The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Wanting to get my inside, rear cabin light working again

1953, 3600 Chevy. It had a set of lights mounted in the rear cabin with a light mounted outside to connected to it. Sometime ago the light stopped working. The light turned on at the light itself with a toggle type switch. So it must have a hot wire to it but it is no longer hot. I pulled the light off of the cabin to check the wiring. It looks like hot wire is very old type of insulated wire just like the fuel tank sending wire. It appears to run between the wall to someplace. I assume it runs down to the bottom then outside. I found an old wire coming out through a grommet under the truck. It was not the light wire but the sending unit wire from the fuel tank. I have run new 10 gauge wire from the sending unit beneath the carpet to the fuel gauge and a new ground. That old wire was twisted onto modern wire and ran into the engine compartment and through the firewall to the modern fuel gauge. I have removed all of the modern gauges so that wire is now just hanging lose inside of the engine compartment.
I have removed all of the excess wire from everywhere to tidy up.
But back to the cabin light. Any help for me to locate the wire for that light or how to run a new one? It may be beneath the fuel tank but I sure don’t want to remove the tank.

On my '51, the wire to the interior light was routed over the top of the driver's door frame. Threaded up the hinge pillar from below the dash, over the door and to the light.
I assume your truck would be wired the same.

If you are talking about the interior dome light, it’s voltage is supplied by a 16 gauge wire from a terminal on the headlight switch. It is then routed thru the A pillar (as klhansen stated) and over the drivers door to the dome light.

If you have a fuse panel, you should find a place on the panel to hook up the dome light. Make sure it’s not one that is switched by the ignition so it will work without the key.

Originally they used clips for the wire along the top of the inner sheet metal of the door frame that may still be there. If you have a headliner you won’t see them. You’ll have to remove the headliner.

I'm replacing all the wires from to the rear of my suburban since most of them have been hacked on. there is an option for a rear light, which I will be adding. My wires run along the top left side.

A sneaky trick to run a wire up through the A pillar is to use an old speedometer cable as a "fishing tool". It's stiff enough to make its way up the pillar without kinking, and flexible enough to follow the curve of the roof. Once it comes out the top, tape two wires to it and pull them through. One wire gets connected to a constant voltage source through a 10 amp fuse, and the other goes to door switches and/or a grounding switch incorporated into the dash light dimmer on the headlight switch stalk. The bulb socket at the dome light needs to be a 2-wire item without a ground with a matching 2-contact bulb.
Jerry

Idea, it has the wires present, if I can locate where the hot wire goes out at the bottom I can use it or replace with a new wire...
Thanks

K, great picture! I found the light wire, it runs above the door. Now to find out if it’s hot.
My headlight switch is wired like yours but the “from the 12 volt spec is a red wire and is attached to the bottom connector. That probably does not matter?

On a rewire job, unless I've got the headliner out, I just leave the old ones in place and disconnected (they're retained with spring clips) and fish new wires. No sense gambling on the old insulation being in good shape!
Jerry

No continuity found at the two switches. The wire is hot!

You can use anyone of the three screws on the headlight switch screws to power the switch as the are all connected together. I use one of those screws to supply 12 volts to my turn signals with the addition of an inline fuse.

The light bulbs wir, the little switches are broken. This is an add on ldoyble light someone added.

Why don’t you dump those lights and replace it with an original repop. You can get one HERE.

I have I one coming.

On my 56 3100 its an orange wire coming from the headlight switch up through the a pillar over the door to the lamp. There is also a white wire which completes the circuit to ground.

I just wanted to say the new original style light is installed and works great. It came with a 6 volt bulb, it was very bright. I replaced with the 12 volt bulb which is much less bright by is normal. It also has an orange light on the outside rear, I guess to see into the back.
Just nice to have it working again & it looks good!