Question about Interior Lights

Hi all, parked my car in the garage [did not lock car],went inside and had my tea about one hour. went back in garage [very dark] and could see that the led lighting for the door handles and the boot/bonnet release were still illuminated so i locked the car and they went out [dont usually lock my car] so do your cars do this and if so how long would it take for them to go out or do i have a problem.cheers mark

Hi Mark, I noticed that 996TT did the same as I never use to lock my cars in the garage, but now i use a battery conditioner and keep it locked 24/7...I'm sure the insurance company would want the CAT1 alarm armed at all times

Hmm... I will come and see... what is your full address??? :mrgreen:

The owners manual states that: " the light-emitting diodes are switched on when the vehicle is unlocked and switched off when the vehicle is locked." From that I conclude that they won't go out unless the car is locked. BUT I'll check mine out as I've often left mine unlocked in a dark garage I've never noticed any light coming from the interior.

Ok bud, that would be great if you could check out your interior lighting and let me know.cheers mark

I've just finished playing in the dark and can report as follows: If the ignition key is removed and the car is left unlocked the lights in the doors and a small light on the panel in front of the rear view mirror stay on for 20 seconds. The mileometer reading, trip meter reading and digital speedo digits all display for about 3 minutes. Then there is total darknesss. ps. I've just reread your original post and it mentions something about the boot and bonnet releases. I didn't check those but from what I recall of them they aren't actually illuminated but just shine in the dark like the numbers and hands on a watch.

Agree with T8996C4; all interior lights should go out after a short time, regardless of whether the car is locked or not (mine do, 2003 996 C2).

Hi there, thanks for checking but my boot and bonnet releases do light up also the led lights in the 2 x door panels next to the door pulls and the led next to the rear view mirror.i know it says in the owners manual that the orientation lights go on when the door is unlocked and go off when locked .ive never noticed this until now and would have thought that they would have turned off after a short period of time just like the main interior lights.ps you can only see the bonnet/boot lights are on if you look through the windscreen as opposed to looking through the door glass.if you could have another look for me.cheers mark

Further to this I've just gone through the whole routine again and am still not convinced that the bonnet/boot release icons are actually illuminated. I'm still of the opinion that they are just luminous. Regarding the LED lights in the door release I have to say that I had never even noticed this before. I seem to only have one on the drivers side and it seems to be shining at the ignition switch. You're right Marky in that you can only see them by looking in through the front windscreen. To answer your original question these WERE still lit after 5 minutes with the car unlocked BUT they were also still lit 5 minutes after I locked the car. Tomorrow night (a bit earlier than this) I'll leave the car unlocked for an hour and then lock it and check again an hour later as you've now got me curious. T8

Thanks mate, for going through all this but my 2 x door panels have led next to the door handles,one led above the interior mirror and the bonnet/boot lights with the seat memory buttons defo light up.i also found a small button in the interior light unit which if you press in with a pen will make the mirror led light brighter or less bright with each press.cheers mark

As promised I went through all this again tonight. My car (a Jan 2002 C4) has only got a light on the front of the drivers side door handle/arm rest. I left the car unlocked tonight and went back after 90 minutes and the door light and bonnet/boot release buttons had gone out. I don't know excatly when they went out but was pleased to note that they had. When I opened the door they all came back on again and when I locked the car they went off quite quickly. The fact that the bonnet/boot release light does go on and off confirms your view that it is an illuminated switch. T8