Driver side door lights go off when key is in ignition

[dn010]

As ridiculous as it sounds, I'm dealing with a new issue where my driver side door lights will turn off as soon as the key is inserted into the ignition. Passenger side is fine. 23 years of owning this dam thing and never had an issue like this. I looked at wiring diagrams and I don't see how one relates to the other. Any suggestions?

[Bitsyncmaster]

Did you move the door switch wires? My guess would be you have the key in wire connected to the wrong door switch.

[David T]

To elaborate on this, there are 2 pairs of wires going to the 2 door switches on the driver's door. If you cross them up you can get all kinds of weird problems. The wires are taped together in pairs, make sure each taped pair goes to each switch.

[OZ DMC]

To elaborate on this, there are 2 pairs of wires going to the 2 door switches on the driver's door. If you cross them up you can get all kinds of weird problems. The wires are taped together in pairs, make sure each taped pair goes to each switch.

I may have a switch issue. I have disconnected the white/purple wire from the switch so I can have the doors open and the lights off.
When I went to reconnect that wire, the lights would turn on even if a black wire was hanging loose......

The attached photo is what I see, but what is the correct wiring connection setup and where does the black wire connect?
71930

[Patrick C]

I may have a switch issue. I have disconnected the white/purple wire from the switch so I can have the doors open and the lights off.
When I went to reconnect that wire, the lights would turn on even if a black wire was hanging loose......

The attached photo is what I see, but what is the correct wiring connection setup and where does the black wire connect?
71930

The black wire should have a connector on it and connect to one of those switches. One switch is the door lights, one is the door ajar buzzer.

[OZ DMC]

The black wire should have a connector on it and connect to one of those switches. One switch is the door lights, one is the door ajar buzzer.
Thanks for your reply Patrick. I have found mistakes in the wiring diagram I purchased years ago so I can't be sure it is accurate.

The door lights work if I connect the white/purple to the lower connector so I can only assume the separate connector for the black wire has gone missing.
I will try and find a detailed photo or an accurate diagram.

[DMC-Ron]

Dan,
I have attached two snips from the wiring schematic. The first one shows the warning buzzer switch (identified as 41) and this is the one that many owners disconnect. The second is the normal door switch that works the door lights and interior lights. Please note that the wire colors are not correct on the schematic. I've also attached a photo showing the wiring on the back side of the driver side door switches. On my car the upper switch is for the obnoxious door buzzer. This is the purple/blue and purple/white pair and you can see I have the purple/blue disconnected. The lower switch runs the door and interior lights and is the purple/blue and solid black pair. Your original issue would be explained if the wires were reversed between the door switches. The lights on the right side would go out when the key was inserted.
719317193271933
Ron

[OZ DMC]

Dan,
I have attached two snips from the wiring schematic. The first one shows the warning buzzer switch (identified as 41) and this is the one that many owners disconnect. The second is the normal door switch that works the door lights and interior lights. Please note that the wire colors are not correct on the schematic. I've also attached a photo showing the wiring on the back side of the driver side door switches. On my car the upper switch is for the obnoxious door buzzer. This is the purple/blue and purple/white pair and you can see I have the purple/blue disconnected. The lower switch runs the door and interior lights and is the purple/blue and solid black pair. Your original issue would be explained if the wires were reversed between the door switches. The lights on the right side would go out when the key was inserted.
719317193271933
Ron

This is most helpful, thank you DMC - Ron

[OZ DMC]

This is most helpful, thank you DMC - Ron

I thought I was making progress with the door light switches that have been disconnected for years.
The passenger door lights now work by simply reconnecting the wire connector to the switch in the knee pad, while the front and rear interior lights are operational when moved to the ON position.

The driver's side door lights operate if I fiddle with the switch wires, but that upsets the door ajar buzzer and dash lights for "door open" and "seat belt".
If I start the car now, the seat belt light goes out after a few seconds, but the door open dash light stays on.

The issue must be with the driver's door switch setup.

The attached photo shows the two sets of wires that are directed to the driver's side door switches.

