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Interior lights turn on when doors open?

Nathan Bellaire

New CEG'er
Joined
Mar 5, 2015
Messages
7
Location
Ontario, Canada
Hello everyone,

I was wondering if the Contour's interior lights are supposed to turn on when the doors open. Up by the lights on the roof there are the two switches on the sides to turn the lights on manually, and the center switch would appear to enable the lights to turn on when the doors open, but the lights don't turn on. Anyone have any insight into this problem?



Thanks,
- Nathan
 
As looking at pic left is light on all the time, center is off, and right is on when doors open and it then goes off in 12 seconds after door shuts or key turned on.

3 bulbs there, the middle switch controls center one, the outboard switches for each outboard light, they are not timed like the center one. Center is a courtesy light and outboards are 'map' lights.
 
Oh okay thanks guys, I didn't know there was a center light. I guess it is burnt out cause no matter what position I move the center switch to the light doesn't come on. I'll try and take the cover off and replace the bulb this weekend. Are there any tricks to remove the cover or should it just snap off?
 
Well I just ended up snapping it out, and there were two screws holding it in place, but it seems like I would have had to remove the entire interior roof to get to the screws, so I'll just glue the light assembly back in place unless there are any other solutions out there. Now the task is to find a replacement bulb.
 
For the center bulb, there are much brighter LED available. I put one in myself, although at the moment I can't remember which product it was. I will rummage through my folder to see if I can find it. It was available on Ebay, and it was pretty cheap.

Mad Dog
 
For the center bulb, there are much brighter LED available. I put one in myself, although at the moment I can't remember which product it was. I will rummage through my folder to see if I can find it. It was available on Ebay, and it was pretty cheap.

Mad Dog


Yeah that's a good idea! Do you mind me asking how you remounted the light assembly? Did you just use glue?
 
OK, I don't know if this is a sticky, but it should be. Go to sylvania.com and navigate to the automotive bulb replacement:

http://www.sylvania.com/en-us/applic...n.aspx#fldYear

This page is really handy for finding out the form factor for each type of bulb in the car. Then, I go to Ebay and search for (in this case) "578 LED". Now, I can't find my packaging for the actual unit I bought, but it looked pretty close to this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TMZ-2x-Blue-...8433da&vxp=mtr

They come in many colors, so make sure to purchase the one you want. Also, since these are LED, they are polarized. If you put it in one way, and it doesn't work, change the direction of the bulb and it should work. This isn't a guarantee, so do a bit of forum searching to confirm what I said. Just to make sure, we are talking about the main center light, and not the little circular adjustable ones - I havnt found LED bulbs that fit those (they are a Ba9s format or something like that).

As for not damaging the the light assembly, I was fortunate enough to be very gentle in getting it out. I have a set of spudgers I use for computer repair, so tools like that come in real handy. You can always go to the junkyard and find a clean replacement.

thanks,

Mad Dog
 
The plastic chosen there for the casing holding the lights is one that biodegrades with heat. Here in Texas they often crumble in pieces when you handle them at all. Mine has no lens at all any more, I don't look up to see it and the light output is double with the lens gone. I commonly do that with older cars, all that matters is the light output, I put bigger bulbs in as well that greatly increase light even more but a lens would not fit over them.
 
Thanks for all the replies guys! Turns out I broke the casing around the center light assembly for nothing--it just clicks out by wiggling a screwdriver in there... whoops! So I was thinking of ordering a new one online, anyone know what it is actually called? I'm talking about the thing around the light assembly that screws into place. Also while looking for a new dome light, I discovered that I have footwell lights, and a glove box light! But the footwell lights don't work, and the glove box light doesn't exist... there is just a hole for one. And also, my clock light doesn't work, so I can't see the time at night. I was wondering if maybe there could be a blown fuse since none of these lights work, or if they all just need to be replaced.

Thanks,
- Nathan
 
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