Dome Lights - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

chevyboy73 · 11-04-2012, 11:34 AM

What do you guys (with 47-55 first) do with dome lights? Is there a way to make it like a newer car so it turns on when you open the door? Or keep the switch light? Thanks for help!

Daze57 · 11-04-2012, 01:27 PM

Wiring Dome Light via Door Switches

this site is by-'' alan horvath.com'' - explains how you can do it - go through his site - he has great things in it for his 54 - including what you are looking for.
good luck

parkwood · 11-04-2012, 03:02 PM

Here is two different ways that i've done it.. the first is on a '51 and the 2nd is on a '55..

chevyboy73 · 11-04-2012, 04:28 PM

Thanks the 55 door thing looks easy to do

OKGMC4 · 11-04-2012, 05:07 PM

The second switch is how I did it. If you look for late model GM switches they are self tapping, with the right size hole drilled. (I used 94 astro van switches and practiced on scrap metal to get the hole size right first.)

**mr48chev** · 11-04-2012, 06:04 PM

On the AD trucks the light is normally turned on by the swich on the light. The housing is grounded to the cab which doesn't allow grounding door switches to work unless a guy isolated the body of the light from the truck cab and then grounded it with a wire from the light's housing to the grounding switch on the door. That wouldn't be hard to do by drilling out the three holes for the screws that hold it to the cab and putting gromets in the holes to isolate the body from the cab and you might have to do something to keep the cover from grounding to the cab. Then you could run wires from the body of the light to the switchs to ground the light to turn on.

The other thing would be to run door switches that control the power to the light and splice wires into the power feed so that it turned the power to the light on and off and then leave the switch on the light turned on except when you wanted to leave the doors open for a period of time.

A second way might be to run door switches that have a hot in hot when on in the jambs and have a toggle switch under the dash on the feed to the door switches to turn the power off when you want to leave the doors open or don't want the light to come on when you open the doors. The lead from the swith (s) could run to the bulb side of the switch on the light and with the old wire still intact and inplace you could still turn the light on without opening the door.

OKGMC4 · 11-04-2012, 08:40 PM

Didn't know that about 1st series lights. If one were so inclined it would be a great chance to upgrade to an LED panel. It makes SUCH a difference, mine lights up like the sun at night. Youngrodder did it on his first series here...

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=508867

Hope that helps as well.

**youngrodder** · 11-04-2012, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OKGMC4

Didn't know that about 1st series lights. If one were so inclined it would be a great chance to upgrade to an LED panel. It makes SUCH a difference, mine lights up like the sun at night. Youngrodder did it on his first series here...

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=508867

Hope that helps as well.

You beat me to it...Thanks for digging up the old thread.

Marc

Daze57 · 11-05-2012, 01:41 AM

yep ! i too used youngrodders L E D idea via OKGMC4 - works great !

mobileortho · 11-25-2012, 11:59 PM

Got finished mine. Man, this thing is bright!!

11-04-2012, 11:34 AM	#1
chevyboy73 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Sun Prairie, WI Posts: 131	Dome Lights What do you guys (with 47-55 first) do with dome lights? Is there a way to make it like a newer car so it turns on when you open the door? Or keep the switch light? Thanks for help! __________________ 2011 Silverado ECSB LT 2000 Silverado RCSB 2WD super bad habit of not owning a vehicle for a long time

11-04-2012, 01:27 PM	#2
Daze57 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Las Vegas - Nev. aka Sin City Posts: 1,835	Re: Dome Lights Wiring Dome Light via Door Switches this site is by-'' alan horvath.com'' - explains how you can do it - go through his site - he has great things in it for his 54 - including what you are looking for. good luck

11-04-2012, 03:02 PM	#3
parkwood Registered User Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: shingle springs, calif Posts: 771	Re: Dome Lights Here is two different ways that i've done it.. the first is on a '51 and the 2nd is on a '55.. Attached Images

11-04-2012, 04:28 PM	#4
chevyboy73 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Sun Prairie, WI Posts: 131	Re: Dome Lights Thanks the 55 door thing looks easy to do __________________ 2011 Silverado ECSB LT 2000 Silverado RCSB 2WD super bad habit of not owning a vehicle for a long time

11-04-2012, 05:07 PM	#5
OKGMC4 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Broken Arrow, OK Posts: 1,245	Re: Dome Lights The second switch is how I did it. If you look for late model GM switches they are self tapping, with the right size hole drilled. (I used 94 astro van switches and practiced on scrap metal to get the hole size right first.) __________________ 56 GMC BUILD THREAD: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=368649 69 long bed Chevy turned 67 gmc jimmy roadster: https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...d.php?t=851167

11-04-2012, 06:04 PM	#6
mr48chev Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Toppenish, WA Posts: 15,711	Re: Dome Lights On the AD trucks the light is normally turned on by the swich on the light. The housing is grounded to the cab which doesn't allow grounding door switches to work unless a guy isolated the body of the light from the truck cab and then grounded it with a wire from the light's housing to the grounding switch on the door. That wouldn't be hard to do by drilling out the three holes for the screws that hold it to the cab and putting gromets in the holes to isolate the body from the cab and you might have to do something to keep the cover from grounding to the cab. Then you could run wires from the body of the light to the switchs to ground the light to turn on. The other thing would be to run door switches that control the power to the light and splice wires into the power feed so that it turned the power to the light on and off and then leave the switch on the light turned on except when you wanted to leave the doors open for a period of time. A second way might be to run door switches that have a hot in hot when on in the jambs and have a toggle switch under the dash on the feed to the door switches to turn the power off when you want to leave the doors open or don't want the light to come on when you open the doors. The lead from the swith (s) could run to the bulb side of the switch on the light and with the old wire still intact and inplace you could still turn the light on without opening the door.

11-04-2012, 08:40 PM	#7
OKGMC4 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Broken Arrow, OK Posts: 1,245	Re: Dome Lights Didn't know that about 1st series lights. If one were so inclined it would be a great chance to upgrade to an LED panel. It makes SUCH a difference, mine lights up like the sun at night. Youngrodder did it on his first series here... http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=508867 Hope that helps as well. __________________ 56 GMC BUILD THREAD: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=368649 69 long bed Chevy turned 67 gmc jimmy roadster: https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...d.php?t=851167

11-05-2012, 01:41 AM	#9
Daze57 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Las Vegas - Nev. aka Sin City Posts: 1,835	Re: Dome Lights yep ! i too used youngrodders L E D idea via OKGMC4 - works great !

11-25-2012, 11:59 PM	#10
mobileortho Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Hampton, VA Posts: 904	Re: Dome Lights Got finished mine. Man, this thing is bright!! Attached Images __________________ Robert C. 1950 3600 3600 re-do, shortening it up If it's true what they say, "You learn from your mistakes," I'm a Genius in the making.



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