87 coupe. both door hatch release switches don't work. Also, Courtesy lights won't come on when I open the doors. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

 

Step one, check fuses.

RACE ON!!!

 

What is step 2?

 

Step 2, roll up your sleeves. Consult your FSM and see what all the failed devices have in common. Are they on the same fuse? Is that fuse hot? Since the fuse is good, you can pretty well eliminate a short between the fuse and any of the devices. Electrical problems can be time consuming and frustrating. You just have to track every wire for possible failures. There is no silver bullet.

RACE ON!!!

PS. I wouldn't hurt to ohm check that fuse. I recently eyeballed and gave a pass to a fuse that turned out to have infinite ohms.

 

Thanks, but all that is well over my non mechanical head! Might just have to live with it.

 

There is nothing mechanical about anything I posted. If you can't ohm check the fuse, stick a piece of wire, a paper clip, anything metal, briefly between the fuse contacts to see if the fuse is really OK. Otherwise, just good old electrical, non-mechanical, tracing.

RACE ON!!!

 

Thats a very interesting circuit, the RR hatch circuit breaker (not a fuse) feeds power to the hatch release relay, then power goes through the hatch release switch in the console then (with auto trans only) goes to the hatch fuse in the fuse block.
The door switches have nothing to do with the hatch fuse in the fuse block, the best and safest way to check this system is
A) check to see if the hatch realease works in the console(in Park with auto trans or with parking brake on with manual trans)If the console latch works go to B) if not go to C)
B)check ground g201 or check courtesy light relay timer the ground for both hatch switches (White wire) and the ground for the interior lights(White wire) go through the relay timer terminal A to relay terminal B (black wire) to ground. With intereior light issues this is most likely where your problem is.
C) Check power to brown wire in console hatch switch. The hatch circuit breaker feeds the hatch relay, that in turn feeds the hatch switches(all of them) on brown or brown/white wires.
This info comes from alldata and it is usually pretty close to original service manual info.
Most likely cause is the light delay timer stuck on and was removed, and now the 2 door switches and interior lights have no ground now.
If you need it I may be able to email you the diagram, good luck!
(never jump wire across circuits unless you really like repairing burned wiring harnesses)

 

I wasn't suggesting to "jump wire across circuits". I simply suggested that in the absence of an ohm meter to double check the fuse, he could replace the fuse, for an instant, with a piece of wire to confirm that the fuse isn't the problem. No jumping "across circuits". The fuse contacts are only one circuit. What I suggested is no more hazardous than substituting a good fuse for a blown fuse.

RACE ON!!!

 

Hi
I kinda of have same problem - mine stay on, radio on beyond 15 min or, didnt go off after shutting door and blink while driving --a real mess

History - some one attemped to break into car - broke cover over Tilt arm and screwed up high beam switch. the only problem was no cover high beams - all else worked ( except high beam) - giggled wires a while and lights went out after door was closed -- sounds strange but worked


We had a club C4 c visit with Gordon Killebrew yesterday

Had a bad driver door switch - - took one off the passenger side and problem solved - except high beams - thats a real job for another day

What we did was take out switch - becareful at least on mine there is a plate behind inside door that switch screws into - dont drop it - un screw top nut then we used dry wall screw to hold plate - undid bottom used another screw to hold plate - have to pull out plug - had power so switch was bad - took passanger switch and installed - just be creful so internal plate doesnt drop and it was done - now willl oder switch for ohter side and hope it is good --- mine dropped but get lucky have a water drain hole at bottom of door - used magnetic arm and got it -- glad it didnt stay on wire inside door -- that would ahve been fun

High beams - have to take off steering wheel - i can live without them for now
hope that helps - yours is probably pretty close to mine

Len

 

When you hit the hatch switches do you any clicking sounds? If so, the relay is working but the solenoid isn't. No click, then it could be the fuse or the relay, I'm going to guess relay.

