Interior lights in tailgate....do they turn off?

[Antz_Marchin]

Just wondering if there is any way to get the interior lights in the top tailgate section (2 pointing down when the gate is open) to turn off with the tailgate open? I had all the doors and the back open today to wash the truck and could get the roof ones off just by clicking the middle button on each but can't get the ones in the back off no matter what I do.

Thanks

[nom3rcy]

In the front overhead console between the map light buttons is a central light button.

Press that and they should turn off, hold it down so that they are always off.

[Antz_Marchin]

Alright, thanks I thought I heard that somewhere before so I gave that a try but it didn't seem to work, even for the back seats. Maybe I didn't hold it long enough. It's an '03 not sure if tricks like this were different in various years.

[X Foomph]

To my knowledge, no switch for the 2 tailgate lights.

[motordavid]

Originally Posted by X Foomph

To my knowledge, no switch for the 2 tailgate lights.

on our '01, they won't go out until I close the top tailgate or
the batt goes kaboom.

[Antz_Marchin]

Hey again guys, yeah I've tried everything with no luck. I think this is a really stupid design to not allow these to be turned off for things like tailgating, camping and the drive-in.

Now that aside, are these lights on their own fuse that I could simply take out so that they won't turn on period and I can keep the gate open without draining the battery? Or what about simply removing the bulbs all together (not sure if the power going to the outlet but no bulb could still drain the battery?).

Thanks

[dkl]

Those lights should shut off automatically after about 15minutes or so if the tailgate/hatch is left open (at least that's what mine does). Or, alternatively, you can use a screwdriver to push-in on the latch mechanism, tricking the system into thinking the hatch has been shut (I've done this a few times when I didn't want to wait for the auto-off function to kick in).

[thedweeb]

Originally Posted by dkl

Those lights should shut off automatically after about 15minutes or so if the tailgate/hatch is left open (at least that's what mine does). Or, alternatively, you can use a screwdriver to push-in on the latch mechanism, tricking the system into thinking the hatch has been shut (I've done this a few times when I didn't want to wait for the auto-off function to kick in).

The boot lights will turn off after about 15 mins.