Fog Light Switch problems of the 2002 Chrysler Pt Cruiser

On returning home from an event in the evening I parked my vehicle in the garage. I turned off lights and then the ignition and everything shut down except the fog lights stayed on (the vehicle was completely shut off). I never had the fog lights on that evening. I tried various a temps I. E. Pushing the butten in, turning the vehicle on and then off again, etc. , but did not have any success. My wife went online and found (from many people having the same problem with their pt crusiers) to put the left turn signal on, shut off the vehicle, then push the fog light butten in. This worked so that I didn't wake up to a dead battery. If you go online you will find many people who own Pt Cruisers with the identical problem including some having smoke coming from the multi function switch. I hope to hear from someone soon!!.

I had just put fuel in my car and was driving across a parking lot. I proceeded to park my car and noticed smoke rising out of my steering wheel and a burning smell. My lower set of lights ( fog lights) had turned on by themselves, which is odd since they haven't been working for at least two years. In order to stop the smoking in the steering wheel, I had to remove fuse #8. Same set of lights have turned on before a few years back draining my battery since I couldn't turn them off with their switch. In addition, my headlights turn off automatically at random while I'm driving and my clock lights go out frequently. Headlights have gone out on me 5 times over the past 3 years. I try not to drive much at night as a result.

Fog lights came on by themselves while parked with no key in ignition (while at work). Common issue found all over the internet. Cause is a defective multi-function switch. Smelled a burning smell. Repair shop was unable to find any problems through diagnostics which was before the car had been seen during the day with it's running lights on. That drained the battery and required a jump start. Happened several times. Due to overwhelming number of complaints listed throughout the internet for this same issue we feel a recall should be issued as this is a fire hazard. The 15 amp fuse (number 8 on interior fuse panel) never blew but was discolored from heat.

Fog lights won't turn off, stayed on long enough to run down battery. Not good for single elderly woman volunteer stuck in a parking lot across town. Understand the problem has been reported in many, many vehicles for at least 10 years. Did I miss a recall? I'm the original owner. Where in the world will I find a multifunction switch and someone to install it? will the company cover the cost? are they on a fixed income?.

The problem I am having started about 2 months ago, my battery was suddenly drained and I had no idea why. I had to buy a new battery for about $125. When my fog light indicator began to flicker on and off on its own. I'd just press the end of turn signal arm inward towards the steering column and the indicator light went off. Gradually, the pressing process did not work anymore and I discovered that shutting off the car with the left hand turn signal pressed down, at least temporarily solved the problem (so I could do some research on its solution). Not knowing what to do, I brought it into the dealer and for $65 they diagnosed it at a need to replace the multifunction switch which they said required the pulling of steering wheel and over $600 more to fix. I opted out on that, since car has 112,000 miles on it. Then, with a week of very hot 90 degree temperatures, , I found that brand new battery totally drained and began reading the internet posts of the possibility of pulling the fuse. Of course being a USA car, the manual didn't identify the fuse for the fog lamps in the "under the hood" fuse box. It seems that the heat allows the fog lamps to still turn on when the left hand signal arm is pressed downwards. Going further, I found that fuse #8 in the interior dashboard fuse box could be pulled and should solve the problem without further repair. I find it very interesting that Chrysler does not even show you a sketch of the interior fuse box in their owners manual. This approach does mean that the manufacturer of the vehicle is not allowing the buyer (me) to fully enjoy all the features of the vehicle! seems to me that Chrysler corporation has not recalled the defective cars on purpose and needs to have a debacle like Toyota had before they will do the right thing and fix a bad design. .

The contact owns 2002 Chrysler Pt Cruiser. While the vehicle was parked and the engine was turned off, the fog lights began to illuminate without intent. There were several attempts before the fog lights would turn off. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 32,000.

The contact owns a 2002 Chrysler Pt Cruiser. The contact stated the fog lamps would remained on after the vehicle was turned off. The contact had to removed the fuse in order to turn the fog lamps off. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who diagnosed that the switch that operated the external lights was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was not included in any of the recalls. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 103,000.

The contact owns a 2002 Chrysler Pt Cruiser. While the vehicle was parked the fog lights came on and caused the battery to fail. The control switch for the fog lights continued to remain illuminated on the steering column when the lights turned off. The vehicle was not inspected when the complaint was filed. The failure and current mileages were approximately 94,000.

Fog lights would not turn off. Brought into dealership in el segundo, CA for repair on 03/29/06 was told it was an internal switch and repaired for $86. 58. I thought the problem was repaired. Then in 2008 it happened again and I took it into another dealership in w. Los angeles, CA and they told me it was a switch in the steering column so it had to be replaced and that totaled approximately $340. Now on easter (04/04/10) on my way to a bbq to my parents home, the fog lights came on again . . . And wouldn't turn off again. But this time it caused me to panic because it overheated and smoke started to come out of the hazard light switch and turn signal switch while I was just getting off the freeway. I was lucky because I was not to far from my parents home where my brother who was formally a mechanic had the mind to pull out the fuse to the fog lights. The fuse was very hot when he pulled it out and the smoking stopped. He did state that the car could of caught fire if he had not pulled the fuse out in time. I was lucky. I do have the old part available.

