Interior Lights-need help!

[timmay89]

hi everyone,
My Festiva needs some professional help!
The instrument cluster lights, and HVAC lights do not turn on... ever. Also the dome light only works when the door is open, not when it is on the "on" position. The seat belt light pops on when I turn the car on, but then turns off afterwards, and will not turn on again even when I take the seat belt off.
To fix these problems (which may or may not be related) I have tried replacing the parking light relay, the dimmer switch, checked every fuse and still nothing works. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do to fix this? I also tried putting another gauge cluster in, and that didn't help. All other functions on the gauge cluster seem to work properly.

Thank you for the help!!!

[wybnrml]

Did you check the Tail Fuse?

[doylerl]

The factory dome lights in these cars are junk. Switch to an escort dome light, and that should fix that problem.

[Britstiva]

You didn't mention your radio... Is the radio stock? There may be a wire crossed in the radio installation if it has been replaced with an aftermarket head unit.

If that isn't the problem, then it sounds to me like you have a wire loose/broken somewhere in the dash. (or at the fuse panel)

[muddevil01]

Did you try replacing the panel dimmer on the left side of the steering column every so often my dash lights go out along with the hvac lights and when I move the panel switch they come back on it might be worth a try

[Aaronbrook37]

Lubricate the door switches on the dome light. I know you said the door one works, but my "ON" setting works so much better/easier now as a result. Dunno about HVAC though... those bulbs sure are tiny!

[mechanicaldj]

did this all happen at once?

[timmay89]

The tail fuse is good, I checked that. The Dome light has already been replaced, so that isn't a problem. The radio is not stock, but I did check the wiring on it, and it seems to be ok. I will check that wiring again. Other than that I already tried replacing the dimmer switch and no luck.

did this all happen at once?

To answer this question, Yes. Maybe I need to give more information though. In February I changed my 1989 auto Festiva, and put a BP engine in it. When doing this I changed ALL of the wiring in the festiva to a 1993 wiring harness. The second I put that in, all of these problems started to happen.

I will check the cd player wiring and try lubing up the door trigger, but other than that I just don't know where to begin now, and what processes to take to fix this. I almost feel like rewiring the whole thing!

[crazyrog17]

Did you miss a ground bolt somewhere under the dash?

The dome light confuses me though...

It has two wires to it. Constant +12v and a ground when the doors are open. The door lights wouldn't work if the dome light isn't getting +12v so it must be a bad ground.

[schads]

I agree with crazyrod17 sounds like a bad ground going to the dimmer switch. i had a geo metro that the dash lights didnt work and found no gound at the dimmer switch. replaced the wire and worked ever sence.

[timmay89]

K I will do some research and see what I can find. Thanks for the help

[htchbck]

Are you 100% sure that the pinout on the dimmer plug in the new harness is the same as the pinout of the old harness? ie, each wire went to the same slot on both the old and new plug? It might sound kind of dumb, but I know at least between the 88-89 and 90-92 MX-6s the dimmer switch wiring changed... I put the dimmer from my 88 parts car in my 90 and the plugs still lined up and plugged in, but the plug pinout was different and the lights would never come on, sounds like the same problem you're having, maybe they changed pinouts on the festiva too? Had a similar issue trying to use an '89 626 headlight switch in a '91 Festiva, plugs hooked up fine, but wires went to different places. In both cases I just got the wiring pinouts for both and removed the wires/contacts from the plugs and reinserted them in the correct spots.

[jtugfestiva]

i have the exact same problem with the dome light it only works when the door is opened i checked the ground and everything looks find. I finally just gave up hey at least i have a new dome light. Haha but it doestn work unless the door is open.

[eurotiva]

timmay89. The dash harness is different between '88/'89, '89auto, and 90+. You might need to look into the dash harness.

[schads]

i have the exact same problem with the dome light it only works when the door is opened i checked the ground and everything looks find. I finally just gave up hey at least i have a new dome light. Haha but it doestn work unless the door is open.

Take a look at the contacts in the light assembly there more then likly not making good contact.