My 2013 RT Challenger interior lights used to work when opening the doors. This past Fall, they just stopped coming on. I tried pulling the fuses and the relays as I read about them being the issue and then decided that in the Spring I would replace the switch when it got a little warmer outside.

But, lately since the outside temps have been cold, the engine started delaying a little bit on cold startup after the car set for a few days. So tonight I replaced the original Chrysler battery with a new unit. As I opened the door to startup the car, the dome lights now work! I even open/closed the doors several times to make sure that they were working correctly (and while cleaning it out).

Why do they now work?

Was the original 8+ year old battery too low and causing the computer to shut down this circuit?
Did the battery swap reset a module that was having an issue?

I'm just curious and happy at the same time.

Thanks

I've been giving some thought to putting the battery on a 5 year replacement schedule just to avoid any issues. Anybody know of any pros or cons, aside from cost?