Courtesy Light pt 2

[timkins]

When I open the passenger door both lights in the back seat come on along with the lights in the rear view mirror, the lights in the kick panels in the front do not come on. Close the passenger door they all go off. When I open the drivers door ALL the lights come on, 2 in front kick panels, 2 in rear seat and the 2 in the rear view mirror come on. Close the door they all go off as they should. What did I screw up this time. Is there a simple fix? I was having problems in the passenger kick panel when I parked the car last fall and do not know if I disconnected something by  mistake.

[416Ford]

Not know what the car is makes it harder.
What it sounds like is that there are more then one wire coming off the right hand door jamb switch. One to ground the courtesy lights and one to ground the dash floor lights. Check and see if you may have disconnected a wire on the RH side.

[timkins]

The car is a street rod,32 Ford 2 dr sedan. There is only 1 wire to the jam switch on the passenger side. I checked the switch and it is working ok. Because I did not build the car I have no idea of wiring diagram. I installed a secret audio setup last week and had both kick panels off. I double checked the wiring before I put the panels back on but must have disconnected something. Just looking for an easy way to diagnose the problem.

[34ford]

I would pull the panel off and follow the wires from the light and make sure they are both connected. One should be ground and the other to a positive feed. Seems like there is a loose connection or perhaps a wire has partially came out of the bulb socket. If the wires go up into the dash give it a little pull and see if it feels like it's connected someplace.  Have you checked to make sure the bulb is good?

[416Ford]

Well the good news is your narrowing it down,
If you could check the left side and confirm there is only one wire on that side also.

[416Ford]

Any luck Timkins?

[enjenjo]

Typically the courtesy light are operated by switching the grounds. Also typically the wire colors are orange and white with orange being the power and white as ground. I hope this helps, but your results may vary.

[timkins]

I have traced wiring and replaced both jam switches all to no luck. I just wrote down what is taking place this morning. When I open the driver door the lights in the front kick panels on either side work very well. Close the door they go off. No other lights work with the driver door switch. Open the passenger door and the 2 little lights in the rear view mirror and both lights in the rear seat floor level work. Neither kick panel works with the passenger door.  I had to remove both front kick panels to access the speaker wires for the radio install and did find a hot wire disconnected, reconnected this wire but it did not affect the lights either connected or disconnected. I inherited a rats nest of mismatched wires and butt connectors behind the dash and I am somewhat reluctant to tackle this mess. I have resigned myself to the fact that until I tear out everything and rewire the car this is what I have. With both doors open ALL interior light work. Do not drive that far where it makes an impact that the interior lights are screwed up.

[timkins]

Typically the courtesy light are operated by switching the grounds. Also typically the wire colors are orange and white with orange being the power and white as ground. I hope this helps, but your results may vary.

May have been orange and white when installed but now is probably pink and chartreuse with the mish mash of spaghetti I inherited when I got it. Thank you for the thoughts.

[416Ford]

What they have done is set it up as separate light switches.  If you want all the lights to work together you be able to. Simply run a from one door jamb switch wire to the other. You can test it first before running the wire through the dash.
Basically they are grounding one set of lights from each door jamb switch.

[timkins]

I am a little slow on wiring. If I run a wire from the hot side of the jam switch on the drivers door to the hot side of the jam switch on the passenger door, this will solve my problem?

[416Ford]

Does your car have metal door jamb switched? I believe you said it was a one wire setup.
Check the wire with a test light. The wire should be null. Not HOT and not a ground.
If so, the wire on the back should be creating a ground for the lights that go on when the door opens the switch creates a ground.

[timkins]

Yes it is one wire that screws into metal door jams and has I believe Cameron switches with a metal plunger that when the door closes the plunger pushes in and breaks the connection. I will check for power or ground on the switches and let you know. Going to take me a couple of days as I put the whole thing back together and walked away in frustration. Thank you for the tips.

[enjenjo]

With only one wire on each switch, it has to be a ground connection

[416Ford]

Thank you for the tips.

You should be good when you get back to it. Just run a wire from side to side connecting the wires. That will ground both light setups when either door is open.
Good luck and enjoy the down time.