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76 K5 Courtesy Light Wiring Question.

Chris76K5

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I am having a wiring issue with my 76 K5, the wires that should run from the front to the dome light and the two courtesy lights in the fiberglass top are missing and I cant figure out how to get the power back to those wires so that I can have light inside the truck. The white wires are connected from the two door switches to the lamp for the floor board but the dome light and two lights in the top have a white and orange wire. I am going blind looking at the wiring diagram I have!! The door jamb swithces are frozen with rust and I am replacing those as soon as they come in the mail, also along with this every time i pull the headlight switch it blows the fuse for the courtesy lamps and running lights. Is the headlight switch bad? All the wiring looks to be factory, its not a rats nest at all in there. The problem just started the other day and i have not messed with the wiring thus far.
 
Well, you need for one of the guys with the fiberglass top to chime in, but if I had to guess, you are missing a plug somewhere and the plug you are missing is shorted to ground.
I run Fords, so I don't know how you hook up the lights when you put the top on, but there has to be a two wire plug there somewhere.....
 
Not sure I get all of your questions.

Not sure if the switch is bad, or if you have a short somewhere in the system blowing the fuse.

I'm not sure why it would blow both, I believe the running lights should not be on the same fuse as the interior lights. So it may have to do with your switch, as thats the only thing in common.

I'm not sure what you're asking about the dome/topper lights. The wires are missing, or just have no power, or not turning on?

Your door jamb buttons should have one wire (ground) on the passenger side. Drivers may have two, ground for the lights, and a wire for the buzzer. SOAK those things everyday in PB blast until the switches arrive.

EDIT: Just happened to look in my book, damned thing doesn't even have schematics for interior lights.
 
The courtesy lamp under the dash shares the same 20a fuse as the running lights. Every time I turn the headlights on the fuse blows.. Right now the only courtesy lamp I have that works is the one that lights up the floor board. I am missing whatever wires that go from the fuse block or where ever it draws power from,to the dome light and the two lights in the top. Both have wires (orange/white) with a connector coming out of the top. I am wondering where the factory supplied the power from to those two connectors.

I have unscrewed the two door jamb switches and they are not touching any metal, replaced the fuse and turned on headlights. Fuse still blew. There isnt a mess of wires to play around with either, everything is wraped up tight from the factory still.

My main concern is getting the running lights working again before hunting season (3 weeks). Second is getting the interior lighting working just for convenience.

Another random question, I pulled the bezel and all the bulbs are fine, what are the chances that the printed circuit is bad?
 
Again, not having owned one, its hard to say. But my schematic shows a connector going to the top.
On the schematic it is shown as a round connector, but that may not mean anything.

I really suspect that that connector is shorted out somewhere, and is the cause of your problems.
Even if its not, you need to find it and eliminate it from the mix so we know not to worry about it.
I know there are lots of folks on here with fiberglass tops, but they have not chimed in.
We may have to repost under a different title asking especially for the location of that connection for one of them to see it and check in.
 
Im going to look over the wires and check for any cuts or tears in the insulation, and replace the switches when they come in on wed.
 
The switches are not going to help much.
The way the door switches are set up, all they do is ground the white wire to turn on the lights.

So, if they were open, the lights would not come on. If they were shorted to ground, the lights would stay on all the time.

So they could not cause the fuse to blow directly.

Somewhere, there is a plug with a white and an orange wire that hooks up to a plug on the top to let the lights work when you put the top on, and lets you unplug the lights when you take the top off.

That is what you need to find. If that orange wire was shorted, that would blow that fuse.
The fact that you do not see that connector is really suspicious. It may be damaged, or caught on something........

Its really kinda ticking me off. Hang in there, I'm gonna see if I can't get us some help......
 
I think I just had an epiphany...So if the white wire is the ground for the door switches and there is supposted to be a white and orange wire with a connector to provide power to the top.. I have found a single orange wire with a connector on it that plugs into the fuse box, its only 3in or so and has been cut. Also from the door switch there is the white wire it runs across the dash to the passenger door and to the courtesy light for the floor board, it splits to another wire that is about 3in long and has been cut. Could that orange wire be the power source from the fuse panel and that white wire be the ground from the door swithces? If so I am just missing about four feet of white/orange wire and a connector.

Or did I just confuse myself and anyone else who will read this post?
 
I see he has already found this thread, but Dustin says there is a small panel behind the driver.
Look for it and see if the connector is there and not shorted.

Plus, any orange wire you see cut or damaged might be your problem.
 
Orange and white wire run under the driver side door seal plate and up the piller behind the driver seat splits and goes to the dome light and to a connector that should stick out of the side panel and connect behind the little metal plate on the top that runs to the back light. They should connect to the wires that go to the driver side door pin. Which then should go to the passenger side door and courtesy light under the dash.

If you are blowing fuses you must have a wire grounding out somewhere.
I had and end of my dome light that broke and was grounding out on the cab a few months ago after changing the bulb out. Had to unplug everything I could and plugged them back in one at a time until I found what was causing it then tracked down the wire until I found the bad spot.
 
If the white wire is from the courtesy switch in the door and runs to all said locations, where does the orange wire originate from?
 
If the white wire is from the courtesy switch in the door and runs to all said locations, where does the orange wire originate from?

It comes off the fuse block.
DSC01681.JPG
Its one of the two one the bottom left in the pic. would be on the upper left side in the fuse block under the dash that pic was when I had all mine out of the truck.

DSC01681.JPG
 
One should be courtesy lights the other is for the clock.
 
No clock in my rig, lol. Is it hard wired in or is it just a wire with a connecter that runs off an accy fuse?
 
No clock in my rig, lol. Is it hard wired in or is it just a wire with a connecter that runs off an accy fuse?

No its a plug. you can unplug it an see if you running lights work without blowing the fuse. If they do then you know you have short in your courtesy wires. Mine is a '86 so it could be a little different.
 
Right on, thanks for your help. I have that orange wire with the plug, I am just missing the 3ft of wire between the fuse block and the top. I'm starting to think that its not the light switch and it is switches in the door shorting out the running lights/courtesy lights. Ill have my parts thurs so I can replace them and see. Why cant LMC just have a store around here!!
 
Auto parts store did carry them. You can pull them out and see if that keep form blowing fuses.
 
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