Dome Light

[bearman]

This is probably a "Henry J Electricity-101" question.  My dome light stays on all the time if I put the bulb in.  So the problem is likely one or more of the following: (1) the dome light itself (but I got this one from Rudy in CA, and t seems fine); (2) the switch(es) in the door jambs; or (3) a short in the wiring.  Anyone with experience on this issue out there?  Any hints on the most likely cause and how best to proceed?  All of the visible wiring behind the dash and near the dome light in the roof appear fine.

[Quadromaniac]

I was just having this same problem. There are 2 wires going to the dome light. 1 works from both door switches, the post on the right side of the light. The post on the left side wire is always hot. It is attached to the left side for the on off switch. At least that is how the one on my 53 Allstate works. If the left side is hooked up to the right side it will burn all the time. I hope this helps.

[Fid]

The switch on the light itself could be bad too.  It operates by a little ball that compresses a spring in the switch lever itself. If that ball (looks like a little BB) jumps out, it could bridge the circuit and keep the light on all the time.  The door jamb switches pop out pretty easily - you pop them out and disconnect one wire from it and see if the light stays on. If it does, the problem is either the wires on the switch are connected wrong (hot wire to switched side) or the switch is stuck as mentioned. My guess would be it's the former.  If the light goes out when disconnecting a wire from the door jamb switches, then the door jamb switch is bad.

[bearman]

Thanks for both sets of tips.  I'll be on the case this weekend, hopefully.

[bearman]

Thanks for the dome light tips.  Yesterday, I fiddled with the dome light again, and tried switching the connectors.  I tried different bulbs and now I cannot get it to light up at all!  I took the bulb out and gave up.  Today, I have no headlights, although the turn signals, heater, and gauges all work.  What happened?  Is it just a coincidence?  I think somewhere I read about the fuse in the headlight line.  Did my tinkering with the dome light mess up the headlights somehow?

[joefrazer]

Regarding fuses for the headlight circuit, yes they are used. On the 1951 cars, the fuse is part of the headlight switch. For the 1952 and up cars, it's in line between the switch and the ignition switch.

[Fid]

Most electrical circuits in the Henry J branch out from the headlight switch. Getting a wire on wrong will cause problems. The wiring diagrams are available on ebay but you need to have the correct one for the '53 as there are differences in all 3 years - dome light being one of the differences. Only the '53 (ok, and '54s) have the dome light and it was standard on both the Corsair (4 cylinder) and Corsair Deluxe (6 cylinder).