Truck Dome light stays on

[hudr]

Ok, here's a riddle. I recently bought a 97 K3500 Chevy crew cab dually. There are two dome light assy's, (a large center bulb w/ a "map light" on each side) one over the front seats and one over the rear seats. The front dome wasn't coming on via door opening or switch, back one operated normally. Burnt out bulb, right? SO..... I came across an LED replacement for the festoon type bulb in those fixtures. I replaced both w/ this type bulb. Rear bulb works as it should. The front one however still does not operate via door or dash switch but stays faintly on all the time. It will light up completely when one of the map light pushbutton switches is used. Huh? I will be delving into my copy of the electrical manual for this truck but was wondering if anyone else could come up w/ an explanation for this behaviour. Things that have crossed my mind... crossed wires, faulty timer, 10 year old gremlins? I know LEDs can cause some weird "issues" due to their low current draw, but I figured this was a pretty staightforward application.
Any ideas?

[Pat]

Who was the prev owner, Linda Blair?

Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Michael]

I would try a regular replacement bulb and see if that cures the problem.

[Pat]

I re-read the original post and SHAZAM!!!! hmm timer hmm
Maybe their is a simple explanation not requiring possesion by the devil.

If there is a simple RC time constant or equivalent that determines the time interval on the light then it could easily be that the LED which has much lower current requirements makes a very large impact on the time period of the timed light.

If the above is the case there are some probable outcomes: 1. Don't worry about it and the light will eventually time out (it will just take a long time) and it isn't using much current so although lit a long time it isn't going to seriously drain your battery. OR

2. The LED is not compatible with the timer circuit and the timer will not time out which leaves the LED on at low intensity forever. This would eventually over a very very loooooong time drain a battery but for practical purposes might not be enough load to worry about.

Does the circuit still work correctly if you put the recommended bulb in it? If yes, you haven't hurt anything. I'd leave the LED in at least overnight or maybe a weekend to see if it eventually goes out and if it did and you don't mind, then accept the way it works.

Then again it is nearing Haloween and who knows what forces may be at play.

Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]