Dome light won't turn off.

[HankG]

The dome light in my truck won't turn off. I tried cleaning the switch contacts with a q-tip and isopropyl, but no improvement. All three lights stay on in all three positions of the switch. If I put the switch between positions, it will turn off the light closest to that position, but leave the other two on. Anyone have an idea? Am I going to have to replace the whole assembly? It looked like there was no way to replace just the switch.

 

[lumpy4000]

sounds like you have an electrical short. best thing to do, get a ddm and start probing...

 

[kimcrwbr1]

sticky door switch or light switch

 

[HankG]

sounds like you have an electrical short. best thing to do, get a ddm and start probing...

Sorry, but what is a ddm? I tried googling it but didn't get any hits.

 

[srteach]

probably meant a digital volt meter (dvm)

 

[srteach]

the circuit that controls the light is a ground switched system with multiple contacts. There is one contact switch inside each door, attached to the door latch. There is a contact on part of the light controller on the dash.

Disconnect the wire plug from each door contact (one at a time) to test which contact switch is making ground. If one of the door contacts has fallen out of it's place, it could cause what you are seeing. If you aren't blowing a fuse, it is unlikely (still possible) to be a wire shorting. The problem is not likely to be in the dome fixture itself.

 

[4x4junkie]

This should help:

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/DoorContactPin.html

 

[HankG]

Thanks for the replies. Between this and the other problems I'm having, it looks like I'm going to have to learn a whole lot more about electrical systems.