One of the only options my car has is the map light. For a while it turned off and on as it pleased, but now it doesn't work at all. I think it has something to to do with the blown fuse going to the Sonomatic. I'd like to get it to wrok since I have no center dome light. Anybody no where it gets it's power or ground? thanks Joe
I believe the wire feeds down the driver A pillar and plugs into the fuse block. Could be the bulb or the switch in the map light itself. The other suspect point might be the crimp on the female spade terminal at the end of the power lead. Check the power at the spade and the crimp , then you know it is likely the switch or the bulb.
if you can get your head under the dash far enough to see a pink wire coming from the "A" pillar ...that is most likely it ... follow it to where it plugs in and prick into the open spot on its plug with a test light and see if it has power .. if it does, then you have a problem between there and the maplight or at the maplight itself ... the map lights on my lesabres ground when you tighten up one of the mounting screws.. yours may be the same. keep us posted of your progress.
Hi, I bought one of these to put in my GS. Where is the factory harness supposed to plug into the fuse block?
most of th time they dont plug directly into the fuseblock ...instead they plug into the harness, kind of "piggybacked" onto an exsisting plug.....which is also a pink wire so it just operates with th key on.
Joe and Philip I have one in my '71 also and can tell you exactly where it gets it's power. I just checked this for sure on my car. The wire from the map light does indeed run along the headliner and down the a pillar, back behind the dash and to the fuse block. There, it connects to a plug on the jumper wire that comes from an accessory outlet on the fuse block. It should go the outlet second from the bottom, directly between the 'tail' and 'radio' fuses. This jumper also has a feed that goes to the radio capacitor. I don't know which fuse feeds this outlet for sure, but I bet if you replace that radio fuse it will work.:TU: BTW, the wire from the map light on my car is grey, even though the assembly manual says it's red.
Symptoms of a blown fuse are not are not intermittant operation as he describes("For a while it turned off and on as it pleased...") More consistent with a bulb filament having become attached and with vibration reattaching, the swicth contacts being worn or dirty, or a bad crimp.
Does the Light ground to the review mirror or does it have a wire to the body? My mirror is sorta loose. I thought that might be my problem. Thanks Guys Joe:beer
Grounds through the attach screws. So if they are loose enough it would give you the same SX with vibration.
I did some further checking in the assembly manual, (too cold to move cars around so I could check it in person) and the radio and mirror map light are on the same fuse. So replacing this fuse should restore your intermittant operation. I'm realize that a blown fuse would not permit intermitant operation, but he indicated that it no longer worked at all, which is an indication of a blown fuse. I'll agree that the intermittant operation is caused by another problem. Mine was not wanting to turn on this year until I took it apart and cleaned the contacts. But you gotta get power to it first or you'll never know.:TU:
