Courtesy light issue.

Post by **NafemanNathan** » Mon Jun 02, 2014 10:33 pm

In short my ceiling light doesn't work when the doors are open (Yes, the switch is in the right place!

). The door switches work as the door puddle lights work and a previous owner has wired in some footwell lights... Which actually leads me to suspecting they've robbed the feed for the ceiling light.

Having inspected the connection to the ceiling light it looks as if I'm missing one of four connections within the plug...

I've tested the connection with a volt meter and it makes no difference whether the door(s) are opened or closed.

Is it possible for anyone else to check how many and what wires they have in the connection plug please?

K30DPC · Post by **K30DPC** » Tue Jun 03, 2014 1:09 am

I can't recognise your light, mine looks different, but basicaly 3 wires sounds about right. One of them will be ground (black) other one will be constant power (white wth blue strip) and the last one switched ground (door sw). Just check them with multimeter. I hope this will help.

Post by **simonc** » Tue Jun 03, 2014 4:30 am

Hi Nathan, I had exactly the same issue and after I had my new stereo fitted I asked the guy if you could help me.
The problem was that both the 'spotlights' worked when you clicked the switch and the courtesy light came on when the passenger door opened but there was no light for the driver's door. BTW both the 'puddle lights' worked so we were both a little befuddled.
Anyway, I took it down and he thought it would be two minute job. Oh how wrong we were. He had his multi-meter out prodding every connection known to man but something was amiss with the door connection.
Now what I'm about to say shows my total ignorance so please accept my apologies for my lack of technical nous.
After much faffing he took a wire from the connector you have shown, threaded it across the driver's side (under the roof lining ) and led the wire down to the driver's side door bottom. He'd taken off the kick plate and in all that wiring that was under there he pared back one wire so it had the metal showing and then attached the wire from the connector to that.
Then he put it all back together and bingo driver's courtesy light works.
Nathan, I've just re-read this and it reads like a bloody three year old has written it.
I'm sorry that I can't show photos as I didn't take any nor can I be more technical because I'm such a dimwit about things like that.
If my rather ridiculous explanation helps then ok but if you'd like I could ask him tonight as he just lives down the road for a more thorough and detailed explanation of what he did. Please let me know and I can do that or perhaps someone can decipher my explanation and help you better than I can.
I really must learn to get technical - I feel a right plonker even sending this.

mills · Post by **mills** » Tue Jun 03, 2014 7:48 am

Do all 3 lights work when the doors are closed

I have a spare JDM map light I can have a look at, but I'll take mine out and have a look

only thing is that I'm working away at the moment, but I'm back home later on.

prelude91 · Post by **prelude91** » Tue Jun 03, 2014 7:51 am

Hi Nathan.
Does simonc mean that he had a supplementary live wire routed to the switch, as the original had a lack of continuity in it somewhere?

Post by **simonc** » Tue Jun 03, 2014 8:07 am

Hello Mr Traveller. You know what matey, I think you've just hit the nail on the head, technically speaking. He took an extra wire, trailed it all the way from the connector to the door and twisted them together.

89 UKDM BA4 4WS (resto job!) · Post by **wurlycorner** » Tue Jun 03, 2014 8:38 am

I have the same problem with my 4th gen. It was like this before I retro fitted puddle lights then after fitting them, the drivers side puddle light never works, while the passenger side one randomly occasionally works (but even when that comes on, the interior light still never does)

I've not looked into it hugely yet, beyond the obvious stuff checking that the door switches have a good ground and do break/make connection as they should.

The interior light circuit goes through the ICU

I have a suspicion that's dragging down the voltage somehow...

Also as Simon says, there are loads of joins around the car onto this circuit, inside the looms. They are solder joints though rather than crimp, so shouldn't give any problems, but who knows...

Does your headlight warning on buzzer sound if you open the door with the headlights on and ignition off?

prelude91 · Post by **prelude91** » Tue Jun 03, 2014 9:00 am

Hi Simon, I'm fine thanks, still recovering from my awesome trip, elated at first after getting back, anti-climactic more recently. I'll dip out of this debate, for now, as wurly seems far more knowledgeable than myself, my knowledge of vehicle electrics is very basic, nafe, hope you solve the issue with wurly's help.

Post by **NafemanNathan** » Tue Jun 03, 2014 9:21 am

Cheers simonc

I completely get what you've explained

I think I'd have to trace the wires back myself anyway at some point if I don't get anywhere with this.

K30DPC wrote:I can't recognise your light, mine looks different, but basicaly 3 wires sounds about right. One of them will be ground (black) other one will be constant power (white wth blue strip) and the last one switched ground (door sw). Just check them with multimeter. I hope this will help.

You probably don't recognise it as it's from my 5th gen. I've tested the connection and the white/blue wire gives over 12v and the white/black wire gives over 10v, whether the doors are open or not. This is what has led me to believe there's a wire missing as these are both constant and neither switch off when the doors close. Also there is a connection for a 4th wire on the actually light itself (The blue wire, which looks to be the on/off connection I need).

mills wrote:Do all 3 lights work when the doors are closed

I have a spare JDM map light I can have a look at, but I'll take mine out and have a look only thing is that I'm working away at the moment, but I'm back home later on.

Yes, on the ceiling light, both map lights work and so does the main centre light if I switch it to the "ON" position. When the switch is in the central postion though the centre light will not come on when the doors open.

wurlycorner wrote:Does your headlight warning on buzzer sound if you open the door with the headlights on and ignition off?

Actually no it doesn't!

89 UKDM BA4 4WS (resto job!) · Post by **wurlycorner** » Tue Jun 03, 2014 9:55 am

Hmmm yep, similar gremlins to mine then, although at least yours works correctly from the switch!

Thanks for the comments 91, I certainly wouldn't wish to exclude anyone though and TbH, that's as far as my specific knowledge on this one goes, because I put it in the 'can't be bothered for the moment, bigger fish to fry' pile when it turned out not to be any of the obvious simple things

I don't have access to the wiring diagrams atm so this is going completely off the fly based on what I remember about the circuit... I think as Mario says, you should have one permanent live, one permanent ground and another switched ground. When you turn the light 'on' at the switch, it connects the live to the permanent ground. when you have it in the door position, that connects the live to the switched ground and when the door is open that grounds the switched ground...

So I think the fact you have 10v on one of the wires may be the problem? That should be the switched ground?

Like I say, that needs checking against the wiring schematics because that's thinking off the cuff so could be well wrong!

If there is a false feed onto that wire, my suspicion would be it's coming from the ICU/fuse box combo? Possibly dirt or moisture built up in it over time causing tracking across (have seen this before with modern pcb type fuse boxes) so a take out and clean would sort it? That or a diode or cap gone down with age in the ICU? But again, that's hypothesising atm... Check what the wires should be doing first!