Normally this wouldn't bother me, but recently I've been driving more and more after the sun goes down, and it's just nice having lights that actually turn on when I open the door so I can see if I left anything in the passanger seat without having to worry about leaving the dome light switched on.

Anyways, is this a common problem? If so, where should I be looking? I know the bulbs are perfectly fine because when they do decide to turn on it's pretty bright in the garage.

 

I think it has to do with a bad contact between the bulb and the socket. You can try cleaning out the socket really well with some electrical cleaner and also inspect the socket closely to make sure you have good contact.

 

My overhead light been doing it for years, i clean it, mess with the contacts. Seems once i touch the bulb the slightest it comes on instantly.

But If your doors arent working then check the plunger switch

 

The only "Courtesy" light I get is when I am driving.Someone Flicks me the Hi's..("Hey,turn your lights down"!..lol!)
Funny,the lights are on LO and the car sits perfect to blind oncoming traffic!

 

Mine does the exact same thing. Remove the cover and move the bulb, and it pops on. I suppose I could resolder the connections, but I just ignore it.

This. The passenger side switch in my car works much better after a little cleaning. Unbolt the switch and clean it up.

 

I'm assuming the plungers are the little black single wire things screwed to the bottom of the inside door part?

I know contacts could be corroded on the overhead but even so wouldn't it attempt to flicker on the couple times I've sat there and slid the switch back and forth for a while? I don't think it's the connection to the bulb socket either cuz it's fine in the on position while driving, no flickering or anything, and I've got brick roads all around to prove that.

 

So it works in the on position ,but not in the position where the light turns on w/the door open. If this is the case then try unscrewing the door plunger device and w/the light switch in the proper position place a ground to the plunger wire and the light should come on. If it does not then the switch in the housing is probably the cause.

 

I know this is an old thread, but I have a question.
I am slowly getting around to removing and replacing my interior bulbs with LEDs. We all know how old these cars are and everything seems to be so damn brittle - because everything is! My question is: for the courtesy light bulb replacement, would I be able to replace them without removing the he door card? Or is the plastic (and I'm assuming it's brittle) lens removeable from the front, maybe a thin blade screwdriver while wearing kid gloves?
Also, while I am here, is the concentration of light from an LED so intense that it would not be effective to replace the instrument cluster bulb with one of them? Not that my cluster bulb is out, but would an LED diffuse evenly across the board?