The interior lights fail to come on when the door is opened or the key pulled out.

All the personal lights work manually but the primary off/auto/on does nothing.

The grandkids were messing about in the rear seats with the light switch but I've put the switch back to auto without success.

Fuse 43 - interior lighting - is a suspect but as all the personal lights work I conclude it's OK.

I can't find anything in the Menus on the Amundsen relating to interior lights.

Can anyone suggest where else to check?

Make sure the lovely grandkids didn't shove a 5p piece into any 12v socket or damage any USB sockets....that's the usual thing

2 hours ago, varaderoguy said:

Make sure the lovely grandkids didn't shove a 5p piece into any 12v socket or damage any USB sockets....that's the usual thing

No damage in that area but mud all over the seats, carpets, windows, backs of front seats and on the climbing frame aka driver's central arm rest.

I'm going check the fuse and plug in my OBDII tomorrow. 🤦🏻

Hi John,

I picked up a 2015 vRS today and have discovered the same issue I think you've reported. Each of the map lights work individually but when I toggle the main switch nothing happens. Nothing happens when the doors are open either - odd.

Good to know I'm not alone!

I never got round to further investigations today because a) SWMBO had me on full domestic chores and b) it was bloody cold

I checked the unusual fuse and it was fine. (The hard part was putting the glove box back.)
I plugged in my OBDEleven and apart from some minor errors there was no reference to interior lighting.

I did find this thread on the site which suggested the switch in the assembly above the mirror maybe faulty. I don't think it's a microswitch in the driver's door as no door activates the courtesy lamp. I suspect the inspection/repair of the light switch assembly is above my pay grade. 😕

Edited 28 November, 202528 Nov by BionicJohn

I had the same problem with a newly-purchased 2013 car and read that it's common for the the rocker switch in the front light assembly to corrode and fail. I found a replacement unit on ebay from a breaker who was knowledgeable of the issue and had checked the switch on the unit he was selling. It was an easy replacement thanks to a helpful youtube video and the rear roof lights were reactivated with the new unit. (If I can do it, anyone can!)

Edited 29 November, 202529 Nov by Jellingtonbean

I had this problem with my 2014 Octavia. As above, the rocker switch in the overhead panel corrodes. The problem is they all do it, so a replacement part from a breaker is likely to be the same, although you could be lucky. My fix in the end was to solder a jumper cable onto my existing failed switch. I'll have to do some digging to see if I can find the details but it worked and is still working!

I've ordered a replacement switch/light assembly from eBay. 🤞🏻

Found it! Here is what I did. Although hopefully your replacement works. Word of advice, swap the bulbs for LEDs. Apparently the heat from the standard bulbs contributes to the corrosion. Not sure if it's true but it doesn't hurt to swap!

4 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

I had this problem with my 2014 Octavia. As above, the rocker switch in the overhead panel corrodes. The problem is they all do it, so a replacement part from a breaker is likely to be the same, although you could be lucky. My fix in the end was to solder a jumper cable onto my existing failed switch. I'll have to do some digging to see if I can find the details but it worked and is still working!

Your photobucket image shows as "currently unavailable" - are the permissions set to public?

I wasn't aware I had photobucket! 😆

These are the pictures, hopefully this works:

4 hours ago, JeremyS said:

I wasn't aware I had photobucket! 😆

It's in your signature...

Update.

I seem unable to upload photos ("Sorry, an unknown server error occurred when uploading this file. Error code: -200") so they are here: https://bigjohnd.org.uk/Octavia1/

I bought the assembly off eBay. It was pretty grubby, and it had been rather crudely removed with all the wires just cut, so I removed the tails and plugs for the mainboard sockets.

I had hoped to remove the entire existing assembly and replace it with the"new" one but that's not really how it's done. Not least because the wiring sockets cannot be accessed that way.

The smaller fascia panels can be removed while sitting in the car - they are designed to removed easily by flipping out the rear facing edge/side first. There are 2 screws to be removed as well to get full access to the main circuit board.

However, during my experimenting I had to hit the fascia panel with the lenses in fairly hard to get it back in place, and Lo and Behold, the courtesy light system started working!
So, 🤞, it's OK at the moment.

PS: The W5W LEDs are a big improvement.

Edited 9 December, 20259 Dec by BionicJohn

Thanks for sharing John. I'm going to try and repair mine using a jumper cable like Jeremy has done, when I can get round to removing it.

Can the light unit be removed on it's own, or does the whole assembly including the sunglasses holder have to come out also?

You leave the whole assembly in roof, removing the three fascia pieces and the two screws to remove the main circuit board. Disconnecting the three cables is a bit tricky.

If you're soldering, you need to take the main board completely out.

I was unable to remove the complete assembly despite having a set of trim removal tools and knowing where to put them.

There's no need to remove the glasses drawer. If you do, the return springs are likely to fall out and be fiddly to re-fit correctly.

Edited 9 December, 20259 Dec by BionicJohn

On 30/11/2025 at 17:51, JeremyS said:

I wasn't aware I had photobucket! 😆

These are the pictures, hopefully this works:

Appreciate this is a slightly aged thread but this fix has worked a treat for me, I resoldered the dry joints added a jumper and hey presto interior lights that work as expected. 👍