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Strange Interior Lighting Issue

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Alright, so on the factory dome light in the car (the one that has three settings, On, On when door is open, and off) the light obviously comes on when the door is open and the key is not in the ignition. It also comes on when you unlock the door.

So I hardwired my Valentine One radar detector to the wiring that runs along the A-pillar underneath the plastic trim piece, as I keep the detector on the top half of the windshield. During this, I forgot to disconnect the battery and accidentally crossed two wires and blew the 10A fuse for the interior lighting. Replaced it and everything works again. However, now when the door is open and the key is out of the ignition, the light no longer comes on. It comes on when it is set to "Full Time On" however. Whenever the key is in the ignition and the car is on, the light comes on whenever the door is opened. The radar detector is on full time, as it has constant power without the key in. (I take it out and put it in the glovebox every time I get out.)

So, I'm kind of baffled. Is the radar detector pulling too much power to operate both with the key out of the ignition? It's a stupid problem, but it kind of bugs me. Any insight? Is there a relay that possibly needs to be replaced? There's nothing that is labeled in the footwell fuse box or engine bay fuse box.

CLIFFS:

Prior to radar detector:
Dome light comes on when car is unlocked and when door is open WITH NO KEY.

Post to radar detector:
Dome light only comes on when door is open WITH KEY TURNED TO IGNITION.

I'm considering reverting it back to factory wiring with no hardwire to see if that changes anything. Also, the little clock in the center of the gauge cluster is no longer there. No numbers at all, but I'm not too worried about that.

Thanks!
 
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I would also like to know the solution as I have the exact same problem but all i did was touch the 2 contacts by accident when replacing the dome bulb. No my light does exactly what yours does!
 

Cess

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Any consolation, mine does the same too. Would be keen to see if there is a solution.
 
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Hey Dudes!

So I figured a lot out. There is a "delayed entrance control unit" or also known as Unified Meter Control Unit in the gauge cluster that controls the rear window defogger, clock on the gauge cluster, dome light operation, and the door chime. This seems to be a common fault on Nissan Altima/Sentra's, it seems.

However, it turned out that I overlooked a blown fuse. CHECK EVERY SINGLE FUSE, even if it takes you a while.




 
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Thread revival, I'm having the same issue with mine too.

I had hardwired a dash camera, replacing the current one that was already hardwired too. So knowing what I was doing I had turned the battery isolator off on the car then proceed to hardwire the new camera. When I switched the isolator back on everything was going sweet, then I noticed the lights not working (same issue as OP) I noticed no fuses blowing during the whole time.

Which fuse was it that you had missed that was blown in the first place?
 
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