The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Dome light issue

Recently noticed my dome light not working. Thought it was a bad bulb, and replaced it. Still not working. Put a test light to it, and have one terminal hot all the time, regardless of which position the headlight switch is at. Could I possibly have a bad switch?
Thanks
Tramp

Unless the switch is on the ground side of the light I don't see how you didn't have a run down battery all the time before the bulb burnt out. Do you have continuity on the other side of the socket through the switch?

Doesn't matter what position I put the switch in, the terminal on the dome light itself, where the bulb mounts, the passenger side is always hot. Many moons ago, if I left the truck sitting for several days or weeks, the battery would be down enough to keep it from starting. But the light wasn't burning when I parked and walked away. When I was having that problem, I used a volt meter and never did find a draw. This is something that just started. Got me scratching my head. What I've been doing is to unhook the battery if I'm not going to be going anywhere for more than a few days.

The light grounds through the headlight switch. It could be a bad switch Or the light switch is loose & not grounded. Put a jumper wire from the dome light term on the switch to ground. It should light the light.

I had the same problem. When the headlight switch is turned to the position to turn the dome light on, the ground contacts for the dome light are supposed to touch at the switch to complete the circuit. My contacts weren't touching and simply needed slight bending to correct. As stated above, you can check if this is your problem by completing the ground with a jumper wire at the switch to see if the light turns on. The repair is easy, but does require removal of the switch to get at the contacts. Easy does it when doing the bending.

Ok, now I have a plan of attack. Heading out next week for a road trip to Kansas/Oklahoma and I'll see if I can find where things are hinky when I get home. Thanks to all for the help. Progress report as/if I make any.
Tramp

My '50 dome light is switched at the dome light itself and is independent of headlight switch which means it would be "hot" all the time. This makes a lot more sense than having to turn on the headlights in order to turn on the dome light. Check out the wiring diagram and I think it will show that this is the proper wiring.
Mike

What year is the truck/switch, dj?

In some years, the light switch rotation increased the brightness of dash light, until the end of the rotation, when the interior lights would come on - (that would be post Advance-Design - is your truck a 1964, dj?)

Mike/Huck is referring to an Advance-Design (47-55) truck dome lamp/light.

TC,
Thanks for the shout out on my dome light issue. Been busy and after looking at the switch, found that the contact in the switch wasn't working right, and a trip to the parts store bought me a new, American made switch for less than anything found online, and no shipping charges. My truck is a 64 LB, and I need to remember when I post to include the year and such to make it easier for folks to help. Again, thanks for the shout.
Tramp