Interior light switch in door shut. Confused!

[sleek lemur]

Hi All,
My 1800E has no light switches in the door shuts, so I bought 2 new ones (pic attached). Looks like they screw directly into the door pillar, however I can't work out where the electrical connections can be accessed. The parts manual is not clear. I've had the front wing splash guards off fr waxoyling and there's no access there, neither is there by removing the interior trim in the footwell. I need to have the doors off to change the door stays, so do I need to remove the hinges from the car body to access the interior light switches' connections ? Seems a bit unlikely.

Thanks as always!

[Ron Kwas]

SL;

Color code of wires you need to locate (in sides of footwell on the way to the Doorjam) looks like SB (that means Black, I believe) for an E...reference Wiring Diagram: https://www.sw-em.com/1800E%20Wiring%20Diagram.jpg (see Items 40 (one each side)).

To verify you are addressing the correct wire(s), as a test, connect them to chassis (with Courtesy Light Switch in Door Position), and Courtesy Light should come on. Mount new switches in holes which are likely already located in Doorjam (if OE Switches have been removed), adjust depth (such that Door activates but doesn't smash), and connect to said wires per side...

Good Hunting!

[sleek lemur]

Thanks Ron. Trying your patience, am still confused! What do I attach to the switch and how do I get the wire into the space behind the door shut?

Annoyingly, I can't attach a pic of the switch as the fine size on my phone is too big!

[cassell]

The black wire that Ron refers to is an earth wire which is the only one which connects to the back of the switch. If you can locate this, make sure your interior light is switched to the 'door activation' position, touch the black wire to the car body and your courtesy light should illuminate.

I'm concerned that as you say your car has no door jamb switches, these may have been removed by a previous owner and the black wire chopped off somewhere under the dash, hope not but I remain pessimistic! If so, you need to trace back to the loom and rewire both of your new switches, from memory the cable attaches to the switch with a standard 'bullet' terminal.

As for cable routeing, I would feed a new wire into the door jamb from outside and manipulate it until you can see the end of it around the lower hinge area, you should then be able to draw it through the panel (I recall there's a hole there?) into the car and upwards to the dashboard area to make the connection to loom.

As for removing the doors, it's easier to unbolt the hinges from the body, leaving them secured to the door and withdraw the door/hinges assembly complete. Be mindful of any shims that are fitted between the hinge and the body as these are necessary for perfect door alignment on reassembly.

Hope this helps?

[powen1]

Originally Posted by sleek lemur

Hi All,
My 1800E has no light switches in the door shuts, so I bought 2 new ones (pic attached). Looks like they screw directly into the door pillar, however I can't work out where the electrical connections can be accessed. The parts manual is not clear. I've had the front wing splash guards off fr waxoyling and there's no access there, neither is there by removing the interior trim in the footwell. I need to have the doors off to change the door stays, so do I need to remove the hinges from the car body to access the interior light switches' connections ? Seems a bit unlikely.

Thanks as always!

Hi I think this is mine hope it helps

[sleek lemur]

Thanks very much Cassel l. Really helpful. I need to remove the doors to replace the check straps, so was wondering if removing the door hinges might give me better access. So, the earth wire travels from the light to the switch, great. But where exactly does it enter the door pillar?

[sleek lemur]

Powen ? Not sure what I'm looking at in your pic. I need to understand where the earth wire enters the door pillar.

Am high maintenance member. V sorry!

[Derek UK]

"as for removing the doors, it's easier to unbolt the hinges from the body, leaving them secured to the door and withdraw the door/hinges assembly complete. Be mindful of any shims that are fitted between the hinge and the body as these are necessary for perfect door alignment on reassembly."


If your doors are fitting nicely at the moment, you can drill a 1/8" hole right through the hinge and into the A post. When refitting the doors you can then put a pair of 1/8" drills (or pop rivets) through the hinge/shims/A post and tighten the screws up again. With luck, the alignment should be the same as before. Repaint hole with a Q-Tip or small brush.

[volvonic272]

Sorry to disagree with you Derek.
I would undo the bolts on the door side not the hinge.
The bolts on the door are cone shaped (like a wheel nut) so should locate the door in its original position.
If you undo the hinge on the body side there is a loads of adjustment and to get it back to original would be difficult.
More chance of damaging the bodywork.
Plus if the shims drop out even more of a mare.

The hinge fits on the outside of the A post so drilling through isn't appropriate .
It would mean drilling through from the inside and through both sides of the pillar into and through the hinge, a distance of about 6".

That's my opinion anyway
Hope it helps

Dave

[powen1]

Hi Sorry not a great picture, as for the earth I thought the for switch itself earths to the body and you only run the Live wire - happy to be corrected by another :-)