Head light auto shut off when door is opened.

[Dawgem]

Please help me, the wife is killing me with the dead batteries. She drives a 1996 Camry LE, 4 cylinder. The auto shut off switch for the head lights must be dead. Where is this switch and is it a problem to fix/replace?

[ShawnM]

Do the dome lights work? If the dome light fuse is blown (same circuit as the door switches) the headlights will not turn off automatically when you open the door. Thats probably the easiest thing to check. If its not that I would suspect the integration relay or the ignition switch.

[Dave's]

My guess (based on experiance ) would be the door switch. If the dome light doesn't come on when the door is opened and it should, there you go. Clean up the door sw. or replace it.

[Mike Gerber]

I agree with Dave's and UFO's assessment. Check the door switch on the driver's door. They have a tendancy to get rusty and not work properly when the door is opened. The switch is not on the front of the door jam but in the jam between the front and rear doors. It faces outward and is covered by a rubber boot. Just pull up the boot from the bottom to expose a 10MM bolt. Remove the bolt and pull the switch out just a little bit so you have room to work on it. Chances are it is rusty on the back side. This is pretty common. Just clean the area with a wire brush and also clean the threads of the bolt. Then add some dielectric grease to everything and reinstall it. That switch just completes a path when the door is opened and the button pops out. That rust may be making a poor electrical contact. This should take you about 10 minutes.

Mike