Dome light problem

[95 BLKDOUT Drop Top]

can ne one tell me why my dome light stoped workin? the bulbs arent blown and niether is the fuse because when i touch the wire with a screw driver it lit up. the switches my be stuck or somethin could that cause it to not light? I just thought of somethin, is the dome light and the trunk light on the same fuse? now that i think of it my trunk light is out too

[GnatGoSplat]

The switches are melted.

[95DropTop]

One side of mine works, the other does not. I have been looking for a replacement switch (factory) but no luck. Seems the drop top is different than hard top cars.

[kcac]

Oldsmobile part number 12503868

You can order it at http://www.gm-auto-parts.com/parts.htm

[95 BLKDOUT Drop Top]

OMG that price is outrageous. I swear if these cars werent so rare u could get one from the junk yard for like 10 bucks. all i need is the switches not the complete assembly. 100 bucks is just crazy

[kcac]

Agreed. The price is ridiculous. It's more like a penalty for buying someone's bad engineering.

 

I need a new switch, too. Maybe an electrical supply house would be able to supply a replacement of the same dimensions, and hopefully a better one than the cheap plastic one that's there now. I just haven't had time to follow up on that idea. First I want to figure out why I don't get any warm air out of my heater. Probably another cheap electrical component gone bad.

[GnatGoSplat]

I couldn't get the original switches, but I could find that brand in SPST variety (the originals are SPDT) so I was able to rig up something that works great with diodes. Only difference is although map lights are 100% brightness, dome lights are only 95% brightness (I'm calculating that based on the .6V voltage drop across the diodes).

 

I could probably write something up on that if anyone is interested. The nice thing is the dome circuit bypasses the switch via the diodes so as long as you don't leave the map lights on for a real long time, there's no worries about the switches melting again.

[topless94style]

I am interested shawn, one of my dome lights is out. It has been out since i bought the car, and havent checked into replacing it, so I dont know if its the bulb or the switch.

[GnatGoSplat]

Here ya go, a domelight fix writeup:

 

http://www.w-body.com/service/CSConv-DomeLightFix/domelightfix.html

[91oldscutlass]

100 dollars for a switch....I wouldnt need a dome light!! That little switch on the on the dash that turns on my dome light would be all i need!!

[GnatGoSplat]

On mine, the domelight wouldn't even come on with the switches melted.

[Guest TurboSedan]

Here ya go, a domelight fix writeup:

 

http://www.w-body.com/service/CSConv-DomeLightFix/domelightfix.html

 

nice writeup & pics, if i find a convertible in a j/y i'll be lookin for parts

[kcac]

GnatGoSplat

 

Thanks for the write-up on your dome light fix.

 

Nice of the switch company to ignore your email. I find a lot of companies have no common sense when it comes to handling email the public sends them. They either don't reply at all, or act like since it's an email, they can take a week or longer to reply.

[GnatGoSplat]

Nice of the switch company to ignore your email. I find a lot of companies have no common sense when it comes to handling email the public sends them. They either don't reply at all, or act like since it's an email, they can take a week or longer to reply.

 

Yeah, most of the time big companies either don't answer the email, or they say something like "we do not deal with consumers, please contact a distributor in your area".

 

I noticed you can order free samples through their site, but they specifically ask your annual usage and say their minimum order is $250 per part number. You could probably put in false info and get some free switches, but I thought I'd save myself the trouble (and lengthy wait) by just figuring out a way to make the Digi-Key SPST switches work.

[95 BLKDOUT Drop Top]

100 dollars for a switch....I wouldnt need a dome light!! That little switch on the on the dash that turns on my dome light would be all i need!!

 

does the switch on the dash even turn on the dome light in the ragtops? its been so long since my dome light even worked that i forgot. i thought it only turned on with the (melted) switches and when the doors opened.

 

on the convertibles the dome light is very different than on the hard tops. on mine when i bought it only one side was out now both of them is out and its a PITA at night time because the only light in the car is the map lights on the rear view mirror an the lights under the dash so the back seat is not lit at all, and to top it all of mt car is tripple black with limo tinted windows so you really cant see anything at night

[GnatGoSplat]

does the switch on the dash even turn on the dome light in the ragtops?

 

It would, if the switches weren't melted!

I guess the 95's don't have a domelight on the back of the console?

