Dome light switch workings
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Dome light switch workings
Can anyone explain to me, or help me with a link, to how the wiring of the dome light in the cabin works? 2003 Ford E-350 Van.
I'm redoing the interior and want to replace the dome light with an LED fixture and a switch, but I cannot still figure out how these three wires in to the dome light work so that I can replace it appropriately.
There are three wires, one black, one black with blue stripe, one green with a yellow stripe. I was expecting to be able to use an ON-OFF-ON rocker, as I thought either 2 of the wires were power and 1 ground, or vice versa. No such luck.
I can connect the wires so my light turns on when the doors are open, but I cannot figure out how to wire them so I get the always-on function. If anything I expected to stumble upon the opposite result. With the doors open, using a multimeter, I see 12V @ BLCK-GRN and! at BLCK-BlckBlue... but with the doors closed I don't see 12V across any two of the three connections. I wonder if I accidentally clipped a ground/power wire somewhere too?
Ah anyways, this is turning in to way more a headache than I expected. Any help appreciated!
I'm redoing the interior and want to replace the dome light with an LED fixture and a switch, but I cannot still figure out how these three wires in to the dome light work so that I can replace it appropriately.
There are three wires, one black, one black with blue stripe, one green with a yellow stripe. I was expecting to be able to use an ON-OFF-ON rocker, as I thought either 2 of the wires were power and 1 ground, or vice versa. No such luck.
I can connect the wires so my light turns on when the doors are open, but I cannot figure out how to wire them so I get the always-on function. If anything I expected to stumble upon the opposite result. With the doors open, using a multimeter, I see 12V @ BLCK-GRN and! at BLCK-BlckBlue... but with the doors closed I don't see 12V across any two of the three connections. I wonder if I accidentally clipped a ground/power wire somewhere too?
Ah anyways, this is turning in to way more a headache than I expected. Any help appreciated!
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 1,943
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I will be watching this thread since I want to replace mine as well. I removed my front dome light and installed a DVD player in its place. The player has LED lights, but they turn on with a switch on the player, not when the door opens.
IIRC I had 2 power sources coming in. One was always hot and the other was only hot when the door opened (and maybe when the dome light switch on the dash was activated).
Do you have 1 that is hot all the time? Is the 3rd wire a ground, but only closed when the dash switch is on? Was there also a ground wire from the fixture to the roof of the van or ws the fixture rounded to the roof somehow?
But I could very easily be wrong about this. I installed the dvd player 3-4 years ago and at the time I didn't do too much testing since I wasn't planning on putting a front dome back in.
IIRC I had 2 power sources coming in. One was always hot and the other was only hot when the door opened (and maybe when the dome light switch on the dash was activated).
Do you have 1 that is hot all the time? Is the 3rd wire a ground, but only closed when the dash switch is on? Was there also a ground wire from the fixture to the roof of the van or ws the fixture rounded to the roof somehow?
But I could very easily be wrong about this. I installed the dvd player 3-4 years ago and at the time I didn't do too much testing since I wasn't planning on putting a front dome back in.
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Unfortunately the outcome isn't so excited.
When I was uninstalling the dome light I blew Fuse #4. With the fuse replaced, it was found that these three wires are as expected: Ground, (+) Always-On, (+) Door-Switch.
So, a simple ON-OFF-ON rocker switch works perfectly fine as a replacement, and my Simple LED light will now be the easy part of redoing the cabin roof.
Good luck Jay! Let me know if I can help you out at all.
When I was uninstalling the dome light I blew Fuse #4. With the fuse replaced, it was found that these three wires are as expected: Ground, (+) Always-On, (+) Door-Switch.
So, a simple ON-OFF-ON rocker switch works perfectly fine as a replacement, and my Simple LED light will now be the easy part of redoing the cabin roof.
Good luck Jay! Let me know if I can help you out at all.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 1,943
Likes: 21
Unfortunately the outcome isn't so excited.
When I was uninstalling the dome light I blew Fuse #4. With the fuse replaced, it was found that these three wires are as expected: Ground, (+) Always-On, (+) Door-Switch.
So, a simple ON-OFF-ON rocker switch works perfectly fine as a replacement, and my Simple LED light will now be the easy part of redoing the cabin roof.
Good luck Jay! Let me know if I can help you out at all.
When I was uninstalling the dome light I blew Fuse #4. With the fuse replaced, it was found that these three wires are as expected: Ground, (+) Always-On, (+) Door-Switch.
So, a simple ON-OFF-ON rocker switch works perfectly fine as a replacement, and my Simple LED light will now be the easy part of redoing the cabin roof.
Good luck Jay! Let me know if I can help you out at all.
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I should start a separate thread but couldn't help myself after putting like eight hours in to this today and just finishing...
Here's the completed roof panel. The plan is to line the perimeter with black carpet as well and then fit this over it. I'll have the panel screws outside the carpet but I think this will give the cleanest lines for the carpet and I can paint the screws black also, they'll blend in well enough I think. 1/4" neoprene is for sound insulation, I don't bother to be too precise with it, I'm not after perfect here just better.
Whew! Every little details commands a lot of work, these darn projects!
Here's the completed roof panel. The plan is to line the perimeter with black carpet as well and then fit this over it. I'll have the panel screws outside the carpet but I think this will give the cleanest lines for the carpet and I can paint the screws black also, they'll blend in well enough I think. 1/4" neoprene is for sound insulation, I don't bother to be too precise with it, I'm not after perfect here just better.
Whew! Every little details commands a lot of work, these darn projects!
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 1,943
Likes: 21
I should start a separate thread but couldn't help myself after putting like eight hours in to this today and just finishing...
Here's the completed roof panel. The plan is to line the perimeter with black carpet as well and then fit this over it. I'll have the panel screws outside the carpet but I think this will give the cleanest lines for the carpet and I can paint the screws black also, they'll blend in well enough I think. 1/4" neoprene is for sound insulation, I don't bother to be too precise with it, I'm not after perfect here just better.
Whew! Every little details commands a lot of work, these darn projects!
Here's the completed roof panel. The plan is to line the perimeter with black carpet as well and then fit this over it. I'll have the panel screws outside the carpet but I think this will give the cleanest lines for the carpet and I can paint the screws black also, they'll blend in well enough I think. 1/4" neoprene is for sound insulation, I don't bother to be too precise with it, I'm not after perfect here just better.
Whew! Every little details commands a lot of work, these darn projects!
Senior User
Joined: Apr 2016
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From: Atlanta
And please share the finished install! Looks great!
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Thanks guys! I just created a thread for the whole campervan conversion, can hopefully keep it updated project-by-project along the way. I just put all the details up of the roof install, lots of pics.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post16430780
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post16430780
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From: Atlanta
I replaced all of mine from Amazon, I think it was less than $20 to replace all the bulbs (both courtesy and map/switched lights). The bulbs were slightly smaller in diameter so I had to pinch the bulb holder "sockets" to make them fit tighter.
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I saw the LED replacement bulbs but it wasn't really an option for me... I knew I wanted to redo the ceiling in a nicer, more permanent fashion that would match, to some degree, the coming installations in the back and the OEM fixture wasn't going to get that done for me. While the wiring was a bit confusing at first (mostly my own doing, blowing that #4 fuse twice in this work) I think the final result is way more attractive than before and am very pleased. The LED light I went with isn't blinding, but neither is it too weak, think it'll be just right in the long run.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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