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How to wire a courtesy light switch in the slider? (Pics)
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1621
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 11:15 pm    Post subject: How to wire a courtesy light switch in the slider? (Pics) Reply with quote

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I'm adding another courtesy light above the slider door similar to what you see in this picture... I want to run a door switch to the slider so the interior lights come on with just the slider open as well. My question is how to wire it. As I understand it, the door switch simply grounds out to turn on the light. I'm thinking (this is usually where the problems begin) that if I run a single ground wire from the switch to the ground wire at the passenger door switch I'll be fine. Is this correct?

I know for some this is elementary, but please humor me as I loathe anything to do with wiring. Thanks!
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Lanval
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 11:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My 82 Westy already has the sliding door switch in place, and working. Seems like a dumb question to ask, but you sure you don't have one? seems like the sort of thing that would be retained on later models...

Best,

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PDXWesty
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 12:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

There's actually three wires needed. If you pop out the light over the drivers door you will see. I installed three lights in my van like in your picture. I didn't have a switch on my slider so I just extended the three wires from the drivers light to the passenger side and the rear area. The lights work when either of the front doors open and I turn the one in the rear on by hand if I just open the slider. You can also wire it if you have a slider switch too but I didn't.

Thanks Bucko! You are correct! I had it reversed. (see below)


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bucko
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 5:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

PDXWesty wrote:
There's actually three wires needed. If you pop out the light over the drivers door you will see. One is constant power to turn the light on with the switch, one is ground, and one is switched power from the door switch. I installed three lights in my van like in your picture. I didn't have a switch on my slider so I just extended the three wires from the drivers light to the passenger side and the rear area. The lights work when either of the front doors open and I turn the one in the rear on by hand if I just open the slider. You can also wire it if you have a slider switch too but I didn't.


Actually, one wire is constant power, and there are two brown "ground" wires.
Two wires are ground leads; one ground via the light switch to ground, the other ground lead comes from the door jamb switches to ground.
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danfromsyr
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

you only NEED to run one wire from the light to the door jam.
should be the brown/white wire. your hardest part will of course be to snake a wire down..

While on topic I have 2 great upgrades I do to all my vans.

1st) the TRUNK light switch (same as door jamb) of the late 80s' Jetta&Golf have a "V" notch that allows it to be caught in the OFF position.. say when you have the door open while camping or the drive in etc.. you just manually slide the pin in to a click.. and best part is it self resets..
When you shut the door again.. it'll unclick from the detent and when the door opens next it'll illuminate the light..

2nd) you can ADD any on/off dash switch to the 'door grounded' circut just tap into the brown/white wire (one runs across behind the dash to allow Pass door to turn on DS light)
T off that to a foglight or what ever you like switch, and from the switch to ground.. now when you flip that switch (with doors shut) it'll trigger the interior light.

Why you ask would I need a switch when theres one on the light over my head Question
well some of us have added lights like in the image above. and if you chain the door pin ground connections then ALL will illuminate with the flip of the dash switch..
this works well for Passanger vans with rear interior lights and your passengers are fussing in the back. if the driver is driving, he can always turn off HIS light independantly. .

so next time @ the pick&pull or VW swap meet inspect those trunck door switches.. the one with a V notch in the side is the key.. Wink
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bucko
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

"this works well for Passanger vans with rear interior lights and your passengers are fussing in the back. if the driver is driving, he can always turn off HIS light independantly. "

The heck with those fussing passengers. Make them get out and walk!

Seriously, that's a good idea to add your fix.
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 11:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

danfrosyr do you by chance have a photo of the trunk switch? that sounds like an awesome upgrade!! I have florescent light that I mounted in the cargo area that I'd love to have go one when the hatch is opened.
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airkooledchris
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 11:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

HOW do you run the wires to the sliding door switch?

Ive had a space switch forever, but I can't for the life of my figure out how to access the space where you run the wires up into that cavity to where the sliding door switch is mounted?

Thanks!@
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

danfromsyr wrote:

1st) the TRUNK light switch (same as door jamb) of the late 80s' Jetta&Golf have a "V" notch that allows it to be caught in the OFF position.. say when you have the door open while camping or the drive in etc.. you just manually slide the pin in to a click.. and best part is it self resets..
When you shut the door again.. it'll unclick from the detent and when the door opens next it'll illuminate the light..


Great suggestions! Thanks for those tips.

One question, without having seen the trunk switch you're referring to, is it possible to modify a standard Vanagon switch to do the same thing?

BTW-I am definitely doing the dash mounted switch mod! Cool idea.
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 8:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

you can also use the 'door triggered' Neg wire to trip a relay, to fire off a higher or HD light etc..

on relay you have the +power in and +power out.
trigger +power in, and Neg ground.. hook that ground to the door tripped circut.. now relay only sees ground when door is open and trips.

you can also place a switch on the relay switch side.. then you can control if device trips when door is opened, leave switch on. .. or not if you want leave switch off.

