Interior Light

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Ian_Fearn
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Interior Light

Post by Ian_Fearn »

My interior lights dont work.

I tried sub'ing another couple of interior lights to see if they were faulty but no joy.

What else controls them?

My 'Doors Open' panel works with all doors, bootlid & bonnet.
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Post by DLM »

Have you checked fuses and interconect box first? Failing that, there is a time-delay swich incorporated in the circuit on higher-end models, and this could be playing up. I take it from what you say that neither door switches or the switches on the lights themselves are working?

Also, be aware that the contact switches for the doors are pretty crude and unshielded, so a short can occur there easily if a switch becomes displaced.

The Doors-open panel gets its feed from switches on the locks.
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Post by Ian_Fearn »

The lights turn on manually but not automatically with the door open.
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Post by tom »

Then pull out the switches, give them a good clean and ground the wires to the body. Like as not it is an earth fault but if they are all faulty, it may take a bit of looking at the circuit diagram. I'm inclined to think that the problem is in the delay relay. The fuses are fine because they can be switched on.
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Post by Ian_Fearn »

Wheres the delay relay located??
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Post by jeremy »

AS Tom suggests - check the door switches first. they seem to last about 12 years as the ZX ones are getting slightly intermittent now.

New ones are about £1.50 each from GSF etc. You may be able to clean the old ones.

The circuit through the door switches is simply to earth - so earth the wire and the light should come on - and the screw in the switch must be clean to make a good earth.

You only need to test one to eliminate the door switches - ie earth one and if the light doesn't come on - look elsewhere.
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Post by BX Bandit »

My 'Doors Open' panel works with all doors, bootlid & bonnet.
The above unit works on different switches to the courtesy lights. As has been mentioned and most porbable cause of paroblem, try the switches located in the same pillar as the hinges. A good clean up should get them sorted!!
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Post by Ian_Fearn »

Cheers, a job for when the camper gets through its MOT :D
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Post by ken newbold »

If it's a TZD with interior light timer, you'll find it located up the side or on top of the glovebox.
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Post by Ian_Fearn »

Its been a while since i first raised this but i've finally got round to doing an investigation.

Right heres the scenario:

passenger side light ALWAYS on regardless of the door position or locks. I've had it disconnected ever since i've had the car.

drivers side can be switched on and off but does not work with the doors or locks.



i've taken the glovebox out and found a random relay, its black with 5 terminals. Is this the relay in question? Having unplugged the relay the same as above still occurs, i.e passenger side always on and drivers side manually switched only.

I'm pretty hopeless when it comes to electrics but it tells me that the passenger side is constantly getting a positive feed from the 2 positive wires but a different signal is getting to the drivers side.

Please I need some help with this....
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Post by docchevron »

The wiring is wrong on the N/S light.
Theres three wires, remove the two closest to eachother and swop them over.

That should turn the light off until you want it switched on.

The black box with 5 pins sounds like the delay relay.
However, I'd put money on it being the switches themselves.
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Post by Ian_Fearn »

Doc, if i swap the wires on the passenger side light over the light remains on no matter where the switch position is.
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Post by docchevron »

Ah, then the feed is the wrong side of the switch.
Er, right, cant remember the wire colours off the top of my head, but remind me tomorrow and I'll PM you with exactley how the wores should be attached to the lamp!
Or you could just plug and play.
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Post by Rob_e (UK) »

constantly getting a positive feed from the 2 positive wires but a different signal is getting to the drivers side
There should be three wires to each light, only one should be positive (I think this is the one at the top of the light?), and this should be positive all the time. The switching is done by making and breaking the connection to earth, rather than switching the positive, either via the switch when you manually switch them on or via any of the door switches (or the delay relay which is connected between the interior lights and the door switches in terms of the circuit diagram).
From the circuit diagram in the haynes manual the delay realy should have a seven pin connector, but as I have discovered myself the circuit diagram is not always correct :)

As was suggested above I would check the door switches first.
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Post by Ian_Fearn »

Rob, i'm confused because the drivers side and passenger side lights do different things yet the whole thing obviously doesnt work.


As mentioned i've disconnected the relay i believe to be the delay relay but it has no effect on the lights. I expected the lights not to work at all when the relay was disconnected.
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