Yesterday I got something out of the back door of Bucky....and now the little indicator light thingy on the dash is saying thaat the back door is open..when its not...and my dome light stays on (until I hit the switch and turn it off manually)...Never saw or heard of anything like this..I played with the switch in the door jam and still it stays on..Do these things go bad ofter?? Dirty contacts?? I know its annoying and dont want to add anymore black electrical tape to cover these lights:grin:

No specific knowledge of Subaru switches, but most cars use pin-switches that ground the wire attached to them when the door is open.

 

Yes, this style of pin-switch often goes bad, more so in the bad ol' days when they did not put rubber weather boots over them. They corrode, get crud in them, break, short, open, blahh, blah, blah. The good news is that they are dirt simple switches and generally are easy to either repair or replace.

 

It sounds like yours either stuck "closed" or the wire shorted to ground.