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PatCrash
Samba Member
Joined: March 09, 2006
Posts: 20
Location: San Diego, California
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 Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 9:57 pm Post subject: Interior lights will not turn off when doors are closed. |
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Helping a friend out with their interior lights on their Vanagon. My interior lights work fine. I know there are 3 positions: Off, On, and on when a door is open.
Friend's interior lights only on and off, but opening a closing doors does not change status. Tried all 3 positions.
Anyone have experience with this? |
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dobryan 
Samba Member
Joined: March 24, 2006
Posts: 17289
Location: Brookeville, MD
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mightyart
Samba Member
Joined: March 24, 2004
Posts: 6188
Location: Portland, Oregon
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Vanagon Nut
Samba Member
Joined: February 08, 2008
Posts: 10506
Location: Sunshine Coast B.C.
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| Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 9:46 am Post subject: |
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Neither door makes the light work? If so...
Like MA says, the switch is likely toast. On mine the switch mechanism was broken. The PO bent the ground connections in toward the switch contacts to compensate. Kinda worked but hinky.
btw, if the switches are removed from door posts, can't hurt to clean the little pointy tab and hole it goes into. (contacts) I did this and put dielectric grease on. The grease should prevent corrosion and there's enough pressure on contacts to, uh, make contact in spite of grease. The passenger door switch was stuck. The grease also helped this.
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1981 Westy DIY 15º ABA
(VW Gas I4)
1988 Westy DIY 50º ABA
VE7TBN |
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PatCrash
Samba Member
Joined: March 09, 2006
Posts: 20
Location: San Diego, California
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| Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 2:08 pm Post subject: |
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It's definitely not the light assemblies, because the symptoms are the same on all three interior lights.
It could be the door switch though. I will definitely look at those and update all when I find the answer.
Thank you. |
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Steelhead
Samba Member
Joined: February 25, 2007
Posts: 1791
Location: Kentfield, CA
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| Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 2:11 pm Post subject: |
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For the back hatch, there is a plate riveted onto the door that compresses the switch. If this is bent or broken you will have problems. Caused mine to flash on and off when I was driving. Probably not your issue but I thought I'd throw it out there.
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'77 Bay Window / '89 Caratsburg (aka. the Stormtrooper) |
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Rhinoculips
Samba Member
Joined: August 08, 2005
Posts: 918
Location: Keystone, Colorado
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| Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 2:30 pm Post subject: |
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| Steelhead wrote: |
| For the back hatch, there is a plate riveted onto the door that compresses the switch. If this is bent or broken you will have problems. Caused mine to flash on and off when I was driving. Probably not your issue but I thought I'd throw it out there. |
Huh? My van doesn't have this switch. Only on the front two doors. What are you driving? Is this on a 7 pass. van?
Just a thought....The switches in the front doors are on the grounding wire side of the circuit and not the hot wire. Do they share the same grounding point? If they do maybe check that?
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PatCrash
Samba Member
Joined: March 09, 2006
Posts: 20
Location: San Diego, California
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| Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 8:04 pm Post subject: |
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Sorry, forgot to list the vehicle info for my friends car.
He drives a 1990 Vanagon GL 7 Passenger AT. |
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Steelhead
Samba Member
Joined: February 25, 2007
Posts: 1791
Location: Kentfield, CA
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| Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 8:23 pm Post subject: |
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| Rhinoculips wrote: |
| Steelhead wrote: |
| For the back hatch, there is a plate riveted onto the door that compresses the switch. If this is bent or broken you will have problems. Caused mine to flash on and off when I was driving. Probably not your issue but I thought I'd throw it out there. |
Huh? My van doesn't have this switch. Only on the front two doors. What are you driving? Is this on a 7 pass. van? |
Mine's an '89 carat/whitestar/wolfsburg. I guess the slider and back hatch light switches weren't the norm. There's a few little electrical extras to go haywire in the these models.
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'77 Bay Window / '89 Caratsburg (aka. the Stormtrooper) |
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syncrodoka
Samba Member
Joined: December 27, 2005
Posts: 12406
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
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| Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 8:25 pm Post subject: |
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| Steelhead- my '86, 90 and '91 hardtops are that way. |
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koolmoe
Samba Member
Joined: November 15, 2008
Posts: 382
Location: Annapolis, MD
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| Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 8:32 pm Post subject: |
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I have the opposite problem, my driver's side light is on or off, but won't come on when the doors are opened. I don't think any other lights in my bus are suppose to respond to doors open/shut.
Once Bentley arrives, I'll find the driver's side light run. I imagine it goes through the door boot, and my power locks only work from one door, so may be time to tackle that rewiring job too...
KM
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Current: 1990 Westy GL (Savannah. Good to be back!)
from '95 til 2008: 1995 Pathfinder (frame rusted out, charitable parts donation)
from '91-'95: 1982 Westy Diesel (Smokey. Traded in for far too little!)
from '87-'91: 1980 VW Rabbit (my econoPorsche - passed on)
Last edited by koolmoe on Thu Oct 22, 2009 8:37 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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ajdenette
Samba Member
Joined: February 15, 2009
Posts: 768
Location: Hope Valley RI
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| Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 8:33 pm Post subject: |
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from what I gater all vanagons have the front two door switches, westys do not have one in the slider but the rest do, and only vanagons with the rear wiper have the switch in the hatch. this is not fact just what i have gathered from my vanagons and the ones i work on and pull parts from.
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1985 2wd Westy with 2000 Subaru 2.2 current driver
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=685635
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https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=732777
1990 Vanagon Syncro Base awaiting body work |
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