The multifunctional light switch on Pt Cruisers is defective. Over 500 Pt Cruiser owners have reported that suddenly the front & back fog lights come on & do not shut off even when the motor & all other switches are turned off. Obviously there is a short in the switch which could result in head lights suddenly being turned off when driving at night. This failure has been constant forcing me & others to remove the fuse controlling the fog lights so that the battery does not drain down after the vehicle is shut down. I and others have encountered extreme difficulty in obtaining a replacement part.

Multifunction switch for headlights and fog lights fails. Lights erratic, safety problem big time at night. Thousands of complaints of the problem since 2001 can be viewed on line under various posts and threads. Obviously a manufacturing defect that the company needs to address. Since the company is now run by the government, should I call the white house?.

The control switch for the headlights on my 2002 Pt Cruiser has gone bad causing the fog lights to be permanently on and draining the battery.

I own a 2002 Pt Cruiser touring edition and recently I have been coming out to my car to find the battery dead, I have a newer battery so this baffled me until I realized today that there is a short of some kind in the multi switch for the headlights and fog lights that caused the fog lights to remain on eventhough everything else was turned off. The following link shows may others are having the same issue and like others until I find out why this is happening I have pulled the fuse for my foglights. . Read more...

Multifunction switch felt like it had additional friction when turning lights on. In the first instance the head lights and fog lights were not coming on when they should. First unit was replaced at the dealership. Second instance the switch did not have any precursor indication of failure, all lights from switch just stopped working one day. Second unit is being replaced at dealership. Part only lasts ~18 months.

2002 Chrysler Pt Cruiser, the multi-function switch, which controls the fog-lights, headlights, and interior panel is faulty. It shorts out, causing smoke, or the fog lights come on when the car is parked, and drains the battery of all power. Driving down the road, the light comes on indicating the fog lights are on, when they have not been activated, then there is a burning smell coming from the steering column, you have to turn the lights on, turn on the blinkers or stop to get this problem to subside. Chrysler has had this problem with thousands of the multi-function switches that have the fog-light option. Please issue an immediate recall before a fire occurs which means the loss of someone's' life. This can be prevented by immediate action on the governments part. The multifunction switch is faulty, very weak.

Fog lights stay on when care is turned off.

Multi-control turn signal lever issue. Fog lights stay on, even with car off. Drains battery. 'very touchy', short? had to pull fuse to temporarily remedy situation.

The problem I am having started about 2 months ago, when my battery was suddenly drained and I had no idea why. I had to buy a new battery, and found it draining as well. I finally discovered that my fog lights were coming on by themselves while the car was parked. It appears that there is a short or some wiring problem in the turn signal switch lever, which has the fog light switch on the end, and the problem has only got worse. For now, the only solution I have found is to flip the lever down to the left turn signal when the car is parked, which somehow keeps the fog light switch from engaging. I have also found that heat, related to the time of the day, seems to also play a part in it. When it is cool, like in the morning, the fog lights do not turn on. As soon as it warms up for the day, they come on and will not turn off. I decided to do a google search today, and found hundreds of complaints in a post regarding the problem, and that Chrysler has never addressed it. The complaints all demonstrate that the left-turn-signal solution I found on my own is the only way to handle the problem. I also noted others have suggested the temperature relationship, where heat from the time of day makes the problem worse. . Read more...

Fog light switch failure, fog lights stay on whether the switch is turned on or off. Smell of burning wires after vehicle sits for a couple of hours with the lights on.

Cannot turn off fog lights/driving lights when headlights are on or off.

Failure of the fog lights to turn off.

The fog lights on my 2002 Pt Cruiser come on by themselves. They have come on during the middle of the night. This has caused my battery to go dead. I had to pull the fuse to make them stop coming on.

The contact owns a 2002 Chrysler Pt Cruiser. The contact stated that the fog light switch becomes stuck and runs down his battery. The failure has caused the vehicle not to start due to the loss of power in the battery. The shop is charging $300 for the repair. The contact researched the internet and found many complaints pertaining to the same failure. The current and failure mileages were 51,000. Updated 02/01/08.

Feb 2006 - June 2006: indicator light on dashboard lights intermittently, appears to indicate a headlamp failure, but no burnt-out bulb is apparent. June 8, 2006: indicator lamp will only go out when high beam or turn signals are on. June 8, 2006: battery dead after car parked for 5 hours. Jump start successful. June 8, 2006: read manual. Discovered that car had fog lights, and that the indicator light meant that the fog lights were on. Only the fog light switch was off. And turning the switch on and off didn't solve the problem. June 9, 2006: pulled relevant fuse. Hope nothing critical is on the same circuit.

Multifunction light switch failure, causing lights to come on when car not operating. Short in wiring caused sparks and smoke.