Help wiring the ground for the luggage compartment light

[Cattler]

My luggage compartment light's been on the fritz for a while and I decided to fix it this weekend. I read through the several threads on this issue but most focused on the proper location for the switch (mine's there) or the wire connectors (mine are in place). My problem appears to be with the ground wire.

My ground wire was frayed and separated from the light assembly--probably from opening and closing the hood. When I pin the ground wire under the switch assembly, the light illuminates, but does not extinguish when I depress the switch.

Am I connecting the ground wire in the proper place or do I need a new switch?

Thanks,
David

[pete3799]

Looks like your grounding it WITH the switch not THRU the switch.
Unscrew the switch, run the wire up into the hood and out the hole for the switch, and attatch the ground wire to the end of the switch.

[MrScott]

Your switch should look like this:


You have the ground wire attached to the wrong end.
With the switch depressed the "right" end separates from the end with the nut, cutting the path to ground.

EDIT: Too slow, yeah, what Pete said.

[Cattler]

Thanks, worked perfectly.

A tip to those reading this thread because they're having a similar problem: use 18 gauge wire when splicing into the ground wire. Anything heavier won't be flexible enough to allow the operation of the switch inside the hood.

David