[DarylH]

I've got a '69 with an electrical problem with the passenger side footwell light. For no apparent reason, the light will intermittently be on or off. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it, sometimes it flashes on and off, sometimes it's on all the time, or sometimes it's not. Since I'm not the best with wiring, I'm hoping that someone has a simple solution?

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[John_Muha]

I'm assuming that this is happening when you open the door and not while you are driving down the road. First try wiggling or pushing around on the bulb. See if the light goes on or off. It almost sounds like the bulb isn't seating real well. If the pushing around makes it act up, try a new bulb.

 

[DarylH]

This occurs while I'm driving. When opening or closing the door, if the light was on before you opened the door, you'll see a faint flicker from the switch but the light stays on, door open or closed. I've checked the bulb several times and also tried following the wire hoping that I'd find a short, but haven't yet. The reason that I need to fix it is because while the car is sitting, the light will come on and run the battery down if left for more than 2 days.

 

[John_Muha]

Well, the right inside courtesy light gets its ground from the right inside door switch. I would think that if it's white (ground) wire was shorting to the frame, the left inside light would also come on. Couple of guesses. Try playing with the right door switch. See if that light comes on sometimes with the switch in (off). Only other thoughts would be a short to ground on that white wire. Perhaps somehow the lamp socket is shorting to the mounting bracket. I think the bracket it metal. Might try unscrewing the bracket and looking up the rear side. See if there are any bare spots in the wire. Might try and suspend the socket so its frame/bracket isn't grounded. See if that makes any difference. If you remove the lamp when you are not around, it will keep the battery from running down.

 

[DarylH]

Those are great suggestions. I'll try them tonight and see how things progress.

Thanks much for the help!!!!

 

[DarylH]

You were correct, the socket was getting grounded to the mounting bracket. Once I rearranged the orientation, problem solved.

Thanks for the tips, I don't think that I'd have found it without them.