Tom in Austin

Trying to figure out the behavior of three interior lights ... the one above the rearview mirror and the two in the forward part of the doors. I believe these are supposed to function as a group controlled by opening either of the doors.

None were operative. First I pulled the one on the driver's door, thoroughly cleaned the contacts and verified the bulb was good. After putting it back in and setting the black switch to the 'door open' position, it began working as described in the manual (comes on when either door opened, stays on until 30 secs pass, ignition turned on or door locked). So far so good.

Next I took out the one on the passenger door. Someone had broken the plastic housing, leaving the terminal on one side totally detached. I super-glued it back on, cleaned contacts, etc. and found it now worked the same as driver's side. However, with the pass side working, now the driver's side no longer turns off!

Finally, I pulled the one in the headliner above the rearview mirror. Same routine, good bulb, all contacts clean. However this one will not come on with either door being opened. If you turn it the other way it lights and stays lit as it should.

So here are my questions for today:

First, is it correct that these three work 'as a group' when set to the 'door open' position? That is all turn on when either door is opened and all shut off when one of the three 'off' conditions is met?

Second, what would have caused the one on the driver's side to no longer turn off after the one on the passenger side was repaired?

And third, why won't the one in the headliner work at all when opening a door?

steaditim

Assuming the bulbs are good, The interior lights all have three positions to them. If you put a finger on the far ends of the light and push one way or the other, they will toggle between center, left or right.

I can't remember which is which, but one position is off, one is door on, and the other is always on.

Mrmerlin

you need to verify that all of the lights are wired the same way that also includes the ones in the hatch. One wire will be power one is pin switch ground and the other is chassis ground .
Since you into the super glue deal it would be wise to replace any lights that are not perfect, thats is usually all of them, after you install them, turn them all off and leave them that way. if a door is opened for more than 5 mins or so the housings will begin to melt, also if you have a dark colored car the fixture above the mirror will also deform from the heat of the sun.. Dont skimp with a repair, the fixture above the mirror has been known to short onto the inner roof and take out the whole harness

Mike Frye

I would add that if you replace the bulbs with the LED ones you can get from Nicole (HookedOnCars.com) you won't have to worry about the housings melting anymore and it's also much less of a power drain and a brighter color.

It's a nice kit.

Alan

To your question - yes they should all work exactly the same. They frequently get miswired.

The bulb direct end must be the red wire (green in the hatch), the frame connection (roof ones only) must be the solid brown wire - the other switched connection must be the brown/white wire (white in the hatch). The 2 switched connections (Brown & Brown/White) can be connected either way around in the doors (only) since they do not contact the chassis.

Alan

Tom in Austin

Thanks everybody. Is it correct that hatch light is separate, that is, does not come on when opening the doors?

I'm going to pull these mamma-jammas out tonight and verify the wire connections. It's possible the broken one is somehow defeating the overall circuit/system even tho it functions correctly on its own.

These electronics are never-ending fun!

gbarron

Don't overlook the door pin switches...my lights were acting up and found one of the pin switches were bad. It's worth taking a look.

JWise

Tom - I don't know about your '94 model, but on my '90 both hatch lights come on when you open the doors. Hope this helps.

Bill Ball

After you get the wiring straight, if you still find the front overhead light is not working in the temporary on position, swap it with one of the other lights that does work properly. It could be that in the temporary position it is no longer making electrical contact. I have one like that. I have tried to tweak the contacts, but it appears that the fixture needs to be replaced.

SeanR

Tom, if everything is working as it should, all the lights should come on as you open the doors. They all should shut off after the delay relay kicks in and should turn off when you turn the key to lock the doors. Give me a call and I'll try to help.

Not to hijack the thread, but I have to apologize for not taking the GTS for a drive at 3rd Coast when I said I would. I feel pretty bad about it. I do know the car felt damn good on the road when I had it here for those few weeks. Let me know if you want me to come down and take a look at the car.

Alan

They should all behave the same way...

Alan