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86-95 Trucks & 4Runners 2nd/3rd gen pickups, and 1st/2nd gen 4Runners with IFS

Dome Light problem

Old 11-09-2011, 02:58 PM
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Dome Light problem

I did a quick search and couldnt find my answer. If anyone knows if this has been asked before, please redirect me...

1987 4runner SR5

If i turn my dome light switch to "ON" nothing happens. If i switch it to "DOOR" it will come on when any of the doors open.

That seems kinda crazy to me. The only thing i can figure is the dome light fixture is bad but i dont want to replace it if theres a simple fix elsewhere.

Any ideas??
Old 11-09-2011, 04:40 PM
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Pull it down & check the contacts inside. You might be able to clean them up & get it working.
Old 11-09-2011, 05:43 PM
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like he said, sounds like bad contacts or possibly a bad switch..
Old 11-09-2011, 05:55 PM
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I have the same problem with my 1991 pickup-I was going to try to take it apart and clean it. I was also going to try to find a brighter bulb for it also-the bulb that's in there now is kind of dim.
Old 11-09-2011, 05:56 PM
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Had one doing the same thing. Take a little flathead and bend the contacts a touch. And clan the contacts.
Old 11-09-2011, 07:23 PM
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use some sandpaper on the contacts too...removes corrosion
Old 11-09-2011, 10:34 PM
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Or use one of those hard "ink" erasers or a can of contact cleaner and spray it on the contacts.
To brighten the light clean and dry the inside of the housing completely then get some silver model paint and carefully paint the inside surfaces of the light. Be very careful not to touch the metal strips however since many silver paints actually contain metal and may short out the light. You may also consider switching to LED lights they can be much brighter and also use less power.

Hope this helped
Old 11-10-2011, 05:55 AM
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Aviator - any part numbers for NAPA, etc., for an LED that would replace the stock bulb?? I think tons of us have the 'dim interior light' problem....
Thanks
Old 11-10-2011, 06:16 AM
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its a 31mm festoon, superbrightleds.com...find a 1watt. thats what i did and it is bright. i think all the info is in my build thread
Old 11-10-2011, 06:28 AM
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Same problem here on a 95, I think its the contacts because every time I take out the bulb and pop it back, it seems to work for awhile.
Old 11-10-2011, 06:37 AM
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Wink

The whole thing is held together with rivets that come apart easily. I drilled out all the rivets on mine and replaced them with some nuts and bolts. It works great now. I also have a bulb from http://www.superbrightleds.com/ it works great.
Old 11-10-2011, 09:31 AM
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me too, the contacts were just dirty.

i also went w/ the 30mm festoon bulb from superbright led's. works great!

i tapped on some of the loose rivets w/ something hard on the back to prevent breaking the old plastic. Tightening up the rivets helped the light as well
Old 11-10-2011, 09:58 AM
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Thanks, guys. I'm gonna take a look at all of that when i get home. It just baffles me that it works in one position and not the other, but i figured it was something simple.
Old 11-10-2011, 01:55 PM
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I had this problem, I just used some denatured alcohol to clean the points, the previous owner must have been a smoker, it was a sticky film.
Old 11-10-2011, 04:19 PM
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Just to be clear inmeant bend the contacts at the switch Uh contacts.
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