Door lights stay on

[howlingwind13]

My door lights were disconnected when i bought the car years ago...
now the previous owner hacked the electrical so bad it would blow your minds (we found lamp cord in the rear tail lights, when the wires from the harness had power and worked anyway)

But the issue now is if plug the wires on to the plunger they light but they stay on when the doors are closed...I know this because I pulled back the weather stripping and saw the light.
My question would be how many plugs are there? On the drives side there are 4...with only the two door plunges (if i hook 2 up the lights come on, hook up the other two and the buzzer goes off.)

It's just a slide on plastic clip, but what makes the light go off? Shutting the door does nothing. How is it supposed to look/function? Maybe I'm missing pieces?

mike

[Rich]

How it is supposed to work:
With either door open the interior dome lights are powered.

Keep in mind that the interior dome lights also have a rocker switch in the lens such that each light can be set to always-on, always-off or switched by the door switches.

Also, when either door open the door-clearance lamps (2 orange and 1 red) on the bottom/front/back of the open door are powered. And the lamps on the other door are not powered unless it is also open.

Do a test with the door plunger being operated by hand. If it makes the lights go on and off then the plunger is probably not long enough for the door to operate it. There is usually a rubber extension cap on it and yours might be missing.


There is one door lamp switch on each door, also linked to the door ajar light on the dash. The other switch on the driver door is for the ignition buzzer.

You might want to peek at the door lamp circuit diagram: http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?40-All-Wiring-Schematics

[David T]

Pull the wires off all (3) of the door switches. The lights should all go out. Put the wires back on the passenger door and see if they work. If so them put the wires back on the driver's side. On the driver's side there are 2 switches and 4 wires. It is VERY IMPORTANT to keep the 2 grouped together, ie, 2 wires are taped together and the other 2 are taped together. DO NOT mix up the 2 groups of 2. One group is for the buzzer and 1 group is for the lights. Weird things happen if you mix up the wires on the driver's door. There is supposed to be a rubber tip on each plunger. If they are missing the plunger doesn't get pushed enough and the lights will stay on. A quick fix is to cut a short piece of rubber hose and slip it onto the tip of the plunger switch.

[5875]

Pull the wires off all (3) of the door switches. The lights should all go out. Put the wires back on the passenger door and see if they work. If so them put the wires back on the driver's side. On the driver's side there are 2 switches and 4 wires. It is VERY IMPORTANT to keep the 2 grouped together, ie, 2 wires are taped together and the other 2 are taped together. DO NOT mix up the 2 groups of 2. One group is for the buzzer and 1 group is for the lights. Weird things happen if you mix up the wires on the driver's door. There is supposed to be a rubber tip on each plunger. If they are missing the plunger doesn't get pushed enough and the lights will stay on. A quick fix is to cut a short piece of rubber hose and slip it onto the tip of the plunger switch.

Hey David, okay here's my problem. A previous owner took all 4 wires off the plungers and now they are all mixed and all the same purple/white colour. How can I tell which ones to hook back up to each of the plungers? I've tried several different combos, but nothing works. Perhaps I've now shorted something out by mixing and matching. My door lights and door ajar warning light have never been lit since I've owned it. Curiously, both courtesy lights in the cabin (roof and cargo area) work well and as they should. I'm stumped!

I suspect my car had the same issue as the thread originator hence the reason they are disconnected in the first place.

[David T]

Hey David, okay here's my problem. A previous owner took all 4 wires off the plungers and now they are all mixed and all the same purple/white colour. How can I tell which ones to hook back up to each of the plungers? I've tried several different combos, but nothing works. Perhaps I've now shorted something out by mixing and matching. My door lights and door ajar warning light have never been lit since I've owned it. Curiously, both courtesy lights in the cabin (roof and cargo area) work well and as they should. I'm stumped!

I suspect my car had the same issue as the thread originator hence the reason they are disconnected in the first place.


If you pull out the wires and follow them back you should see them taped into 2 groups of 2. If you don't here how to do it:
There are 4 wires
1 black wire
1 purple/white wire
2 purple/blue wires

The door lights use one of the purple/blue wires and the black wire. You are going to have to try each purple/blue wire with the black wire and see which one makes the lights work. The other purple/blue wire goes to the other switch with the purple/white wire for the door buzzer. If you can't get the lights working you may have blown some diodes. Refer to 3-7-0 in the parts manual.

[howlingwind13]

Thanks Gentlemen!

Got them working properly! Appreciate the help.
mike

[David T]

Thanks Gentlemen!

Got them working properly! Appreciate the help.
mike

Now that you have it right, tape the 2 together for the lights and the 2 for the buzzer so they don't get mixed up again.

[5875]

If you pull out the wires and follow them back you should see them taped into 2 groups of 2. If you don't here how to do it:
There are 4 wires
1 black wire
1 purple/white wire
2 purple/blue wires

The door lights use one of the purple/blue wires and the black wire. You are going to have to try each purple/blue wire with the black wire and see which one makes the lights work. The other purple/blue wire goes to the other switch with the purple/white wire for the door buzzer. If you can't get the lights working you may have blown some diodes. Refer to 3-7-0 in the parts manual.

Thanks for the pointers David. I got my driver's side door lights working with following your instructions. As suspected, with the door closed they still remained on. The knee pad where the plungers are was loose, so I tightened it up and works like a charm. My problem now is the pass side won't work. Hooked up the plunger on that side, but no go. I'll have to do more investigating.