Cab light woes...

whitehorse

Full Access Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2005
Posts
1,054
Reaction score
1
Location
Jacksonville Al.
You must be registered for see images attach
These don't look factory to me. I have checked the connector at the passenger side kick panel and no power. Where does the wires go from there? To the fuse box? Where does it ground to?
 

FordGuy100

Registered User
Joined
Apr 1, 2006
Posts
8,749
Reaction score
282
Location
Silverton, OR
Those were the style back in the day. IMO, better than those stupid ___ smoked lights you see all the diesel ricers running around with today.
 

LCAM-01XA

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2008
Posts
5,932
Reaction score
12
Location
my very own hell
If they were tied into the factory connector that would be om the driver side of the cab, behind the kick panel and above the hood release handle, it's a flat 2-wire grey connector, IIRC the wires are colored brown for power and black for ground. Said connector is then wired into the main dash harness, the brown wire eventually splices into the wire for the front and rear running lamps that comes out of the headlight switch. Don't recall where the ground goes, but pretty sure it's also spliced into some other circuit for a shared ground. So if you're checking things check the connector's brown wire for power when the front and rear amber lamps are lit, and ground is ground always.
 

Still Strokin

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 8, 2012
Posts
273
Reaction score
0
Location
Hamburg, IL
Not sure which truck your working on in your signature but if its a 92-97 truck the wires from the lights run down the passenger a pillar and connect behind the kick panel on passenger side via a flat gray snap coupler and two wire terminal. brown and green sticks in my mind.... I installed them on mine about 6 months ago.. All oem connections and oem lights from ford.
 

whitehorse

Full Access Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2005
Posts
1,054
Reaction score
1
Location
Jacksonville Al.
This is my 89 and the wires are brown and white or tan, I turned the lights on and checked with voltmeter and no juice at the plug.
These trucks look naked without cab lights....:D
 

Still Strokin

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 8, 2012
Posts
273
Reaction score
0
Location
Hamburg, IL
Check your fuses next. Look in your owners manual in the back, and it will tell you which fuse powers the cab lights. I believe they call them "clearance lamps" or something to that nature... Its a fuse shared by other instrumentation . If everything else on the fuse is working, then your short is from the fuse to connector. If the cab lights are powered off the back of the head lamps switch i'd pull the connector and check continuity. 92-97 trucks were notorious for having shorts there. I think the wires were built to short in length
 

Kizer

Supporting Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2007
Posts
722
Reaction score
291
Location
Denton, Texas
Mine are "self grounding"...real PITA. Looking to replace haven't found any that I like...either too big, al plastic or stupid "smoked"
 

OLDBULL8

Good Morning Ya'll.
Supporting Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2009
Posts
9,923
Reaction score
338
Location
Delphos , Ohio
89 fuse panel.
 

Attachments

  • image0.jpg
    image0.jpg
    912.1 KB · Views: 14
  • image0-001.jpg
    image0-001.jpg
    1 MB · Views: 10

DaveBen

Supporting Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Sep 29, 2010
Posts
1,916
Reaction score
633
Location
Ukiah, Ca
They ground through the bolts that fasten the light to the roof.

Dave
 

whitehorse

Full Access Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2005
Posts
1,054
Reaction score
1
Location
Jacksonville Al.
I was afraid of that...but I thought if it grounded to the roof it would only have one wire running to each light and I have two.
 

LCAM-01XA

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2008
Posts
5,932
Reaction score
12
Location
my very own hell
The factory cab lights connector in a '87-'91 truck is on the driver side of the cab, so are the wires running up to the factory cab lamps. The brown wire is the power and the black is ground. The connector is C201 in the factory EVTM, powered via splice S213 in the main dash harness. The splice is located near the fuse pane, good luck getting to it if you need to (but you really don't need to as it is not a serviceable item). There is no separate fuse for the cab lights, if the regular 4-corner markers are lit the C201 connector for the cab lights is also getting power.

The grey 2-wire connector on the passenger side, I have a vague memory of seeing something like that hang unused, however I don't recall what it does. It's definitely not for the cab lights though. The interesting thing is that the components location at the end of the EVTM clearly shows a pair of courtesy lights under the dash, however the actual wiring diagrams have no mention of them at all. A blue/red wire in a 2-wire connector would be a sign that said connector is wired into the dash lights off the dimmer switch as a possible part of any courtesy lights circuits that may be present... Guess tomorrow I'll be pulling the kick-panels to see what the heck is going on in there, and to identify the mystery passenger-side connector based on wire colors. Curse you people, didn't really need more things to mess with in this truck! LOL
 

DaveBen

Supporting Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Sep 29, 2010
Posts
1,916
Reaction score
633
Location
Ukiah, Ca
I was afraid of that...but I thought if it grounded to the roof it would only have one wire running to each light and I have two.

That is how the factory wired mine. One HOT lead running down the passengers side (newer model) to a connector.

Dave
 
Top