Electrical Map Light Not Working

So I've taken down my map light to see if I can find why it's not working. The electrical connections seem good, wires are in good shape, and the filament in the bulb doesn't appear to be broken.

There isn't much to this light from what I can tell.

What else should I check?

jrichker said:

Do you have 12 volts to the lamp assembly?
The switch tends to get flaky at times. Some electronic parts cleaner may help, although the switch isn't easy to get good access to clean it.

Click to expand...

12V yes.

From what I've seen finding a Fox with a working map light is about as awesome as finding one with a working ashtray lid.

I've taken the light assembly back down again. I removed the switch cover, cleaned the terminals really well and have it back together, drying at the moment with the little bit of adhesive I used to hold the switch cover on.

I'll report back what happens.

I pulled down the map light to try and figure out why it didn't work. Bulb was good and everything looked intact, and I was getting 12V power with they key on. The only thing left was the switch (it's a small plastic cylinder that you can push up and down when the map light is released.

Once you remove the map light there are (3) plastic "heads" for lack of a better term. These are directly on the back side of where the push pin/switch is located. I cut off the 3 heads with a knife, then the cover was able to be removed. The switch assembly consisted of only 3 parts in the following order:

- Cover
- Spring
- Push pin with a metal ring at the top

It works as a plunger type assembly and transfers power from the incoming side over to the wiring that goes to the bulb itself. Think of the map light being installed in the car...When the map light is released the pin is forced down which pulls the metal ring down by force of the spring. The metal ring completes the circuit between the two sides and provides power to the bulb.

After removing the cover I was able to use some 150 grit sandpaper to clean the copper terminals really well. I assembled everything back together, but the trick was getting the cover to stay on. Since I had cut the heads off there was nothing to hold the cover on. I got the cover lined up and in place, then used a bar clamp to hold the everything together. I took some Goop adhesive and put 3 small dabs right where the heads used to be. I let it sit overnight, then reinstalled it in the car today. Upon first try, the map light lit up when I released it! Success!

When I bought this car nearly 12 months ago I showed my wife that map light, albeit non-functional at the time. She said "that would be absolutely tits if you could get that working."

Not a bad idea. So after you cut the heads off you just essentially melted what plastic was there?