Dash shorting out

[Jasonglh]

So if I turn on the dome lights with the switch only the floor light comes on and the dash lights go off, the radio goes off, and the cigarette lighter goes off. Neither door jam switch turn the lights on or off but I took them out and they sparked when I tried to pull them out. they move back and forth but dont seem to do anything. I know the white is the ground and the orange is the positve. If I take the floor bulb out the whole circuit is just dead. It also looks like to the radio the orange is the ign source and theres is a yellow that is the constant. The orange does go dead at the radio, dash, and lighter when you turn on the int lights except to the floor light.

Been trying to find a short somewhere for over a week now with most of the dash pulled out.

 

[ryoken]

$5 on it being the headlight switch....

 

[Jasonglh]

I ordered new door jam switches but will have to see about a new headlight switch. I'm sure with the holidays it will be hard to get anything until monday though.

 

[Jasonglh]

Got a new headlight switch and same thing. Door jam switches will be here Monday. I don't think they are the problem though but guess we will see. Why does the drivers door have 2 wires and the passenger have just 1 wire?

 

[Jasonglh]

Ok so I replaced both door jam switches and the headlight switch. The floor light comes on when you open the doors and with the switch but when it comes on all other orange wires go dead. I check the wires in the floor leading to the dome light and the orange is hot until you open the door then the orange goes dead and the white wire goes hot. I also tried taking out the floor lamp bulb and it seems to kill everything IE: no power to any orange wires with the bulb removed. Now I am beginning to think this has something to do with my fuel guage quitting around the same time all this started. It is reading past full so I think that is supposed to mean the chassis ground to the sender?

 

[tRustyK5]

The white wire is ground, it should never get 'hot'. The door switches are ground switches. When the door is closed ground is interupted which opens the circuit. When the door opens the door switch grounds, which then completes the circuit and turns on the dome/interior lights.

Your orange wires at every interior light should have constant power.

It sounds like you have something incorrectly wired.

Rene

 

[Jasonglh]

Well that's the thing I have not done anything to it in weeks except drive it and all of a sudden the gas guage and dome light both start this. Something is feeding power into my white wire though but only when you open the doors or turn on the interior lights.

 

[lectric80]

Trace the wires running down the driver's side of the truck. I had a similiar problem and found that the wires had been damaged, which was causing similiar problems, then they finally failed and the courtesy light under the dash was the only one working. That spot is the most common problem area for the dome light system, which is why it has been completely rewired since then.