I don't have an image of the door pin handy.. and I suppose you could file in your own notch.. it's a little back facing slot to allow it to catch the hole it slides thru..
I'll try and get a image..
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 08, 2008 12:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

airkooledchris wrote:
HOW do you run the wires to the sliding door switch?

Ive had a space switch forever, but I can't for the life of my figure out how to access the space where you run the wires up into that cavity to where the sliding door switch is mounted?

Thanks!@


It's a bit finicky if you want the wiring all tidy. But it's actually much harder to describe running these wires tidily than it is to do the job.

I did this while rigging up a car alarm, and I wanted the slider to trigger the alarm. Most aftermarket alarms are triggered by the dome light switch circuit, so I needed to tap into that.

These instructions are for a sliding door switch that triggers the existing driver's dome light (the only dome light on the circuit in the factory Westies). Easily modified if you want to add in additional new dome lights.

I've read that passenger vans all have a switch for the slider, but the Westies did not.

I attacked it in two stages ('85 Westy):

(Stage 1) There's only one (ground) wire to the dome light circuit from the passenger cab door switch, and it's easy to find it behind the glove box. Just trace back the wire from the passenger cab door pin switch if need be.

Your new ground wire for the slider's new pin switch will tap into this existing ground wire, then follow the A-pillar up over the passenger door, then drop down the B pillar, and land at the new switch for the sliding door.

You can feed a wire through this tortured route if you create a "messenger line" first, and use that to pull through any new wires.

Most (all? only mine?) Westies have an illuminated vanity mirror in the passenger sun visor, and the wires for it already run up to the top of the A pillar. So use those wires to your advantage. You can grab some of that wire by removing the sun visor hinge. Then use those wires to pull a messenger line (piece of twine or cheap string taped to the wires) down the A pillar. Tape the messenger well... if you lose it, then you'll lose the wires to your vanity mirror.

By doing this, you can thread the messenger line up from behind the glovebox, through the A pillar to the visor mount. Then run the line aft, overhead inside the cab, to an area behind the B pillar (ie. the pillar seperating the slider from the cab passenger door). This is the easy part - just pull the plywood/wallpaper headliner free over the front passenger cab door, from the visor hinge back to the slider. Then run your piece of string from the A-pillar back to the sider, and hide it behind the headliner panel.

So now you have a messenger line (string) from behind the glovebox to the top of the B pillar. But the factory position for the pin switch for the slider is half way down the B pillar (covered by a plastic blank in my van). So for the final part, you now have to run the messenger line vertically down to that point in the B pillar.

(Stage 2) Remove the air vent shroud that screws into place over the sliding door. This is the one with the two air vents for the rear passengers.

Open the front passenger side cab door, and pull the louvred plastic vent off the B pillar - it's just a friction fit. This louvred vent is part of the air circuit that routes fresh air from the airbox/heater core, though a channel in the passenger cab door, up the B pillar, and on to the vents over the sliding door.

You're interested in the hole at the top of the B pillar, where it opens into the inside of the van, and feeds that shroud over the sliding door that you just removed.

You have to fish a coat hanger or similar in to this area, to access the hole at the top of the B pillar.

I tied my messenger line (string) to a washer, then poked the washer through that hole with some chewing gum on the end of a coat hanger. Gravity dropped the washer down the B pillar, and it took the messenger line with it.

It's easy to reach the factory cut-out for the pin switch in the B pillar. It's almost directly across from where you removed the louvred plastic vent. Look in there at the B pillar cavity and you'll probably see your washer hanging on the messenger line.

So that creates a continuous messenger line for the route of your new ground wire. You can now use that to fish the new wire into place.
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PDXWesty
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 08, 2008 8:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

it's much easier to tap into the three wires at the drivers dome light, extend them across under the head liner and over to the new light locations at the slider or passenger side. No fishing down the windshield pillar. You can run all three lights off the front doors this way. To make the slider door switch work, run a parallel ground to the slider switch and up to the light. With this configuration, all the lights wil work off the front doors and just the rear light will work off the slider.

I did this without removing the headliner. I cut a new hole over the passenger door with a razor knife, fished the wires through and extended them to the rear through the fresh air vent. It was a pretty easy job.
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 08, 2008 9:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ohh and I forgot nearly the best item..
STOCK VW DELAY INTERIOR LIGHT DELAY

in late 80s Wolfsburg edition jetta/golfs some had a delay interior light in the same style/configuration as the vanagon..

you have to pry one out to identify it, with a longer backside (looks same as vanagon on installed visible side) but there is an electronic board and chip that delays the off function when it senses a door trigger.
may still be available new from VWoA, but I don't know.

just splice in the same stock 3 wires. and voila.
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 08, 2008 8:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for all the tips and tricks. I figure I'll add two of the stock courtesy lights above the slider door -- one slightly to the left of the front air vent, and one just to the right of the rear air vent. This will give a light to both the middle and rear seats.

