My daughter drove this car today. All was fine till she pulled into our drive way and not sure what button she pressed the cabin lights were all flickering and after shutting engine off and restarting all lights were normal. Did anyone experience this?

 

I had intermittent strobe effect interior lights accompanied by the relay(s) that operate them in the rear heelboard clicking followed eventually a month or so later by no interior lights at all. This was due to a poor connection in the drivers door harness which provides the door open signal for the internal lighting. Water had entered the plug and socket connection inside the door and the pin in the plug had dissolved at the base. The problem was intemittent at first and progressively got worse until the interior lighting did not work at all when the pin in the plug failed completely. The actual switch is in the door lock itself but I thought I would check the plug and socket connection first and struck lucky. The other pins in the plug and socket looked fine but were covered with a blue/green layer probably due to the water ingress. Replacing the plug resoved the issue. I have since checked other connectors in various locations and found similar issues due to moisture ingress even though these connectors have a built in rubber moisture seal. There is a switch in each door lock - I had noticed that my problem began with the drivers door and started there first when searching for the cause.

 

Thank you so much. I will keep an eye on this..

 

It happened again. Relay clicking under the rear left passenger seat. The red puddle light was off under the rear right passenger door. A friend of mine came by pulled the puddle light off and reseated the bulb and looks like the problem is now resolved. BTW the battery was drained and not sure if this problem caused it. Will update if I learn any more.

As usual this forum is a savior for a non techie like me. Thanks to all members who give practical solutions to every problem.

 

There's a micro switch inside the door latch, and it usually causes the problem.
Here is the link where I introduce the procedure of checking the switch.

http://jaglover.web.fc2.com/maintena...oorswitch.html

All are written in Japanese but you could see what it is like by the pics.
Normally it can be cured by applying some contact spray into the micro switch.

 

If the problem continues (likely it will), you can simply pull out the puddle lamp for whichever door causes the problem. That will stop the light show, with only the loss of that particular light. This is in lieu of a proper repair, like Ikuma and V126man have generously documented.

It is a common, silly, annoying little problem that happens with age, and it isn't your daughters fault!

 

Thanks. I will pull out the micro switch this weekend and clean it up. Now I know it is not what my daughter did. It's just a coincidence that she was driving. She loves the car very much.

 

Check the plug and socket connection in the door lock harness first. You could be lucky and not need to remove the door lock.

 

Do I still need to remove the panel to access the plug and harness. Novice here.

 

Yes, you will need to remove the door panel as the connection is inside the door. The plug and socket connection is on the wiring loom from the door lock. From memory it's a small black square shaped plug with 6 to 8 pins. There should be a guide to door panel removal in the FAQ section. Not hard to do just take your time and be careful that you dont break the plastic clips holding the panel to the door. I was going to remove the lock but checked this first and discovered one pin inside the plug had corroded through at the base and had broken off. The other pins had a blue/green deposit on them - water ingress even though the plug has a rubber seal. Replacing the plug cured the problem and still working fine 2 years later. The door lock microswitches are also a known cause for this problem. I was just lucky and didn't need to take the lock out.
The door lock switch and wiring harness provide the ground connection for the puddle light. They also provide the ground connection for the module that controls the interior lighting to tell it that the door is open. An old microswitch has a high resistance. This restricts the current that can flow through it and causes a problem for the puddle light. The module that controls the interior lighting requires very little current so the high resistance in the switch is not a problem for it, but because it is connected to the same point as the puddle light it is also affected. This is why it will work OK with the puddle light bulb removed.