[95 BLKDOUT Drop Top]

nope, the '95s have a cheap arm-rest (hinge breaks too easily) and on the back of that there is an ash tray. i guess the ones before GM did the interior upgrade had a dome light? if so whos dumb ass idea was it to take it out. that was a hell of an "upgrade" wouldnt you say? and another thing, whos dumb ass idea was it to put little 4x6" speakers in the rear side pannels instead of the 6x9s (factory on hard tops) two 5.25" highs + two 4x6" (also considered highs by all the audio companies) = Shitty as SQ. we need some mids

[GnatGoSplat]

Yep, the old console has a domelight on the back of the console and ashtrays on the armrests on the sides.

 

The rear sides have 4x6's? I never looked, I thought they were probably 5.25". I guess not! Well, the rears are no big deal to me since it's best to have the soundstage more front-biased, but the front of my 94 has NO door speakers and only 4" in the dash!!! How's that for shitty SQ!

My thought is to put some 6.5" in the doors, 6.5" in the rear sides, some additional tweeters attenuated -3dB in the dash to raise the soundstage off the floor, and a single 10" sub in a custom formed fiberglass enclosure in the trunk.

[95 BLKDOUT Drop Top]

yeah when GM did the interior change in '95 they moved the dash speakers to the doors, made them into components with little 1.5" tweeters in the doors, they also changed the size from 4" to 5.25" when they put them in the doors. so the sound system in a drop top cutty is 95% highs and abot 5% mid because you can get a small amount of usable midrange out of the 4x6s but it wont sound too clear because a 4x6 is a good high. so to cure the loss of bass i added two 10" JL w3's backed by a Kenwood 800w so its ok but i still need more midrange. Ok 1 question, how did a post about dome lights turn into a post about the speaker system? oops that was my fault

[1stgenbird]

Mine wouldn't work either when I bought the car in September. I took it apart and detemined the switchs were bad since the bulbs lit up when I shorted out the assembly with a screwdriver. Luckily I found the whole light bar assembly on eBay and got it for $30 dollars. Installed it and works great

[GnatGoSplat]

Do you have an extra set of maplight buttons from your old assembly?

Not the switches, but the rubber buttons.

[95DropTop]

I emailed the company and got a reply regarding replacing the switches. Here is what they wrote:

 

Thank you for your inquiry. We can replace your old switch for a

shipping and handling fee of $24.00 (this cost covers the research to

locate the proper internal components as well as the molding machine

time and assembly to manufacture one switch). Please remove the switch

from the unit and send along with payment to:

 

Judco Manufacturing, Inc.

1429 W. 240th Street

Harbor City, CA 90710

Atten: Gloria Calfy

 

We will determine the proper replacement and send it back to you. This

process normally takes 2-3 weeks for production. If you have any

further questions, please give me a call.

 

Sincerely,

 

Kurt George

Sales & Marketing Manager

PH (310) 534-0959 FAX (310) 534-9420

http://www.judco.net

 

I can reply and find out if they will make me more switches and how much if any one else is interested...If we can get enough to bring the price down, it may be worthwhile to do a group purchase. Should this post be moved to the group purchase thread? Let's see how many are interested and I will email and let you know. 24 for one is tooooo much for me.

 

Thomas

[GnatGoSplat]

$24 for 1 switch! Holy crap!!!

I'm glad I went with the diodes!

[95DropTop]

Holy crap is not my exact reaction!!! But I have emailed to see what kind of volume discount they offer. That does say to research and make ONE switch. Since research is done after one, maybe more will be cheaper. I hope, cause I figure to get a pair since the other one will probably melt any time now...I will post when I get a reply.

[kcac]

95DropTop

 

You're making progress - you've cut the cost dramatically from buying a new assembly from GM.

 

We can replace your old switch for a

shipping and handling fee of $24.00 (this cost covers the research to

locate the proper internal components as well as the molding machine

time and assembly to manufacture one switch).

 

Anyway 95DropTop, if you don't mind asking him, I would want to know if it takes them $24 to get the first switch made, how much do they want for any additional switches. I would assume they should be much less, because all the "research and component location" has been done for the first switch.

 

If the cost is reduced, I'll buy one or two with you and split cost - and I'll send you the $$ up front so it will be at no risk to you.

 

Kenn