door lights and courtesy light always on

[laura79]

i hope someone can help me. In my car, a '85 pinifarina, sometimes when i'm driving the courtesy light turn on by itself and it always stay on even if doors are close; at the same time, door lights are on and they don't turn off. What can it be? i notice that they turn on when i'm dring in a rough road. Thank you very much for your help.

[So Cal Mark]

don't drive on rough roads
sounds like one of the door switches may be loose and making a connection to ground

[laura79]

you are right!!But In Italy many roads are rough... .. thank you for your answer, i'll check even if i don't know where are wires of door swich. Another segnal is that when lights turn on i can hear the click of swich and than nothing happen, they always are on.

[SpiderJim]

If not the door switch see if the rubber conical shaped bumper between the door hinges is bent, loose or broken. On my 81 these are what push the switch in when the doors are closed thus opening the circuit and turning the lights off. The switch is on the pillar between the hinges

[baltobernie]

It might not be the wiring in the doors, or the door switches. There are two positions on the courtesy/door light fixture. One is On, the other is On with doors open. Reach down and see if the actuator on the light fixture is loose. If you mimic a rough road by jiggling the button, does the light intermittently illuminate?

The plastic actuator rubs a metal leaf spring inside the switch, and the plastic nub eventually wears down. Fixtures are easily replaced and are available from the usual vendors.

[laura79]

thank you at all. I thought that could be courtesy light, but I tried to change position and i also removed connections but doors lights always were on. I check the rubber conical shaped bumper between the door hinges but it's looks good. i think i have to check door switch, where are they? thanks a lots, i appreciate every yours suggestions.

[mbouse]

if you can find the cone bumpers on the doors between the hinges... look on the pillar on the other side of the hinges... that cone is supposed to activate the switch, and the switch activates the light.

never discount the voracity of a previous owner on dashboard wiring. always assume two things:
1. previous owner did SOMETHING to foul up the wiring
2. grounds are corroded

in your case, #2 does not sound like it applies, but #1 could be a very real thing. Loose connections cause intermittant issues. check to be sure the three wires leading to the courtesy lamp are connected properly and securely and cleanly.

[laura79]

you are so right when say "never discount the voracity of a previous owner on dashboard wiring"...when i took the car the radio wirings were reversed, ground was connected to positive! i look at three wires and they seem to connect properly and securely and cleanly, the red/green wire is connect to the center.... If It can be useful if i disconnected battery for a while when i reconnect it, sometimes, lights work fine, on when i open doors and off when i close. Another thing, if i open only passenger side, doors lights never switch on, they light only if i open driver side door, is it normal?
thank you so much!

[mbouse]

sounds like you have located a prime location to begin an in-depth investigation. that switch on the passenger side sounds like it is broken, or improperly wired.

the light should come on under one of the following situations:
1. manual switch at light is activated
2. either door is opened
3. both doors are opened

the light should be off when both doors are closed and #1 above is reversed to the off position.

i have another switch for you if you find that your passenger side switch needs replacing. my email address is below in my signature

[laura79]

thank you. Next weekend i'll check my switch and then i'll tell what i'll find. If it's broken i'll need new one. thanks a lot.

[laura79]

Cause when i have something to fix i can't wait, i looked at passenger side switch and i think it could be the problem because it seem a quite loose and if i touch car's body with its connection, courtesy light turn on and stay on. Now i have to understand if i tighten it i solve my problem or there is something else to do. i saw that piece wich push down swich is smaller than driver side and i don't know if it's correct or it can't push down switch enough. Another thing is that this switch, passenger side, has a connection with only two black wires, instead that on driver side has two black wires connected together , as passenger side, and another blue wire connected alone, is this right? THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!

[laura79]

I checked the passenger dorr switch and, after cleaning, now it works, but i realized that passenger door hasn't rubber stop wich push off the switch, so, if i connect wires lights always stay on; what can i use to reply rubber stop? i searched but i didn't find a new one. Any suggestions?thanks.

[laura79]

Finally i fixed my problem, i think... it was passenger side switch wich didn't work fine. Then i cleaned it and it worked but, in my car, there wasn't a rubber piece wich push down switch so it always was on. I made a new rubber stop and now it seems to work.thank you for all your answers.