Courtesy light and dome light

[TestTeam]

Hi , I'm the proud owner of a 1984 GW. I have this problem: the courtesy light and the dome light remain always on even with doors closed and headlamp switch off.
Anyone can help me?
PS: Why is it impossible to find new woodgrain mouldings?

[letank]

Welcome to the madness.

Have you tried to turn the headlight switch clockwise, there is a little resistance to force to turn it off.... if you go too far it will dim the dashlite..... just the american way of controlling the courtesy lights

As for moldings.... someone will chime in

[RORY]

you can try taking out each of the door switches and checking the lights then. If you find a bad one (they get corroded) you can clean it up with some baking soda and water.

[TestTeam]

Thanks...

... I'll follow your suggestions.
It's strange that when I switch off the headlamp or I close the door the intensity of light change.

[FSJ Guy]

The door switches operate by grounding the light and turning it on. New ones were still available @ NAPA as of a few years ago.

Put some die-electric grease on em when you reinstall them. They are exposed copper and like to oxidize. The front driver side is different than the other three because it also controls the door chime (leaving the key in the ignition with the door open).

[yankeedog]

DIE ELECTRIC ?

[shimniok]

... I'll follow your suggestions.
It's strange that when I switch off the headlamp or I close the door the intensity of light change.

That's going to be more noticible with the engine off. The reason is because every voltage source, whether a battery or alternator -- even the power plants in your city -- or whatever, has some internal resistance. If you have many circuits attached to a single source, The more current you draw, the less voltage is supplied to all the circuits. The less voltage, the dimmer the lights you have on. It's the same thing as when you see house lights dim when some major power device turns on.

The internal resistance is affected by the entire path--the resistance in the wires, the number of ground paths, etc. So since the light switches connect to ground as Ethan stated, adding more ground paths reduces resistance slightly and so brightness should increase. Turning on the headlights draws more current from the battery lowering the available voltage to all systems dimming the lights.

Michael

[TestTeam]

Hi Michael, I'm Carlo from Italy. Do you remember of me on e-bay?
It is nice to hear from you.
Ciao

[shimniok]

molding

Good to hear from you, Carlo! Hope all is well with you and your FSJ!

Here's the best I could come up with on molding. BJ's Offroad has an entire woodgrain kit.

http://www.bjsoffroad.com/cartgenie/prodInfo.asp?pid=527&cid=8

The only other option I can think of is for someone in the states to try and find a junkyard or parts rig GW with molding in good shape and ship it your way. I'd offer up my molding but it is trashed in most places.

Michael

[J4GRAND]

Also check that the cargo lamp switch in the back of the GW hasn't been left on; this will cause the interior lamps to stay lit.

[TestTeam]

Problem resolved: faulty switch!
Thanks you for the precious suggestions.