Dome Lamp Timer?

[garycr14]

Does anyone know the location of the dome lamp timer? I think mine may have went out, or I shorted it out to be more accurate. The interior lights do not turn off, I had to remove the light bulbs. It was working fine til I accidently shorted accross the dome light, now the lights won't turn off at all. Thanks.

 

[evariste]

The timer is behind the glove box. Remove it and look on the right around the harness. It is an orange box.

You'll have to buy a new printed circuit.

Just let me know you that you can also buy a special one, developped by one of my friends that give progressive power on and power off, and an extra battery saving feature that turns the lights off if you let the doors open for more than a few minutes.

 

[garycr14]

Thanks for the info, I tried to look behind the glovebox, but I think it will have to be removed to see anything back there. How much does your friends cost? How do I contact him if I am interested?

 

[mikejpss]

Garycr14

You will need to remove the glove box insert (3 or 4 screws). Once out, reach to the right hand side and you will feel a wiring harness that runs along the passenger post, there will be an orange box about the size of a box of matches. This orange box unsnaps easily. This is the timer you are looking for.

Replacement. Perhaps one of the site moderators can help here (rare81) , I purchased my replacement from one of the members on this site that works for a dealership somewhere on the east coast, can not remember his name, but he is listed in one of the links on this site-thats right, I am computer stupid!. Want to say his name is Dave. Mine was approx. $35 including freight from this member
Help us out here Rare81- whats his name?
Total time to replace was less than 30 minutes, which included repairing my glovebox light switch..
Hope this helps, Mike J.

 

[Yoda]

Garycr14
..... . . .. Want to say his name is Dave. Mine was approx. $35 including freight from this member
Help us out here Rare81- whats his name?
Hope this helps, Mike J.

Ya done good Mike yep his name is Dave and here is his logon here at CAC Dave L. Dave has helped a LOT of folks here, always nice to know a "Good GM Parts Man"

Also, evariste friend makes a replacement that has a few more features than the stock one.. including timer protection incase the door is ajar, it times out and turns the lights off, also they dim on and dim off instead of instant on and instant off More inline with the newer vehicles..

Bud

 

[mikejpss]

Nice to hear from you rare81, been a while for me to visit here, been out in the Gulf of Mexico after some BIG fish, seasons over and I even drove lil red to work tonight-first time in months for a spin.

Burglar is a fine young man that is eager to help anyone on this site- he helped me a great deal during my restore with GM parts. Just shows what a great site this is !

 

[garycr14]

Thanks all for the insight. I will pull it out next time I have some time available. I hope that is where the problem lies.

 

[zackm58941]

Hi, I had the same problem on my 80' and I first thought it was the delay timer but found out that the door switches were the culprite. What happened was that the switches worked fine but they had "slid" back or the switch had actually moved farther away from where it contacts the door. I checked to make sure it was that by holding both of the closed for a few mins until all the lights went out. I pushed them back out and problem fixed but now there doing it again so I'll probably buy new switches so I dont have to mess with them anymore. Just look on a wiring diagram if you can first and make sure that you have found the problem. Good luck.

 

[wishuwerehere82]

garycr14,

I had a problem with my '82 that turned out to be a pitted card edge trace on the PC board that the connector mates with. I little extra solder reflowed onto the trace fixed the problem. If you see any scortched areas on the edge try that before replacing the module. Although, since the bulb was shorted, I suspect the capacitor on the timer circuit is blown.

 

[garycr14]

garycr14,

I had a problem with my '82 that turned out to be a pitted card edge trace on the PC board that the connector mates with. I little extra solder reflowed onto the trace fixed the problem. If you see any scortched areas on the edge try that before replacing the module. Although, since the bulb was shorted, I suspect the capacitor on the timer circuit is blown.

I tend to agree with you about a blown circuit somewhere. This was one of those things when it happened I asked myself, "why were you so stupid!". Is there a way to test this circuit to see if it has failed? Can it be bypassed altogether? I really don't car about the delay, I'd be happy if the lights just lite when I opened the doors, and turned off when the doors closed.

 

[wishuwerehere82]

It's a pretty simple circuit. A transistor turns the lights on and off, and since it stays on it still works. The rest is a circuit that reads the input from one of the wires and feeds through a resistor and a diode to turn on the transistor. When the circuit is open, a capacitor slowly discharges through another resistor and when it is fully discharged, the transistor turns off and the lights go out.
If you take it apart, you will probably see which one of the components is burned and possibly find a replacement at Radio Shack. If you're not electronically inclined, a replacement is probably a good idea. I wouldn't try to bypass it, although a 12V relay would do the job.

 

[garycr14]

Well, it looks as though I will have to pull it out and have a look see. While it's out I will pull it apart to see if it is something I want to deal with, if not, I'll have to replace it anyway. Thanks for the information!

 

[86vette]

Garycr14

Is the problem you're having with your '94 or your '81? Just wondering. I have a '94 that has suddenly developed a problem when I go over a bump the dome light flashes on and off. I was thinking of checking some of the suggestions mentioned to see if they fix the problem.

thanks,
Jeff

 

[garycr14]

Garycr14

Is the problem you're having with your '94 or your '81? Just wondering. I have a '94 that has suddenly developed a problem when I go over a bump the dome light flashes on and off. I was thinking of checking some of the suggestions mentioned to see if they fix the problem.

thanks,
Jeff

Hi Jeff, This is on the "81". I still haven't had time to check it out, may have to wait a couple of weeks til the other home projects get completed.