Interior Lighting Question.

Hey all. Newbie to this board.

I just bought a 92 Explorer XLT 4x4 auto tranny after my wife totalled her POS Kia. I am hurriedly trying to get it road-ready- fixing lots of stuff the the previous owner neglected. Naturally, there is no Owner's Manual anywhere to be found and the Hayne's I bought has inadequate wiring diagrams :thumbdwn: .

I have just one problem at this time. There is an interior dome light and lights in the front driver's side and passenger side door panels. There is a switch to activate them at the front of each door jam.

I assume, like on my Escort, that opening either front door should be all that's required to illuminate the dome light and the lights in each door. However, none of these three lights activates when either front door is opened.

The bulbs are fine; I've tested them all. Additionally, by turning the headlight knob, these lights will all come on. I suppose both switches could be bad, but I don't want to fart around with them if there is something more obvious.

Is there a relay somewhere that is in this circuit and if so, can someone tell me where it is? As mentioned, Hayne's is useless in this regard.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Crankcase]

The door switches are bad.

The rear doors also have the switches. Do they make the lights come on?

The hatch also has one. It is built into the lock mechanism.

Try the rear doors and hatch first, if they make the lights work, then the front two are either disconnected or bad. You can try pulling the switch head out lightly with a hammer.

 

[Tedman]

i told you i was new, but now you are making fun of me are you not?

PULLING with a HAMMER?

 

[Crankcase]

Absolutley not. I never make fun of anybody unless they know it.

I am dead serious. The little plunger gets stuck, and the claws will grab both sides of the head and pull it out. This is why I said GENTLY.

All 4 of them were disconnected on one of My families Explorers...since it was a police vehicle. To reconnect them if they are truly disconnected, you will need to unscrew them from the jamb using the hex nut but the head. There will be two wires leading into a small connector.

 

[Crankcase]

Forgot one tip: try spraying WD-40 on it if it is stuck in the "closed mode" It might just pop out!

 

[highanddry]

Thanks guys.

My post was a little lacking.

No matter which door I open (fronts, rears or tail gate), none of the three referenced lights (or the cargo light at back) comes on. Yet all illuminate via turning the main headlight switch.

I couldn't find switches at the rear doors or the tailgate.

The plungers for both front door switches seem to function. The switches are different than on my Escort (three prong, but only two leads), so I didn't want to play with them quite yet, thinking it must be something common mode (ie I thought there must be a relay).

I'll play more with the switches later.

Thanks again.

Happy New Year, everyone.

 

[Crankcase]

The rear door switches are right underneath the front seat belt retractor. The hatch one is in the lcoking mechanism. Does the Explorer chime "ding ding ding" when you leave the keys in the ignition or leave the lights on with the door open?

 

[highanddry]

Thanks again.

I found the rear door switches - not sure how I missed them before . I'll chalk it up to darkness *whistles nervously*. Again, all four external switch plungers move freely, but the circuit does not function on door opening.

I had the tailgate apart yesterday to replace the defective rear wiper motor (which had simply been disconnected instead of replaced ), but I didn't happen to notice the switch at the time. I'll revisit that later.

The chime does not work if the lights are left on or if a door is opened with the key in the ignition. However, the chime itself works, since I do get a tone to remind me to fasten seatbelts when the key is advanced in the ignition lock cylinder.

I wonder if the problem may be some poor prior maintenance. The ignition lock cylinder has been replaced at some time. In Escort land, the ignition switches themselves are very prone to failure and can cause all kinds of grief, but I'm somewhat sure that's irrelevant here. Also, yesterday I discovered that the driver's front door auto lock actuator has been disconnected and completely removed , instead of replaced. I'll replace it as soon as I can get to the junkyard to raid the part. Again, I can't imagine that's relevant here. I'd give my left arm for some nice wiring diagrams right about now.

I've got all the door panels off, the entire dash apart and the cluster removed for different repairs - she's not going anywhere today. Sadly, with all the discovery items, I've got a nasty parts shortage at present.

I'm finding numerous examples of bandaid maintenance, which lessens my confidence about the interior lighting problem. I've only invested one day into repairs so far, but it's been an eye-opener .

Fortunately, the problems are largely only convenience-related. I've heard horror stories about Explorer trannies, but the heart, lungs and legs on this one seem healthy .

One last, possibly related question, while I'm at it...behind the driver's front door panel, aside from the obvious door, window and mirror controls, there's another five wire electronic printed circuit board switch or controller (Ford Part F2DB-14B118-AB) bracketed to the door. What's this component? EDIT - never mind; it's the driver's front power window relay.


Many, many thanks. Once I get up to speed on this truck, I'd like to be able to contribute to this place in return, but right now, I'm just a dumb n00b .

EDIT : I checked the open circuit voltage at each of the four main door switches; they're all different - anywhere from 0.5 VDC to 7 VDC. Bummer.

 

[Spdrcer34]

I appear to have the EXACT same problem.

My domelight will not illuminate upon entering the vehicle.

But, If I turn the headlamp knob to manually turn on the dome light on, they come on like normal. When I have the headlamps on, and the door open, it will chime like normal. If I press the door jamb button, like the door is shut, the chiming stops. So I know the switch is good.

Is there a relay somewhere in that circuit? People talk about a GEM. What does it look like? Will my nearly option-less `92 have one? Keep in mind I have no power mirrors, windows or locks....I had to swap in the Power Seats.

I have tested all the fuses, all are good.

All buttons have free motion.

I tried the WD-40 in the hatch switch.....no luck. Even if it was just ONE of switches that went bad, my lights would STAY ON, not stay off.

I need to get this fixed ASAP.

Ryan

 

[RiQ]

Any breakthroughs on this so far?

I seem to have the same exact problem. Can't investigate further right now since mine's in for some repairs still.

Is there something major disconnected which affects dome and doorlights + chime.

Already checked switches which seem to move correctly...

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! Do you have a schematic diagram of the circuit? You could check Autozone's website for more information.

 

[Sams01XplrSprt]

welcome to the forum

 

[RiQ]

Thanks, glad to be here..

Already I've found this forum to be very helpful, but then I found this thread and no reported solution so far.

Wiring diagrams concerning interior lighting and door switches are nowhere to be found.
I do have Haynes, and it has the same diagrams as Autozone. The 12volt.com has wire color codes for installation of alarms and audio. Neither one is hepful in this matter.

I wonder if the previous owner has cut something off to disable something else that is connected and if this has been done to someone elses car also...

-R

 

[pardiville]

Hi crankcase can you elaborate on why there would be no chime when headlights are left on or keys left in ignition along with the front doors not activating the domelight when all other doors do? Thanks in advance, Mike

 

[fixxxer]

Hi pardiville, do you realize this thread was started 4 years ago? Last post (except for yours and now mine) was in Jan. of this year?

 

[pardiville]

I believe it. lol I am hanging in mid air, I think the prior owner has unhooked something.

 

[pardiville]

Are you having the same problem?

 

[Stic-o]

Really dumb question here...but did you guys try the dimmer switch? Not sure about 1st gens, but on 2nd gens I can turn off the lights via dimmer switch.

 

[pardiville]

Yes, mine is a 2nd gen also.