 

Wrong... bad information...What you suggested is jumping a possible bad fuse with wire and removing any circuit protection, the fuse in question is 3 amps if you jump across that fuse and theres a short in the system the small wire becomes hot and melts to other wires,then you have a real problem!
Its unnessasary because you have a whole fuseblock full of fuses at your fingertips when checking this, also jamming wires into your fuseblock causes spread terminals and intermittant wiring concerns that are much harder to diagnose, someone as knowledgeable as you should know better.

 

The first thing to check is to check if the courtesy lights come on with the dimmer switch. Then check to make sure ALL the lights are working. Although it is unlikely both door swithces go bad at the same time, it can be that one has been bad for a while. Then you can pull the door panel loose at the bottom and unplug the door ajar switch and jump it with a piece of wire and see if the hatch release works. This will isolate the switches. The door ajar switch (when open) completes the circuit to the hatch release switch in the corresponding door.

 

First, there is no click when I press the door hatch release button. The console button works and the fuse is good. As for the courtesy lights, they work with the dimmer switch.

 

Some people need every tiny detail spelled out for them. What I really said, in post 6, was:I said nothing about "jamming wires into your fuseblock causes spread terminals". "Briefly between the fuse contacts", means merely touch each of the fuse contacts for a second or less to see if the lights flicker. I'll have to be more careful in the future, to word things for the common sense challenged. And that so those can't twist a statement, like "stick a piece of wire... briefly between the fuse contacts" into something as rash as, "jamming wires into your fuseblock"

It was not, "Wrong... bad information..." for a reasonable person, someone with average or better comprehension skills. Are there other ways to accomplish the same thing? Certainly. Better ways" Very possibly.

RACE ON!!!

 

Just found that if I turn on the courtesy lights with the dimmer switch, the hatch release switches in both doors work! Still, the lights don't come on when I open the doors. Help. I hope this narrows it down. I am kinda new at this so thanks for any help.

 

That's a good sign. I believe your door switches are bad. Now try jumping the door ajar switch with a piece of wire between the pins in the connector. If the hatch opens, the door switch is bad. You can also ohms check the switch: This is difficult because you have to hold the meter terminals to the pins in the switch and depress the switch to make sure there is no continuity with it depressed. then check it again with it extended and you should have continuity - the meter should peg. I had this same problem, I did all those checks and narrowed it down to the door ajar switch. I sprayed the switch with electrical contact cleaner aqnd worked it in and out for a while until I had continuity with the plunger extended. I got it to work, now both hatch switches work! Word of advice - don't take the switch apart unless you want a very frustrating experience. Just spray the cleaner in there best you can. If that doesn't get them to work, they arent that expensive. Again, if you jump the connector to the switch and the hatch works, the switch is definitely bad.

 

Now you need to check the wiring diagrams in your FSM so you can spot the feed through the headlight switch and where the other, failed, feed is.

RACE ON!!!

 

If the door switches were bad, then:They wouldn't work with the courtesy lights switched on with the dimmer switch.

RACE ON!!!

 

With all due respect CFI, I disagree. The dimmer is simply completing the circuit and essentially bypassing the door ajar switch. don't you agree that it would be easier to check the switches the way I suggested. If it doesn't work, the first round is on me!

 

For the sake of 50 cents, insert a known working fuse of the same or slightly lower amperage in the circuit. You should be able to find a known good fuse (of equal amperage or less) from within the fuse block because the circuit that it protects is known to be functioning. Even a brief amount of current could do further damage to electrical components such as a relay. Whether you're working with 12VDC or 110 AC, NEVER bypass a fuse!

I would suspect that there is a missing feed somehow related to the head light switch - perhaps it has been serviced along the way and something didn't get reconnected properly. I went for a year or so with a damaged door ajar switch on the driver's side (the entire core was missing) and a sticky hatch ajar switch, and neither affected the operation of my interior lights or remote hatch opening switches. It has to be a missing power feed due to a disconnected or broken connection.