Dome light problems 95 V6

[Duckboy4]

Just bought this '95 V6 AOD coupe for my son and there was no bulb in the dome light socket. When we finally sourced the right bulb, it came on no problem, but the door switches don't seem to affect it at all. If you wait long enough, with the doors closed, it will sometimes switch off by itself and, when it does, you can hear a relay somewhere in the area of the back seat/trunk area click.
I know my drivers side door switch works, because when the key is turned on, it will turn the dinging on and off. Is the passenger door switch supposed to also turn the dinging on and off? Because, if so, it does not.
Any other ideas?

 

[ttocs]

just out of stupidity have you tried turning the headlight power knob? If that does not do anything then you probably have a bad switch in the door

 

[Duckboy4]

just out of stupidity have you tried turning the headlight power knob? If that does not do anything then you probably have a bad switch in the door

Def not a stupid suggestion, as my son occasionally gets inside and randomly turns knobs. I'll double check.
On your car, does the passenger door switch turn the dinger on and off when the ignition is turned on?

 

[ttocs]

I think if you have the door open and lights on/keys in it will ding no matter what door is open.

 

[96blak54]

.....and it could be a bad/faulty headlight switch! I say that because it does a function with the dome light......just thinking out loud here.

Id start with everything in place and when the dome light is stuck on, start opening and shutting doors. Start by opening/closing the driver door multiple times to check the switches function, then do the passenger door multiple times. Basically ruling out the function of each switch function.

 

[Duckboy4]

I think if you have the door open and lights on/keys in it will ding no matter what door is open.

Good to know. My passenger side door switch does not make the dinging go off. I'll definitely start there and move on to the headlight switch.

 

[Duckboy4]

just out of stupidity have you tried turning the headlight power knob? If that does not do anything then you probably have a bad switch in the door

Double checked the headlight knob, and it was in the full-on position (where it clicks), which I believe is the position to manually turn on the center dome light. Didn't have a lot of time to go further (I have three kids...trying to do this in between times). Thank you for the suggestion!

 

[Duckboy4]

Double checked the headlight knob, and it was in the full-on position (where it clicks), which I believe is the position to manually turn on the center dome light. Didn't have a lot of time to go further (I have three kids...trying to do this in between times). Thank you for the suggestion!

Fixed! Between the headlight switch being clicked to the "on" position, and faulty bulbs, I got it working. Thanks!

 

[ttocs]

if it seems to be hanging on the pass door I would start there. The switch in in the door latch itself, you could start maybe with some wd40 to see if it loosens anything up otherwise I would take the door handle off and see if you can trace the wiring to the latch and be sure everything is connected.

The light switch could be a problem but I don't think it would limit it to one door.

 

[Duckboy4]

if it seems to be hanging on the pass door I would start there. The switch in in the door latch itself, you could start maybe with some wd40 to see if it loosens anything up otherwise I would take the door handle off and see if you can trace the wiring to the latch and be sure everything is connected.

The light switch could be a problem but I don't think it would limit it to one door.

Trouble shot everything and it's all working. It was a combination of bad/wrong bulbs and the headlight switch clicked to the "interior light on" position. On at least '94 and '95s, the door switches are on the hinge side, not the actual latch. But they're both good.
Thanks for all your help!

 

[07GtS197]

As an aside, I don’t believe the door chime will come on with the passenger door open. I believe it was a drivers side only thing on Ford’s of that era.

 

[Duckboy4]

As an aside, I don’t believe the door chime will come on with the passenger door open. I believe it was a drivers side only thing on Ford’s of that era.

Yes, you're right. After I finally got the dome light working, I observed that the passenger door switch would switch the light on and off, but did not make the ignition ding. Thanks, all! I'm kind of rusty on my SN95s, but it's all coming back to me, with your help.

 

[96blak54]

Oh snap! We got a Mustang technician in the works with this guy! Glad you got it figured out!