Courtesy light wiring
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 7,801
Likes: 0
From: Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of the women TX
Courtesy light wiring
I'm wrestling with the courtesy lights - or I would, if I could find them!
All I have is the cargo light that comes on in the back. And it's blocked by the speaker box. I'm putting a line of LED tape from side to side across the underside of the top panel in rear compartment and jumping it off the cargo light.
Other than that, I spend my days pouncing with the meter on the odd bubba connections I find behind the dash searching the duct tape and electrical tape for the actual wiring for the courtesy lights. Recently found more taped off hot wires under the passenger side dash. Also found some spindly wires attached to them. You know, uninsulated crimped ring terminals with the 'tap' wires wrapped around them several times and taped. The spindly wires look like what you run your ipod earbuds off of....
I'd better get to the point before I get too cranked up on the wiring.
Can someone give me the color codes for the courtesy lights under the dash? That way, if I really do find them and they're dead, like so many other lines under here, I can take a look at the headlight switch to see if it's not sending current to them.
All I have is the cargo light that comes on in the back. And it's blocked by the speaker box. I'm putting a line of LED tape from side to side across the underside of the top panel in rear compartment and jumping it off the cargo light.
Other than that, I spend my days pouncing with the meter on the odd bubba connections I find behind the dash searching the duct tape and electrical tape for the actual wiring for the courtesy lights. Recently found more taped off hot wires under the passenger side dash. Also found some spindly wires attached to them. You know, uninsulated crimped ring terminals with the 'tap' wires wrapped around them several times and taped. The spindly wires look like what you run your ipod earbuds off of....
I'd better get to the point before I get too cranked up on the wiring.
Can someone give me the color codes for the courtesy lights under the dash? That way, if I really do find them and they're dead, like so many other lines under here, I can take a look at the headlight switch to see if it's not sending current to them.
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 24,125
Likes: 15
From: Columbia Missouri
The courtesy light circuit uses orange and white wires. The orange is constant hot and the white is switched by the door switches as kind of a backwards ground. When the switch opens, it lets the white wire ground out, closing the loop.
CF JASOC Member
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 8,040
Likes: 34
From: Downtown Annapolis, MD. The Future is where we all have to live. Let's not screw it up.
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11
When I hooked up my new door switches on the '71, the lights came on, but the wires started to get hot, so I immediately popped out the fuse.
When I got the car last winter it never had a fuse in the space for dome light/clock. When I looked at the switches the plastic part was obviously deformed from heat, and I'm guessing this is why.
I'm thinking that when the car was repainted, the threads in the door frame that the switches screw into are covered with paint and not making a good ground.
Does this make any sense?
Last edited by xCCTer; Aug 11, 2007 at 02:31 PM.
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 7,801
Likes: 0
From: Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of the women TX
Last question; How come I always faintly hear Rod Serling when I'm in the garage working on the car?
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 24,125
Likes: 15
From: Columbia Missouri
Aw crap! Thanks DB, I know which ones they are. Saw 'em the other day, saw they were hot so I didn't check the ground. I am assuming that turning the headlight switch will mysteriously ground them out also?
Last question; How come I always faintly hear Rod Serling when I'm in the garage working on the car?
Last question; How come I always faintly hear Rod Serling when I'm in the garage working on the car?
Xccter - It's very possible that there is a ground problem but I would also suspect a short somewhere in that system where the hot is pinched to the ground and when the circuit is closed the wires start to get very hot.
Overlord - Yes, rotating the headlight switch hard over to the left will also ground out the circuit so that you can manually turn on the cabin lights.
CF JASOC Member
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 8,040
Likes: 34
From: Downtown Annapolis, MD. The Future is where we all have to live. Let's not screw it up.
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11
Durango,
Quick update. Replaced the wire tips (that was fun) and switch on Lt side again.
The Rt side switch has only one White wire, and goes to ground where it screws into the birdcage. No problem with Rt side switch. It works as intended and doesn't get hot.
The Lt side however has a Black and a White wire. When I put the 20A fuse in (Courtesy/Clock) the interior lights worked great from the door switches and headlamp switch until...
