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1961 - 1966 F-100 & Larger F-Series Trucks Discuss the Slick Sixties Ford Truck

Dome Light Issue

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Old Sep 15, 2017 | 02:56 PM
  #1  
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Dome Light Issue

My truck didn't come with a dome light or headliner. It now has both. The blue/black wire was there. The dome light works when tested out of vehicle but otherwise does not. The blue/back runs down and disappears into a harness never to be seen again but has no power to it that I can read. Likewise the door switch wires. Can someone point me to a procedure for tracking down how to get power to the door switches as well as the dome? There are so many wires under the dash just hanging. All seem dead. It's amazing everything else seems to work.
 
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Old Sep 15, 2017 | 03:43 PM
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The dome light would only have power to it when the light switch it turned all the way counterclockwise until it clicks... the power side comes out of the light switch/fuse block and there should be a short ground wire that goes to a seam where the roof panel and the real panel meet. There should be a fuse in line, but other than that It goes right into the fuse block.... check those fuses.


 
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Old Sep 15, 2017 | 03:48 PM
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Thank you very much! There is no ground wire present. Only the blue/black connector. Fuses appear to be good as the cigarette lighter works. And thanks for the diagram!!
 
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Old Sep 15, 2017 | 04:13 PM
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The correct dome light assembly has two wires. One ground wire that is screwed into the sheetmetal above the rear window, just like Cory says, at the seam where the roof panel and the rear panel meet. The other is the 12V supply coming from the fuse block over the drivers door and around back of the drivers head. Reason they did it this way is because it originally mounted to the cardboard headliner so there was no direct contact ground for the housing. Other dome housings can be made to work, I'm sure. Just make sure you have a complete path to ground on the housing side of the bulb and that you supply 12V to the other side.

 
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Old Sep 15, 2017 | 04:38 PM
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Why do all the aftermarket dome lights (mine) not have a ground wire? I assumed the the circuit was grounded elsewhere for this very reason. (head slap) I'll soldier a wire to the dome housing and the interior and test. Thank you for your response!!
 
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Old Sep 16, 2017 | 12:02 AM
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I got burnt by this as a kid on a Japanese clunker. That dome light had four screws mounting it to the ceiling. When screwing around I lost a screw. No problem, three will hold it and a cover plate hides all of them. No light... turns out since there is no ground wire there is a metal ground ring on one of the mounting holes. Sadly I do mean one and that was the hole I decided to leave blank of the missing screw. $50.00 and moving a screw over and I had a ground and working light!
 
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Old Sep 18, 2017 | 10:36 AM
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Thanks for all the help! Light is working. A combination of grounding and turning the switch! ha
 

Last edited by Darrellt; Sep 18, 2017 at 10:46 AM. Reason: insert photo
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