courtesy light fault

hi all, new to the forum, must say thanks for having me here.

Right, back in march i purchased a m reg 440 2.0 si auto from a lady. she had been having problems with it running rough, this after loads of time and money being spent turned out to be a loose injector wire.
anyway, i've changed dizzy cap, rotor arm, plugs, coil, idle control valve, air filter, air temp sensor, sunroof motor, central locking motor, front discs and pads, rear exhaust box and it runs like a dream.

Apart from the interior light . i'm one of these people, that, if something is fitted it should work (spent about 2 days going thru all dash lights and switch lights, i know i probably sound wierd, but i just like things to work).

the courtesy light has never worked when you open the door...any of them, i found and replaced the timer delay, still nothing, i replaced the light unit, still nothing, i replaced the boot switch, still nothing. i have power to the light unit as it works when switched manually. all of the door switches work as i've had a multimeter on them....

this is the last thing on my list to sort out, and i'm running out of ideas.....

please help....anyone.......

paul

[Jod T5]

Originally Posted by penguin440

the courtesy light has never worked when you open the door...any of them, i found and replaced the timer delay, still nothing, i replaced the light unit, still nothing, i replaced the boot switch, still nothing. i have power to the light unit as it works when switched manually. all of the door switches work as i've had a multimeter on them....

hi penguin and welcome...
have you checked the fuse and ensured that you have current to the timer delay relay?
the switch on the light unit will run on a seperate circuit so the fact that this is working is not going to be a factor...
as you are handy with a multimeter check for continuity between the door switch and the relay and for current in at the relay....
cheers
jod

Originally Posted by jod t5

hi penguin and welcome...
have you checked the fuse and ensured that you have current to the timer delay relay?
the switch on the light unit will run on a seperate circuit so the fact that this is working is not going to be a factor...
as you are handy with a multimeter check for continuity between the door switch and the relay and for current in at the relay....
cheers
jod

thanks for the response, yes fuse okay and relay fine too, guess all left is continuity test. i'd kinda thought maybe i got a bare wire or something.
thanks again

paul a.k.a penguin

[Jod T5]

Originally Posted by penguin440

thanks for the response, yes fuse okay and relay fine too, guess all left is continuity test. i'd kinda thought maybe i got a bare wire or something.
thanks again

paul a.k.a penguin

paul it is unlikely that all the door earth feeds have gone at the same time so it must be a input current to the relay, or a relay to lamp fault...
my plan would be to firstly bridge between door switch and lamp, then make sure having removed the relay which socket is getting the earth feed from the door switch and bridge that to the lamp this way you will be able to eliminate which wire is u/s..it will also confirm the relays abilities.......it will almost certainly be between relay and lamp if a wire is broken but i still suspect a input current to relay + or - fault (not the switch -)
with your multimeter you should have no problems tracking it down
cheers
jod

thanks again jod, i suppose i should have mentioned.... if i switch the lamp to light when door is open, the light will remain on....forever, i have 2 wires on each switch, what i'd thought was that one of the wires..somewhere in the car, possibly on any of the switches was shorting out.
electrics was never my strong point.....how/what do you mean, 'bridge the switch to lamp' and 'relay to lamp'
sorry if i sound dumb, i know enough to get by with electrics, lol,
thanks again
paul

well after about 3 months of trying to sort this problem, i decided to check all wires to switches and relays, i found a short circuit on one wire (which was connected to all door switch wires) and it turned out to be a little orange plug behind the fusebox a yellow & white wire had been connected to a yellow and red wire, disconnected this and everything works fine....

i'm so happy..........

thanks for the replies jod

[Jod T5]

Originally Posted by penguin440

well after about 3 months of trying to sort this problem, i decided to check all wires to switches and relays, i found a short circuit on one wire (which was connected to all door switch wires) and it turned out to be a little orange plug behind the fusebox a yellow & white wire had been connected to a yellow and red wire, disconnected this and everything works fine....

i'm so happy..........

thanks for the replies jod

sorry i missed your last one..., by bridge i meant to use a new piece of wire between two points, therefore cutting out everything that exists on the origional circuit between those two points...ie relay/ switch...(if that makes sense...lol...im not sure it does!!)
glad you got it sorted tho in the end, strange that by unplugging a wire you sorted it....i wonder why someone had connected it that way...
ho-hum, alls well that ends well.....
cheers
jod