Has anyone found a good way to disable dome lights on Econoline (2006)

[Big_ern_101]

Looking to find a super clean and concise way to disable all dome lights from a single point in my 2006 Econoline with the old style mechanical pull-out headlight switch.

From looking at the schematics, I believe the easiest way to do this would be to interrupt the black/white trace wire at the instrument cluster OR the black/light blue trace wire coming off the interior lamp relay.

Ideally I would also be able to bypass the battery saver relay so I can turn my dome lights on indefinitely as needed, I have LED bulbs so the draw is very minimal.

Turning the lights on from a switch is easy, just ground one of the door switches. If I used another relay and diode isolated it I could bypass the battery saver relay easy peasy

Thoughts?

[loper]

I disconnected and removed the switches in the door jambs on my van. I taped the wire connectors to make sure they wouldn't short out from some unforeseen reason.

I can still turn the dome light on with the light switch.

[BlackSheep]

The original builder of my van added two switches. One on the dash (appears to be SPST) where I can access it while in the driver seat - this allows me to turn on or off the interior lights.


The second (SPDT) is in the living space of the campervan.The three positions of the SPDT switch are as follows:
One of the 'on' position gets all of the house lights coming on with the OE dome light if I have the dash switch in the 'on' position.
The 'off' position is none of the house lights coming on at all regardless of dash switch.
the other 'on' position of the SPDT allows me to control the house lights while in the living space (without any impact on the dome lights).



I don't know the details of which wires he used for the dash switch but it is simple - either off or on for the dome lights.

[N147JK]

Most cars have a 3-position switch for the dome light. "On" = light is always on regardless of doors. "Off" = light is always off regardless of doors. "Door" = light is on only when door is open. This switch is missing in the Econoline vans (at least in my '01 E250).

So I added a 3-position switch up next to the dome light. I connected in the existing factory power source for the light to one position (this is "door") and ran a new 12 volt line from "house" power to the other position (this is "on"). 3rd position is "Off".

This works perfectly as I don't have to mess with the headlight rheostat switch and still get full control of the light. It lets me use the dome light as an additional interior light when out camping that's powered by the house battery (not starter battery). And it retains the original "door" light function as well.