From the bottom up is the first bunch, which is a White/Purple and a Purple/Blue.
The second bunch is a Black wire in the middle with NO connector and another Purple/Blue

The second photo shows the bare switches in the foot well. They are not in great shape and it appears to be only three blade connections for four wires - unless the black doubles up.

Can anyone tell me exactly how these wires should be connected as stock?

Thank you

71945
71944

[DMC-Ron]

Can anyone tell me exactly how these wires should be connected as stock?

Thank you

71945
71944

Dan,
For your driver side door and interior lights to work, you need the purple/blue wire and the black wire connected together on the bottom switch. Which purple/blue you say?? Well, usually the purple/blue wires are paired with their partner by being taped together (see the photo of the backside of my switches). Based on your photo I would guess the top two wires (purple/blue and solid black) would go together. A quick check would be to touch them together and see if the door lights and interior lights come on. Warning, don't have the key in the ignition when doing this test. Obviously, you're missing the connector for the black wire. You'll need to crimp or solder on a new connector. Good news is: if the first Purple/blue wire does not work with the solid black, then it's the other purple/blue wire that needs to pair with it.
For the buzzer warning, you would connect the remaining purple/blue wire with the purple/white on the top switch. However, most owners can't stand the obnoxious buzzer and leave one of these wires disconnected. If for some reason your lower door switch is faulty, then use the upper one for the purple/blue and solid black running the door and interior lights.

Hope this helps,
Ron
71947

[OZ DMC]

Dan,
For your driver side door and interior lights to work, you need the purple/blue wire and the black wire connected together on the bottom switch. Which purple/blue you say?? Well, usually the purple/blue wires are paired with their partner by being taped together (see the photo of the backside of my switches). Based on your photo I would guess the top two wires (purple/blue and solid black) would go together. A quick check would be to touch them together and see if the door lights and interior lights come on. Warning, don't have the key in the ignition when doing this test. Obviously, you're missing the connector for the black wire. You'll need to crimp or solder on a new connector. Good news is: if the first Purple/blue wire does not work with the solid black, then it's the other purple/blue wire that needs to pair with it.
For the buzzer warning, you would connect the remaining purple/blue wire with the purple/white on the top switch. However, most owners can't stand the obnoxious buzzer and leave one of these wires disconnected. If for some reason your lower door switch is faulty, then use the upper one for the purple/blue and solid black running the door and interior lights.

Hope this helps,
Ron
71947
Thank you so much for your detailed response.
Happy New Year From 02065 in Australia

[dn010]

In my case, I disabled the lower switch so that the lower support bracket running from the body of the car to the knee bad, could be installed. The bracket runs right behind that switch and if there is an attempt to is press it in, it hits the bracket and therefore it is not possible to press in. I guess that is why so many cars are missing the bracket. Anyway, I put the bracket in and cut the plunger down so it is no longer possible to press in but still looks stock.

I thought I would just bundle the wires and run them all to the top switch and that is when my problems began. After this thread, I ended up hooking up the door lights and leaving the buzzer disconnect.

Happy New Year's Eve!

[OZ DMC]

Thank you so much for your detailed response.
Happy New Year From 02065 in Australia


This seems to be a case of two steps forward and one step back.....

I replaced the missing tag on the top driver's side door switch and fitted a new connector to the black wire. I wanted to return to the "stock" setup to begin.

Everything was attached as per your detailed photo. Now the door lights, door ajar and the Buzzer work as they should. (The buzzer is now disconnected.)

Now comes the fun part. Before I made these corrections, I could get the driver's side door lights to work, but only the rear interior light would come on and turn off with a delay, which is standard. The front interior light would not come on under any circumstances until I cleaned the unit of minor corrosion and replaced the incandescent bulb with a similar one.

The front interior light now works, but only when set to permanent "ON". Its now the same with the rear interior light.

I have power to both switches at the purple wire when grounded to the black.

It could be that the diodes or relays have suddenly failed, but the dimming function was working, albeit only in the rear lights.

Any suggestion welcome.....

[DMC-Ron]

Dan,
I?ve zoomed in on the door and interior lights schematic (see attached). I?ve circled the three diodes (there?s actually a fourth on the DOOR AJAR instrument cluster warning light). They?re all identified as [25] but I?ve numbered them 1, 2, and 3.

