dang dome lights! 85 911

[Nick Triesch]

Fixed almost everything on my car except for the dome lights! This is what I have.....new door switches, both door buzzers work when you open each door, power to both dome lights, lights turn when the three way switch is in the "on" position. Lights will not come on when the door is open when 3 way switch is in the door open position. My question is, how many wires go from the door to the door switch? I have one wire going to the switch on both doors. Is this correct? Could I have two defective dome lights? Took them both out and cleaned them really well. Nick

[RSBob]

One wire to each door switch. the switch grounds itself to the body (negative). You may want to scrape a bit of paint where the switch mates to the opening in the body to make sure you have a good contact.

[pete3799]

Just a single wire to each door switch on my 79.
Have you tried grounding the wire itself ( by-pass the switch) to see if they light?

[Nick Triesch]

OK I'll try that stuff. I'll try to make better contact. But you would think that the buzzer would not work! But it does! Nick

[porschenut]

The trigger for the buzzer is the door switch, so if the buzzer works then the door switches are fine. However, having said that, if both dome lights are behaving the same way (light on in the always-on position, off in the off position, not coming on in the door-open position), then it's unlikely the problem is at the dome light.

FWIW, just this last weekend I had the same problem with my targa interior dome light. In the always-on position it worked fine, but in the door-open position it only lit up when I wiggled the driver's door switch. The problem was, the rubber nipple covering the door switch had shrunk and stiffened over the years, and didn't allow the plunger to extend all the way, preventing the back of the switch from making contact with the chassis. I removed both rubber nipples, and now the door switches and dome light work as designed.

So you might try wiggling the door switch to see if it makes a difference, but it makes no sense since your buzzer works upon opening the doors.

Do your clock, trunk light and glove box light work normally? They are all on the same circuit with your dome lights. Each has its own ground though.

[dshepp806]

Yeap,..grounds,..for sure!

Best!

Doyle

[JQ911]

Hey, I got that too! Mine is on the passenger side, dome light does not light when door is open even if correct setting but putting it "ON" lights it up????

[DRACO A5OG]

Originally Posted by dshepp806

Yeap,..grounds,..for sure!

Best!

Doyle

+1 those dooe switches are very sensitive to a weak ground. if the plunger mechanism does not seat all the way you have a short in the system ergo no dome lights.

Try removing them and watch the movement then touch the hole and you should see a small spark, contact and dome light will light move away, light will go out.

Jim

[A horse with no name]

Hi...I have had similar problems with the dome and front trunk light 'for year's and finally gave up...

I tried swapping the glove box unit with the dome unit and still no dome light. I
pulled the fuse out, and it did power off the trunk and glove box.

I have replaced the door switch, including replacing the dome unit with a new one from PP. Re the ground...Although there was no corrosion where the ground wire was fastened, I still gave the area a good scraping to no avail.

The odd thing is that I do get voltage - 8-10 V on the switch, including the wire itself, but that can be intermittent.

Some how I think that I shouldn't have read this thread as I -'was' - O.K with it not working - Now I'm not

All and any thoughts on the matter will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!


.

[DRACO A5OG]

8-10 volts is not enough to power the dome lights, try using leds they require less voltage to turn on.

[A horse with no name]

Draco... I'v been using candle's but I keep running out of matches/ lighter fluid.

Maybe I should pick up one of those stick on closet lights from Home Depot and stick on my windshield... Classy ay

Cheers!

[DRACO A5OG]

Originally Posted by A horse with no name

Draco... I'v been using candle's but I keep running out of matches/ lighter fluid.

Maybe I should pick up one of those stick on closet lights from Home Depot and stick on my windshield... Classy ay

Cheers!

lol, you know I hated how dark the footwells were so I added led strip underneath the kneepads. Now I can see my fancy shoes before I exit

[A horse with no name]

Quote de A horse with no name

Ty

Draco... I'v been using candle's but I keep running out of matches/ lighter fluid.



Maybe I should pick up one of those stick on closet lights from Home Depot and stick on my windshield... Classy ay

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Cheers!

lol, you know I hated how dark the footwells were so I added led strip underneath the kneepads. Now I can see my fancy shoes before I exit

Sounds like a good idea Jim...As a matter of interest how many volts to run a LED strip?

I still have the car parked for the winter but as soon as I start using it I'm going to take it to an Auto Electrician and let him work why it has 12v at the fuse (+glove box ) and only 8-10V at the dome...Once I find out what the problem was/is I'll make a point to post it on this thread.

michael

[Nick Triesch]

I have to have ground because the buzzer works perfect with the door switches. I don't even get a faint light in the "door open" position. Next step is to buy a new light from Pelican. I have also taken apart the lights and cleaned them. I have good ground with dome lights installed otherwise "on position" would not work. Works great!

[Nick Triesch]

Also, trunk light, glove box light, engine light and clock all work perfect!

[86 911 Targa]

Originally Posted by Nick Triesch

Also, trunk light, glove box light, engine light and clock all work perfect!

You'll need to cut & tape.

Hope this helps.

From our '86 factory manual.

Good luck,

Gerry

[porschenut]

Originally Posted by Nick Triesch

I have to have ground because the buzzer works perfect with the door switches. I don't even get a faint light in the "door open" position. Next step is to buy a new light from Pelican. I have also taken apart the lights and cleaned them. I have good ground with dome lights installed otherwise "on position" would not work. Works great!

Your problem could be a broken or disconnected ground wire. Don't assume your dome lights are faulty just because you confirmed the door switches are okay. You need to test for power and ground in the wires located at the dome light. There are two ground wires connected to it - one for the "on" position and one for the "door open" position. The one for the "on" is obviously grounded, but the other one may not be.

correction: the "local" ground may just be contact between the light and the chassis rather than a second wire. I haven't had a dome light out for a while so I can't remember for sure and the wiring diagram isn't clear to me whether the fixture is grounded directly or through a wire connection.

[86 911 Targa]

Originally Posted by Nick Triesch

Also, trunk light, glove box light, engine light and clock all work perfect!

[A horse with no name]

Originally Posted by porschenut

Your problem could be a broken or disconnected ground wire. Don't assume your dome lights are faulty just because you confirmed the door switches are okay. You need to test for power and ground in the wires located at the dome light. There are two ground wires connected to it - one for the "on" position and one for the "door open" position. The one for the "on" is obviously grounded, but the other one may not be.

correction: the "local" ground may just be contact between the light and the chassis rather than a second wire. I haven't had a dome light out for a while so I can't remember for sure and the wiring diagram isn't clear to me whether the fixture is grounded directly or through a wire connection.

Thanks every one...On my dome light (Cab.) there is only one ground wire that grounds to the chassis -1 philips screw. It has to be something simple like a ground. (I replaced the bulb)

I had 12 V before I replaced the unit and why it now has a lower voltage is a tad frustrating... I best recheck the door switch grounds as Jim suggested.
Thanks again.

Cheers!

[Nick Triesch]

Well I checked the brown ground wires up at the dome lights and it seems that they are not grounded somewhere down the line. So I set up a by pass ground from the roof where the light goes in and the light still will not turn in the "door open" position. But the light does come on in the off position.