I felt the White wire on Lt side and it was getting quite warm. Before I could pop out the fuse, the White wire tip had melted itself away from the plastic plunger, thus breaking the ground and the lights went out. Nice Fail-safe.
The Black wire and surrounding plastic were fine.
I'm stumped. Guess the dash is coming out completely. I already have the Rt side removed because I was looking for the missing Black wire on that side, which after looking at the schematic for the 20th time I realized doesn't have a Black wire. DUH!
It's grounding out somewhere I can't easily see I guess.
Thanx
Quick update. Replaced the wire tips (that was fun) and switch on Lt side again.
The Rt side switch has only one White wire, and goes to ground where it screws into the birdcage. No problem with Rt side switch. It works as intended and doesn't get hot.
The Lt side however has a Black and a White wire. When I put the 20A fuse in (Courtesy/Clock) the interior lights worked great from the door switches and headlamp switch until...
I felt the White wire on Lt side and it was getting quite warm. Before I could pop out the fuse, the White wire tip had melted itself away from the plastic plunger, thus breaking the ground and the lights went out. Nice Fail-safe.
The Black wire and surrounding plastic were fine.I'm stumped. Guess the dash is coming out completely. I already have the Rt side removed because I was looking for the missing Black wire on that side, which after looking at the schematic for the 20th time I realized doesn't have a Black wire. DUH!
It's grounding out somewhere I can't easily see I guess.
Thanx
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 3,246
Likes: 4
From: Bay Area CA
Durango,
Quick update. Replaced the wire tips (that was fun) and switch on Lt side again.
The Rt side switch has only one White wire, and goes to ground where it screws into the birdcage. No problem with Rt side switch. It works as intended and doesn't get hot.
The Lt side however has a Black and a White wire. When I put the 20A fuse in (Courtesy/Clock) the interior lights worked great from the door switches and headlamp switch until...
I felt the White wire on Lt side and it was getting quite warm. Before I could pop out the fuse, the White wire tip had melted itself away from the plastic plunger, thus breaking the ground and the lights went out. Nice Fail-safe. The Black wire and surrounding plastic were fine.
I'm stumped. Guess the dash is coming out completely. I already have the Rt side removed because I was looking for the missing Black wire on that side, which after looking at the schematic for the 20th time I realized doesn't have a Black wire. DUH!
It's grounding out somewhere I can't easily see I guess.
Thanx
Quick update. Replaced the wire tips (that was fun) and switch on Lt side again.
The Rt side switch has only one White wire, and goes to ground where it screws into the birdcage. No problem with Rt side switch. It works as intended and doesn't get hot.
The Lt side however has a Black and a White wire. When I put the 20A fuse in (Courtesy/Clock) the interior lights worked great from the door switches and headlamp switch until...
I felt the White wire on Lt side and it was getting quite warm. Before I could pop out the fuse, the White wire tip had melted itself away from the plastic plunger, thus breaking the ground and the lights went out. Nice Fail-safe.
The Black wire and surrounding plastic were fine.I'm stumped. Guess the dash is coming out completely. I already have the Rt side removed because I was looking for the missing Black wire on that side, which after looking at the schematic for the 20th time I realized doesn't have a Black wire. DUH!
It's grounding out somewhere I can't easily see I guess.
Thanx
CF JASOC Member
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 8,040
Likes: 34
From: Downtown Annapolis, MD. The Future is where we all have to live. Let's not screw it up.
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11
Thanx. I'll take a look. I ended up putting everything back together and leaving the fuse out. I then took a 96 mile ride with the tops off and back window out. I feel better now somehow.
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8th Gear
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 8
Likes: 1
I don't know if I'm in the right area, but I've also got a problem with my courtesy lights.
My car is an 85 and when you open the doors, the interior lights don't come on and the deck release switches do NOT work. Turn the headlight switch back to the left and the lights all come on and the deck lid switches work. The deck lid switch mounted in the console works all the time as it should. Any advice? Many thanks
My car is an 85 and when you open the doors, the interior lights don't come on and the deck release switches do NOT work. Turn the headlight switch back to the left and the lights all come on and the deck lid switches work. The deck lid switch mounted in the console works all the time as it should. Any advice? Many thanks
Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2000
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From: Southbound
Cruise-In II Veteran
