Interior light mystery

[silent32]

New member, have tried searching so sorry if it’s been solved before…

Both interior lights were knackered. Replaced both with new hella units and fitted new bulbs. Now both back doors and the front passenger will turn on when you open them. The drivers door does not affect them.

Weirdly you can hear the drivers door pin triggers a click somewhere in the dash and it also will switch the electric window switch illumination on and off when you open and close the door. So the pin switch is doing something but not controlling the interior light? Any ideas where the fault might lie?

Possibly connected to a brake light switch which is the most likely cause of the brake lights being on when the ignitions on? Or possibly not.

Help! Thanks.

[fixedwheelnut]

Try a new drivers side door switch or clean the contacts up.

The front courtesy light door switches have two contacts, one earths out the interior lights to bring them on and the other activates a relay so that you can shut the electric windows with the ignition off in case you forgot to shut them before switching the ignition off, that will be the relay you can hear clicking, you will also see the window switch illumination going on and off.

[silent32]

Many thanks! That’s exactly what I’m seeing, the window switches work as you describe. Makes sense now that it’s the other grounding circuit that’s dodgy. New pin switch is bound to fix it.

What a weird system with the windows. It took me a while to figure out what the extra circuit breaker switch was.

[Contours]

Also, your brake lights are on because you have a faulty or broken brake light switch behind your brake pedal. The plunger in the switch is released when you press your brake pedal and this completes the circuit which turns the brake lights on. The circuit is broken when you release the pedal and this presses back on the plunger in the switch which turns the lights off. The brake switch may be out of position or one of the holding lugs may have broken off. You can also adjust the plunger in the switch if that is the problem. In any event your brake lights are a separate issue to your interior lights.

[silent32]

So helpful, many thanks. Looks like it’s time to wedge myself into the footwell!