First a few comments:
1. The interior lamp delay relay should delay off both the rear and front interior lights. I?m assuming you have an original delay off relay. I don?t believe it will work with LEDs front and rear. My recollection is that you must have at least one incandescent bulb. I have an incandescent in my rear light but have changed my front one to a brighter LED. Both lights work, and they both delay off when the last door is shut.

2. I?m also assuming that your door lights are working correctly (they go off and on with their respective door switch).

3. Occasionally, the wiring at the interior lights can get turned around when they get removed and replaced. If the purple wire and the black ground wire get reversed, then the light works with the local override but not with the door switches.

4. So it sounds like you always had an issue with the front light delay off. It?s not clear if your front light ever worked when a door was opened.

5. Diodes are fairly hearty and they don?t fail often, but they can. Diode #1 is the only one that would prevent your interior lights from working with both doors open. If the interior lights work with only one door then the diode (2 or 3) associated with the nonworking door would be suspect.

6. The interior lights should work even if the delay off relay is not working. In fact, you can remove the ?interior lamp delay unit? and the interior lights will still come on with an open door. They just won?t remain on for a time after the last door is closed.

So what would be the issue on your car? I guess I would check diode #1. Especially the connections to make sure something hasn?t come loose. Of course, check the diode itself. You can short across this diode with no ill affect to test. The only purpose of diode #1 is to prevent the door ajar indicator from remaining on while the delay off relay times out.

I?m curious as to what you find.
Ron
71948

[OZ DMC]

[QUOTE=DMC-Ron;284508]Dan,

DMC Ron, Thank you for your detailed and useful response

I?ve zoomed in on the door and interior lights schematic (see attached). I?ve circled the three diodes (there?s actually a fourth on the DOOR AJAR instrument cluster warning light). They?re all identified as [25] but I?ve numbered them 1, 2, and 3.

Thank you

First a few comments:

1. The interior lamp delay relay should delay off both the rear and front interior lights. I?m assuming you have an original delay off relay. I don?t believe it will work with LEDs front and rear. My recollection is that you must have at least one incandescent bulb. I have an incandescent in my rear light but have changed my front one to a brighter LED. Both lights work, and they both delay off when the last door is shut.

I think I have the original delay off relay. I have fitted both interior lights with new incandescent bulbs and both illuminate but only when switched on manually. Interestingly, I had the rear interior delay off function working when I first started figuring out the door wiring. The intention was to get everything back to OE operation.

2. I?m also assuming that your door lights are working correctly (they go off and on with their respective door switch).

Both door lights operate correctly when the doors are opened and closed, but with NO interior light action.

3. Occasionally, the wiring at the interior lights can get turned around when they get removed and replaced. If the purple wire and the black ground wire get reversed, then the light works with the local override but not with the door switches.

By the local override, I assume you mean the manual operation of the interior lights?
I have reattached the driver side door wiring as per the photo in the post of December 31st at 7.42pm i.e. door ajar to the top switch, (purple/white on the top connector with the purple/blue from the same wire group on the bottom ? now disconnected)
Door/interior light to the bottom switch, black on the top connector with the other purple/blue from the same wire group on the bottom.

4. So it sounds like you always had an issue with the front light delay off. It?s not clear if your front light ever worked when a door was opened.

I have never worried about the operation of interior lights until now so I?m not sure of the operational status of the front light but the rear light and delay off was recently working.

5. Diodes are fairly hearty and they don?t fail often, but they can. Diode #1 is the only one that would prevent your interior lights from working with both doors open. If the interior lights work with only one door then the diode (2 or 3) associated with the nonworking door would be suspect.
6. The interior lights should work even if the delay off relay is not working. In fact, you can remove the interior lamp delay unit and the interior lights will still come on with an open door. They just won?t remain on for a time after the last door is closed.

It would be good to get the interior lights to go on when the doors are opened and turn off when closed??

So what would be the issue on your car? I guess I would check diode #1. Especially the connections to make sure something hasn?t come loose. Of course, check the diode itself. You can short across this diode with no ill effect to test. The only purpose of diode #1 is to prevent the door ajar indicator from remaining on while the delay off relay times out.

