1997 defender interior light

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drfoster

Well-Known Member
Posts
259
Location
Wolverhampton
the interior light appears to have failed on my defender, someone has retrofitted an LED bulb by soldering the tails to the original light bulb tabs, however when i measure the voltage across the tabs i only get less than 1V even with the switch set to on , admittedly thats with the bulb still connected however i would expect to see 12v anyway. I haven't tried disconnecting the bulb to see if that makes a difference.

but does anyone know where the 12v feed comes from or where the earth for it might be so i can check that. i don't want to buy a new bulb and then find out that i've got an underlying issue anyway.

cheers

Steve
 
drfoster said:
the interior light appears to have failed on my defender, someone has retrofitted an LED bulb by soldering the tails to the original light bulb tabs, however when i measure the voltage across the tabs i only get less than 1V even with the switch set to on , admittedly thats with the bulb still connected however i would expect to see 12v anyway. I haven't tried disconnecting the bulb to see if that makes a difference.

but does anyone know where the 12v feed comes from or where the earth for it might be so i can check that. i don't want to buy a new bulb and then find out that i've got an underlying issue anyway.

cheers

Steve
Click to expand...
The power should be a permanent live and it is the earth that is switched either on the door switches or the light switch itself. both I believe earth through the body screws. The door switch screw into the bulkhead is a common earth fault on these if the interior light stops coming on with the door open.
 
dag019 said:
The power should be a permanent live and it is the earth that is switched either on the door switches or the light switch itself. both I believe earth through the body screws. The door switch screw into the bulkhead is a common earth fault on these if the interior light stops coming on with the door open.
Click to expand...
cheers dude, i'll take a look at the earths. it doesn't come on when the door is opened but the voltage doesn't change either, with the door closed and moving the switch to on i only get 1 volt. the earths seem the likely culprits so i'll clean them all up until i can get 12v at the light housing.
 
Seems it is the earth , measured it again but using one of the seat mount bolts as the earth and got 12v. also tried the passenger door and the light comes on when set into door position, so good news its not the LED bulb and looks suspiciously like the drivers side door switch so i'll take a look at that tomorrow.
 
drfoster said:
Seems it is the earth , measured it again but using one of the seat mount bolts as the earth and got 12v. also tried the passenger door and the light comes on when set into door position, so good news its not the LED bulb and looks suspiciously like the drivers side door switch so i'll take a look at that tomorrow.
Click to expand...
The door switch is just held in with a single screw and that screw acts as the earth through a brass ring on the switch and into the steel bulkhead. However being a steel
Bulkhead it likes to rust and then stops acting as an earth. You might find just a quick half turn of the screw cures the problem temporarily. But really you need to properly clean up all the screw holes and possibly for a new screw to ensure the door switch earth is working properly.

Not sure where the earth goes for the one switch at the light. But I’m sure someone will. But Probabaly just needs the same treatment.
 
dag019 said:
The door switch is just held in with a single screw and that screw acts as the earth through a brass ring on the switch and into the steel bulkhead. However being a steel
Bulkhead it likes to rust and then stops acting as an earth. You might find just a quick half turn of the screw cures the problem temporarily. But really you need to properly clean up all the screw holes and possibly for a new screw to ensure the door switch earth is working properly.

Not sure where the earth goes for the one switch at the light. But I’m sure someone will. But Probabaly just needs the same treatment.
Click to expand...
cheers good sir, i'll check them out tomorrow and give them a good cleanup
 
update, appears that the earth is okay and its the switch at fault. if i push upwards on the door switch it lights up so obviously either needs a new one or a good contact clean if i can get into it. The interior light comes on with the door closed but only with a wiggle of the on/door/off switch so i think that needs a fettle also. all in all a good result as all cheap easy fixes hopefully. cheers for everyones pointers. you're a great knowledgeable bunch!!
 
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