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I recently picked up a 1979 Ford F350 and been doing some work on it. I noticed the dome light wasn't working and put a new bulb in it which won't light up even if I turn the headlight **** back. I pulled the door jamb switches to find the previous owner unhooked them and the plugs / wiring isn't visible. That being said... How the heck do I get to the jamb switch connectors? I'm new to these trucks. Typically there's a kick panel you can remove on anything else I've worked on but these kick panels don't appear to just come off. So before I tear the whole truck apart, any suggestions? Pull the dash? Or the gauge cluster for the driver side and maybe the glove box on the passenger side? Thanks in advance.
Oh and I tested the bulb itself and it does work. I also checked for power at the dome light housing and didn't get any reading
Lay on your back and gently feel around for loose wiring way up top of the inner kick panels, if he left them, or maybe he taped them? if those two wires aren't connected by a switch contact, no power to the socket. Looks like Blk/Blu are the hot side leads to the bulbs that are either made hot by the headlight switch at will, or by the door switches that connect the Blk/Blu to a Brn/Yel wire (with power from the headlight switch itself). Should then be one wire of each color to the switches at the doors. Even if the switches are gone, the headlight switch should still activate the dome lights ... unless he terminated the Blu/Blk wire at the headlight switch. Considering the age of these ... the wires could be gone now?
I added some red circles, ignore those other colors ... they and the rectangles were for another post. Just my thoughts.
Thank you for the diagram! On the passenger side I reached up and feel some wires. I tugged a little then shined a light in the hole and now I see the plug. I gotta figure a way to grab it and pull it out. The fish tape sounds like a good idea. I was thinking some welding wire with a little hook bent end might grab it. The driver side I can't feel anything but I do see the connector. It'll be tough but I'll figure it out. Something tells me the wires going to the headlight switch may have been tampered with
I recently took out my gauge cluster and dash on a 79 f100 and saw a wire going up the pillar. I wiggled it and found that I heard it shaking above my headliner. Maybe yours is in the same spot.
Pulling the dash is not going to help, I seem to remember access to them thru the rubber plugged hole in the inner fire wall. Look up behind the dash to the the far left hand side for a opening that goes up the A pillar. And then fwd a bit, look for a 2" or 3" round rubber plug. Same for the passenger side. Glove box liner out might make it easier. FYI the glove box opening is stamped, so the folded in edges are SHARP.
