ADCHCrash Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 I can't believe I am the only person to complain about this "feature" but here goes. I just bought a 2015 Transit Connect XL (LWB) last Friday. I transport dogs in crates to dog shows (performance events, agiliy, frisbee, etc) so the cargo space in this tiny van is great for my purposes and so far I love it. When I got to shows, however, I will park in the shade, open the side doors and the back door and leave them open all day. I will also periodically come back to the car and sometimes have to open one or both of the front doors. For some reason Ford decided to have the front, rear, and interior lights come on when a door is open, and then all these lights stay on for 10 minutes. If you open another (different) door after the lights finally go out, they all come on again and your 10 minutes starts all over again. There is some information about turning off the headlights when a door is open and I've done that, but there are still lights in the front head light and tail light assembly that come on and stay on, not to mention the LED light in the back cargo area which has no switch whatsoever associated with it (unlike every other vehicle in America). I took it back to the dealer and was basically told I was SOL. Apparently this is programmed into the ECU and cannot be changed. Does anyone know if there is a workaround or way to change the behavior or the timing. Is no one else bothered by this "feature"? Thanks!! Amanda pretty happy except for this one little thing.... Bill Maghan and Willygee 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windguy Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 yeah, that light feature annoyed me at first but I've gotten semi used to it by now, It seems the cargo light is the only one that stays on for a long time when doors are left open. I also got the LED cargo light option and that thing is super bright compared to a regular dome light. For my uses, I'd like to have a switch for that light so that I can turn it on when needed, so the switch would be OFF/ON/DOOR, like most normal lights in a car. I may add another light or tap into that one and add the switch at some point. might also move it more towards the rear/center rather than off to the side. I have a rack that hangs from the ceiling and it partially blocks the light now. Acadian 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackiels Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 I have a 2015 TC XL SWB and am afraid to leave the doors open because the dumb cargo light will not turn off! Is it safe to leave the doors open, or is there a way to turn this light off? I once left the map light on in my Honda and woke up to a dead battery. Can anyone help with this? Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windguy Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 (edited) I have a 2015 TC XL SWB and am afraid to leave the doors open because the dumb cargo light will not turn off! Is it safe to leave the doors open, or is there a way to turn this light off? I once left the map light on in my Honda and woke up to a dead battery. Can anyone help with this? Thanks!! welcome to the Forum. congrats on your new van! no worries about the lights. they will turn off on their own after a few minutes. same for outside lights. I sometimes leave the sliders open for a long time rather than keep opening/shutting and resetting the light sequence. yeah, design wise it would be nice if they faded off after 10 seconds but sometimes the light comes in handy. also would be better if the rear cargo light had a 3 option switch - on/off/door. we discussed this issue in another thread somewhere on the Forum months ago. regarding the map light, that one does have a on/off/door switch so make sure it's on door. I haven't tested to see what happens if it's left in the ON position to see if it will go off after a while. Edited June 16, 2015 by windguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bahavw Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 I hate this feature too. I will put LEDs everywhere eventually but it's more than that. I like camping under the stars not the taillights. Come on Ford, It's as simple as a new download for the computer. Or I will eventually mangle your nice pretty wiring harness and install a switch myself. joyous 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikinchris Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 These vehicles will not let you leave anything on long enough to kill the battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davek Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 I have a friend with a 2015 transit who went to Car Toys and one of the mechanics turned off the feature where the lights go on when you open the door. Bad for camping. I asked the ford mechanic and he wouldn't and probably couldn't do the same for mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windguy Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 I have a friend with a 2015 transit who went to Car Toys and one of the mechanics turned off the feature where the lights go on when you open the door. Bad for camping. I asked the ford mechanic and he wouldn't and probably couldn't do the same for mine. it would be cool to find out how this mechanic made that fix. perhaps your friend can find out more. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckethead Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 Amanda, I've discovered that if you cycle the ingnition after opening a door, the exterior lights will turn off and subsequent door openings won't turn them back on. The cargo light is different. I plan to put a switch on it. Bill Maghan and gargman 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADCHCrash Posted April 26, 2016 Author Share Posted April 26, 2016 I *did* figure that out, too. So, yes, at least the headlights are off. But the interior light is enough to drive me crazy. Even if I have the side doors open (and the light has gone off), if I open one of the front doors, the damn interior light comes on again. Who thought this through? It's incredibly stupid. Now I leave the windows down so I can reach in if needed. It works as long as I don't actually need to get back into the front seat, but still annoys me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckethead Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 Its also easy to pop out the lamp and pull of a connector which is what I did today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gargman Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 Agree, its anoying butna simple fix to the inside cargo light. I just popped it