I guess I need to learn how to check a diode. I have found them tucked into the wiring harness and they look fine but I have not tested them.

I?m curious as to what you find.
Ron

[DMC-Ron]

Dan,
Further clarification on item 3: Yes, my use of the term ?local override? is referring to the manual switch built into the interior light fixtures. The wire reversal I was referring to is the wiring connections at the interior light fixtures. Sometimes these are removed and when reinstalled the three wires are not reconnected correctly. Reversing the purple wire with the black wire will result in the interior lights working with their local switch but not with the doors. I don?t think this applies to you because you have not messed with the wiring at the interior light fixtures. I only bring it up because the symptoms fit. If your front interior light has never worked with the door switches, it may have the connections reversed in the lighting fixture. I've included a photo of my interior light showing the wire connections. Since my car is a later build, it has the later style interior fixtures.

Checking your diodes: The DeLorean uses a bunch of diodes in its circuitry. Use the wiring schematic to check that you?re looking at the correct diodes. The #1 diode has a purple with white stripe wire on both sides. The #2 diode has two purple with white stripe wires on one side, and purple with blue stripe on the other. The #3 diode has two wires on one side, a purple with white stripe, and a red with blue stripe. On the other side is a purple with pink stripe. To test the diodes, I would start by just wiggling the wiring on both sides of each diode while looking for any flickering of the interior lighting. Try to identify if a loose connection is the problem. Since diode #1 is our prime suspect, you can test it with a multimeter or just use a paper clip to short it out. If shorting across the diode with the paperclip lights up the interior lights, you?ve found the culprit. It?s also possible for #2 diode to create this same light malfunction if the two purple/white wires have pulled loose from the ?inlet? side of the diode.

Having the interior lights working is of practical importance and the delay off is an additional convenience. I hope you get it sorted. I'm happy to kibitz as you troubleshoot.
Ron

71949

[OZ DMC]

Dan,
Further clarification on item 3: Yes, my use of the term ?local override? is referring to the manual switch built into the interior light fixtures. The wire reversal I was referring to is the wiring connections at the interior light fixtures. Sometimes these are removed and when reinstalled the three wires are not reconnected correctly. Reversing the purple wire with the black wire will result in the interior lights working with their local switch but not with the doors. I don?t think this applies to you because you have not messed with the wiring at the interior light fixtures. I only bring it up because the symptoms fit. If your front interior light has never worked with the door switches, it may have the connections reversed in the lighting fixture. I've included a photo of my interior light showing the wire connections. Since my car is a later build, it has the later style interior fixtures.

Checking your diodes: The DeLorean uses a bunch of diodes in its circuitry. Use the wiring schematic to check that you?re looking at the correct diodes. The #1 diode has a purple with white stripe wire on both sides. The #2 diode has two purple with white stripe wires on one side, and purple with blue stripe on the other. The #3 diode has two wires on one side, a purple with white stripe, and a red with blue stripe. On the other side is a purple with pink stripe. To test the diodes, I would start by just wiggling the wiring on both sides of each diode while looking for any flickering of the interior lighting. Try to identify if a loose connection is the problem. Since diode #1 is our prime suspect, you can test it with a multimeter or just use a paper clip to short it out. If shorting across the diode with the paperclip lights up the interior lights, you?ve found the culprit. It?s also possible for #2 diode to create this same light malfunction if the two purple/white wires have pulled loose from the ?inlet? side of the diode.


Having the interior lights working is of practical importance and the delay off is an additional convenience. I hope you get it sorted. I'm happy to kibitz as you troubleshoot.
Ron

71949

Again, many thanks for your detailed response.

I will take a look at the diodes.....

[OZ DMC]

Again, many thanks for your detailed response.

I will take a look at the diodes.....
Success.....

I dug out the three diodes in the foot well and tested them all. They all had a one-way reading so they seemed to be ok but confirming the connection was sound was useful.

I began to suspect the rear interior light may have been wired incorrectly, so switched the purple/white and the solid purple - bingo, it all worked .....

For the first time in over 10 years, the door and interior lights operate correctly, complete with the delay off function.

Many thanks for all the help in resolving the issue.

Now to replace all 13 fuel lines........