are the same and along with the dome lights will not come on if the dome light "off" switch is activated. If that's the case, if only checking them after dark and they're still intermittent, I think your FoFo needs some dealer attention. I did "reset" my car unintentionally as I had an incident where the whole car was dead and I put pressure on the + battery cabling and power came back. It didn't affect my interior lighting though.
 
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