<VV> 68 interior lights

[Frank DuVal]

Seth, I know of no GM car from that period where the dome lights and 
under dash lamps are dimmed by the light switch rheostat. The rheostat 
just dims the instrument lights. This dimming of dome lamps is a recent 
trend in automobiles, and is still not effected by turning the dash knob 
(at least on the cars I have worked on, can't say none! ggg). The 
headlight switch can only turn the interior lights on and off in the 
Corvair. Any dimming will be from bad connections.

I would check to make sure no one has added a ground to the dome light 
or the under dash lights. The only ground is supposed to be through the 
headlight switch and the door switches.

But first, make sure the door switch in in proper adjustment. The easy 
way? Pull out on the plunger with pliers, it will come out about a 1/2 
to 3/4 of an inch fairly easily. Close the door. That's it.

Frank DuVal

Sethracer at aol.com wrote:

> 
>In a message dated 2/6/2010 1:04:52 P.M. Pacific Standard Time,  
>dschnei at yahoo.com writes:
>
>Hey  all,
>I'm trying to bring a 68 Monza back to life and am having  a problem with 
>the interior lights, this car has a dome lamp as well as lights  under the 
>dash. The lights do not turn off. What should I check and in what  order? The 
>door switches move freely and the headlight switch works fine  turning on 
>and off the headlights and I can feel the detent for turning on and  off the 
>interior lights on the switch, but I suppose the switch could be bad.  The 
>car also has an underhood and trunk light, could either of those affect  the 
>interior lights? thanks for any help.
>
>Dave  Schneider
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Dave, the underdash light harness and the overhead light harness are on one 
> circuit, and not affected by the engine or trunk lights. The underdash  
>lights, when used on a coupe, have their own harness that plugs in-line with 
>the  feed to the overhead light. That is why they should dim together. On a  
>convertible, the under-dash lights replace the overhead light, but they 
>still  dim with the headlight control. Something you didn't mention, but  - does 
> turning the rheostat in the headlight control effectively dim the dome and 
> underdash lights, or do they stay bright no matter what? If it has no  
>control over them, someone may have wired the feed to the lights from another  
>12V source. But remember that the circuit for those lights is hot, and the  
>switches in the doors just provide a ground. So if any of the wiring in the  
>circuit - after the bulbs - gets grounded, the lights go on and stay on 
>even if  the doors are closed. You might want to check the feed wires behind 
>the door  switches. It is kind of a convoluted reach, but you should be able 
>to reach  them. You could also unscrew the door switches - carefully - to see 
>if the wires  behind them are still attached. If the wire has fallen off 
>and is sitting  on a ground - there is your problem.  Let us know what you 
>find. 
> 
>Seth  Emerson
>  
>