Pelican Parts Forums - dome light problem solved!-the answer

It was a combination of three things all preventing a path to chassis ground. The headliner had recently been replaced. The installer did not leave a bare metal spot for the light to contact chassis ground. That solved the light not going on in the full forward position-i.e. reading a map while inside the car. However, the problem of door open-light on, still existed. Naturally I suspected some p.o. tinkering and unwittingly screwing things up, so I traced out everything electrical as pertains to dome lights. As it turns out it was just stupid me forgetting to remove the light bulb from the circuit. Hence the 12v at all leads. Once that was removed I checked the door switches again. Turns out the drivers door switch was oxidized, preventing a return path. Once cleaned it worked. The passenger side still has it's rubber boot over the switch. That had hardened to the point that it held the switch in, not allowing the path to ground. Once removed, the switch works fine.

Boring-yes, but if it helps someone in the dark (literally) it wasn't a waste of bandwidth.