I'll wire in one of the Jetta/Golf trunk switches (thanks for the tips Dan & Joe) in the slider door. I'm off to the wrecking yards tomorrow until I find one.

Lastly, for the wiring, I think I'll rig it so that the rear lights only come on when the slider is open, or when I flip the dash mounted switch I plan on running. I think I'll keep the front courtesy lights independent from the rears for now.

Thanks again for the tips in planning this one out. I'll take some photos and post the results after I'm done.
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 08, 2008 10:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

PDXWesty wrote:
it's much easier to tap into the three wires at the drivers dome light, extend them across under the head liner and over to the new light locations at the slider or passenger side. No fishing down the windshield pillar. You can run all three lights off the front doors this way. To make the slider door switch work, run a parallel ground to the slider switch and up to the light. With this configuration, all the lights wil work off the front doors and just the rear light will work off the slider.

I did this without removing the headliner. I cut a new hole over the passenger door with a razor knife, fished the wires through and extended them to the rear through the fresh air vent. It was a pretty easy job.


Tapping the ground directly at the dome light is potentially a very good idea. Design by committee!

It never occurred to me to tap the harness at the driver's dome light. Possibly that's because the dome light is factory-rivetted in place on the headliner on mine, and I like to avoid drilling rivets. Maybe I would just drill the rivets now, on reflection, but what I ended up doing worked fine.

But the really fussy job is the fishing down the B pillar, for the slider switch. Unavoidable by either of our methods, PDX. I recall the hole at the top of the B pillar as being quite awkward to reach, even with the air-vent shroud removed. Hence my coat hanger, washer, gum (actually double-sided tape) contraption to drop the messenger line down the B pillar.
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 08, 2008 10:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The factory light over the drivers door is not rivited in. The mounting bracket is. The light just pops out by squeezing the metal tab and lowering the light out.. No drilling required.
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 18, 2008 10:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Alright, it's done! Thanks again to all who contributed some great suggestions. Here is the set up, with pictures to follow soon.

I installed three lights along the passenger side of the vehicle. All are stock VW lights, though the two in the rear are Bay Window style (not very different from the Vanagon style).

One is over the passenger door, and the rear two are in the curtain rail above the slider. One is located an inch to the left of the front air vent, and the second is an inch to the right of the rear air vent. Each of these runs a high intensity LED bulb.

I also ran a door switch to the slider that controls the rear two lights only. This is a huge benefit for when I want to fish things out of the rear in the dark. No longer do I need to turn on the fluorescents, or dig out a flashlight.

Secondly, I followed danfromsyr's advice and ran a switch to the dash that allows me to turn on just the rear two lights. I LOVE THIS feature already! As it is still new, I am constantly switching the lights on and off while driving, consequently driving my kids nuts. Too bad for them it takes a while for the novelty to wear off on their dad.

Finally, I used this opportunity to run an external GPS booster antenna for my Garmin Nuvi 750. The antenna "cube" sits in the rear passenger side corner of the cargo area. The wire runs through a small hole I drilled on the inside of the bin and under the back of the bin and tent. Once inside it tucks under the headliner, down the A-pillar, above the glove box, and through a small grommeted hole in the ash/change tray. In this manner I am able to run the GPS antenna booster directly to the GPS unit, and simply tuck the wire back into the change tray when I'm done. Now I never lose signal, even when downtown in an urban area.

This was a fun upgrade, and thoroughly satisfying. I'll try to get pictures up soon, but I wanted to share my thanks and excitement.
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 6:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

glad I could offer some insight.. you wouldn't believe howmany people are 'amazed' I can switch the OEM interior lights on from my dash.

it's just the act of providing another ground path for the trigger wire already running across the front.


one note, you 'MAY" want to install a switch in the slider door post (shared with pass door) so that the back seat can turn on both the lights w/o the little toggle on the fixture..

Dan
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 12:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

danfromsyr wrote:

one note, you 'MAY" want to install a switch in the slider door post (shared with pass door) so that the back seat can turn on both the lights w/o the little toggle on the fixture..
Dan


Are you kidding?! My boys are ages 5, 3 and 1. There's no way they're having their own switch until their moved out of the house! I can imagine the strobe effect right now... Rolling Eyes

Thanks again though!
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 9:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here are a few photos from the courtesy light and GPS external antenna install. I forgot to add a picture of the dash switch, but it's simply a generic switch mounted above the e-brake warning light.

Thanks again to all for your advice.

Front light
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Rear light
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Both
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Slider door switch
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

GPS antenna in the rooftop cargo area
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

End of GPS antenna through grommeted hole in the ashtray after running behind headliner and down A-pillar. Definitely increases satellite signal.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

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