Interior lights

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Oct 30, 2008 | 09:55 PM

sabre1981

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Racer

Joined: Apr 2008

Posts: 333

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From: Portage Michigan

Interior lights

Last fall/winter, I had an issue come up. My interior lights would randomly come on and stay on for a while. Since the car was being put up for the winter, my first action was to pull the bulbs and later I just said forget it and pulled the battery. I figured it was a door jam switch and figured I'll deal with it come spring. So spring came and I got it out, put the battery in and bulbs and waited to see what happened...nothing. All summer long no issues, but now that its been put up for almost 3 weeks and I got a call from my neighbor last night asking me why my dome light was on! So he disconnected the battery for me and I'm left wondering. I can only guess it has something to do with the cold or sitting for long periods (it is my daily driver during summer), but how? Any ideas? P.S. It's been parked, the doors have not been getting opened and shut (to my knowledge) so I don't THINK it'd be the door jam switches, but hey, it wouldn't be the first time I've been wrong.

Oct 30, 2008 | 10:19 PM

KapsSA

Safety Car

Joined: Jun 2004

Posts: 4,380

Likes: 226

From: Beecher Illinois

you most likely need a delay timer.

Supposed to be able to bypass it by connecting the two white wire connectors together. I've never tried it, tho.

Nov 2, 2008 | 06:58 PM

sabre1981

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Racer

Joined: Apr 2008

Posts: 333

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From: Portage Michigan

thanks

Nov 2, 2008 | 07:20 PM

81coupeowner

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Joined: Sep 2005

Posts: 87

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From: denton tx

if you dont want to cut your wires. Do what i did remover the cover on the dimmer and soider a wire between the 2 white wire contacts.

Nov 10, 2008 | 03:31 PM

davidm_comp

Racer

Joined: Mar 2005

Posts: 473

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From: Champlin Minnesota

Quote:

Originally Posted by sabre1981

The door jam switches are ground switches, so when you open a door it allows the lights to be grounded and since the bulbs are always hot they turn on....now if the ground wire going to your bulb is cracked or shorting out on metal it would ground and turn the bulbs on, same scenario if any one point in the grounding system for the bulbs is making contact with metal....try a system of elimination, first unplug both door jam switchs and temperarily tape them up with some electrical tape so they don't ground out on anything, now see if the lights come on, if they do turn on then your problem lays somewhere else in the grounding wiring, but my guess is that the switches aren't working quite right or have moisture in them causing them to short/ground out.... Let us know what you find out....

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