out and spliced in a toggle switch. There isn't much wire when you pull it out so be careful when you cut the wires to leave enough to splice it back into the terminals on the switch. then I just used Old Faithful, Gorilla Tape, and take it nice and neatly right back next to the light. it may not look OEM but it works perfect. I still however I'm annoyed at the fact that the parking lights stay on every time you open any door! I have not found a workaround for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gargman Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 Agree, its anoying butna simple fix to the inside cargo light. I just popped it out and spliced in a toggle switch. There isn't much wire when you pull it out so be careful when you cut the wires to leave enough to splice it back into the terminals on the switch. then I just used Old Faithful, Gorilla Tape, and take it nice and neatly right back next to the light. it may not look OEM but it works perfect. I still however I'm annoyed at the fact that the parking lights stay on every time you open any door! I have not found a workaround for that. Bill Maghan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Maghan Posted May 26, 2016 Share Posted May 26, 2016 Engine off, key in pocket, any rear door open: Push the turn signal switch forward then back. Hear one chirp. This tuns off the outside lights until the next time the car has been locked. The dome lights will still stay on for ten minutes after each time a front door has been closed and opened. DapperVan, mrtn, NateTheFknGreat and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateTheFknGreat Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 Engine off, key in pocket, any rear door open: Push the turn signal switch forward then back. Hear one chirp. This tuns off the outside lights until the next time the car has been locked. The dome lights will still stay on for ten minutes after each time a front door has been closed and opened. I gotta try this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrm223 Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 Interesting! I'll have to try that turn signal method, too. In theory, my lights should almost never turn on again, lol - I don't generally bother with locking my doors... They might get locked once a week, depending on where I'm at. Last night, I even forgot to close the windows, oops - at least it didn't rain overnight! I already pulled out the cargo dome light bulb within a month of buying the van (had it just over a year now) and I leave the front domelight in off position unless I need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newtconer Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 (edited) I am annoyed by those lights being turned on by door opening. Mine is a 2016 TC XL. I tried the approach of pushing forward turning signal switch (actually it is On/Off high beam). It worked,but only for that instance. I had to repeat it each time I opened the door. Well, it is better than nothing! I do have a question on removing the cargo lamp. Can I just remove the LED without touching anything else? (I don't understand why doing those extra steps, e.g. removing the connector or "spliced in a toggle switch", etc). Thx. PS. My cargo lamp would go off about 12~16 sec. after shutting the door. Regardless, I just don't like it being turn on. Edited September 6, 2016 by newtconer Add a few more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrm223 Posted September 29, 2016 Share Posted September 29, 2016 I have the same experience as newtconer, having to do the high-beam-stalk trick basically each time I want to have the doors open :( Newtconer, as for the cargo lamp, you could just pull the bulb out. The toggle switch is just to make it easier to turn on/off. I have a van instead of wagon and it had an incandescent bulb, I pulled it out last summer. Eventually, I'll get around to installing & wiring several LED lights on a double-throw switch for On/Off/Door (same function switch as the front over-head light). Just need to figure out which ones I want to buy for it, but I also have lots of other projects going on in life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtn Posted September 29, 2016 Share Posted September 29, 2016 I asked the dealership to disable the door ajar/lights on. They refused as it's supposed to be a safety feature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty150 Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 (edited) My solution was just to install an LED lamp. The OEM lamp uses 5 watts of electricity. Hardly enough to drain your battery. If that little lamp drains your electrical system, then you've got bigger problems than a lamp that stays on for 10 seconds. The LED replacement which I chose uses only 2 watts. 2PCS Aaron Pure White T10 T15 192 168 921 194 W5W 50W LED Bulbs Extremely Bright Great update for DRL Backup Reverse Side Marker Lights by Aaron 4.7 out of 5 stars 11 customer reviews Price: $18.99 | FREE One-Day Delivered tomorrow for FREE with qualifying orders over $35. Details In Stock. Want it tomorrow, Oct. 5? Order within 56 mins and choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details Sold by ARTR(AaronCarLED) and Fulfilled by Amazon. Package include: 2Pcs (1 Pair) Aaron T10 50W Pure White LED Bulbs Working Voltage: 12V-24V Length: 1.57 inch (40 mm) Maybe longer than stock bulbs. Application: Side Marker Reverse Back up light Lumen: 500 each bulb. Power consumption: 2W each bulb. Edited October 4, 2016 by Fifty150 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty150 Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty150 Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 Lamps similar to this were placed behind the yellow lens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty150 Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 They were left over from another project. I originally had these next to the headlamp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty150 Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr B Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 I am a window cleaner rear doors or side doors once left open, the rear and front headlights stay on for quite a while, as my work is stop and start, i.e. Within sometimes 50 metres, I have after moving van 5/6 times had the battery die. waiting for fords on this one....but why can't you change settings for the rear lights delay? not worried about the LED in back of van, it's the rear tail and headlights that suck the juice out of the battery apart from this , love the van Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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