Well I've had my car for three years and love it except for the gremlins that pop up in the electrical system every once in a while. When you remove the key from the ignition the interior lights are suppossed to turn on, but mine don't anymore. It started with it sometimes not working or sometimes being delayed a few seconds but now it just doesn't work period. Anyone have any ideas or have had a similar problem?

My Driver Info Center is flakey too but I'll try the fix listed in the tech info.

thanks,
Jeff

Just off the top of my head, I'd start with the ignition switch, since that'* the only thing that'* actually operated at the moment you shut off the car. Maybe it'* out of adjustment somehow? Does wiggling the key make any difference? (When I say "ignition switch," I don't mean where you put the key in; I mean the electrical switch that the key lock actually operates.)

Um, you mean my fix, of basically taking the gauge cluster out and putting it in again?

Hmmm. I'm not sure what controls that feature in the later models - I don't have it. Maybe a control module going bad?

Basicly yeah , had it fixed under warranty one time they sent the cluster off to delphi and was without the car for three days got it back and it was fine for a while and then it started trippin out again. Though now sometimes it will ding and try to say that the hood is ajar but it is not, and it will just keep dinging over and over (really annoying) and then just stop.

For the lights it could be a controller but i'd have no idea where to find it, it also seems like when I shut the door the lights dim way faster than they should. Another prob is that sometimes even though the twilight sentinel is set to the minimum setting it will keep the headlights on for the full three minutes. Aside from the DIC mostly minor things but still annoying none the less, (everything must work perfectly )

I don't think that particular problem is in the cluster, since what you're seeing is its correct response for that input. I would check the gadget that'* triggering the signal in the first place, the big pin switch under the hood. Maybe it'* just barely opening its contacts when the hood is closed, and body flex while driving lets it trigger the alarm every now and then.

Someone with a factory manual for your model year can tell you where those components are, and how to test them.

Sounds like a bad rheostat in the control ring around the headlight switch. Can you get your hands on another known-good one to swap in?

Ayup, join the club.

Would a rheostat just stop working, or act up intermitently like I'm experiencing? I'll have to look into that, hmm...

Where can I find a factory manual for my car? that may come in handy in the future

thanks,
Jeff

Try eBay or www.helm.com

Yes, especially if it gets oxidized or dirty. I would try working the control ring all the way back and forth a few times and see if that improves things at all, or see if it works properly at other positions on the dial, etc...