help with interior dome light

[DaleInTN]

Hello everyone, I have a dilemma... my 92 Festiva dome light is not working. The weird thing is I'm getting power to the dome light assembly but it won't come on no matter where the switch is positioned. If I run a ground wire from one side of the light bulb down to the emergency brake handle the light will come on but only by doing that will it come on. How prone are these light assemblies to going bad or becoming defective? I have noticed a few on eBay for sale but haven't really wanted to spend the money they're asking for them until I know that it is in fact the assembly that is bad. Thanks in advance!

[bravekozak]

Upgrade to an Escort dome light where the ground screw is in the center. The Festiva brace holes were factory punched for an Escort dome light. Kia chose to put in a smaller, less expensive dome light that is not centered. Do a search for "Escort dome light". Good luck.

Speaking of punched center brace, I ordered one from Four Green to give me a little more stiffness in the middle of the roof. I could put in two dome lights. It would be great for someone adding a sunroof.

[90fastiva]

I just upgraded to a escort light easy to do and looks great

[1990new]

Hello everyone, I have a dilemma... my 92 Festiva dome light is not working. The weird thing is I'm getting power to the dome light assembly but it won't come on no matter where the switch is positioned. If I run a ground wire from one side of the light bulb down to the emergency brake handle the light will come on but only by doing that will it come on. How prone are these light assemblies to going bad or becoming defective? I have noticed a few on eBay for sale but haven't really wanted to spend the money they're asking for them until I know that it is in fact the assembly that is bad. Thanks in advance!

This in one of the most common things to fail in the Festiva. The molded plastic material that houses the switch with the little ball bearing and spring just crumbles over time.
Like everyone is saying, get an escort dome light, the one with the two map lights works great. It's really very easy to adapt it.
There is a write-up on how to do it somewhere here I believe..not much to it.

[DaleInTN]

So, can anyone give me a year range to look for? I don't have much money and can't afford to get the wrong one.

[1990new]

Here is a good example. The picture is exactly like the one that I have in my Festivas:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/INTERIOR-READING-DOME-LIGHT-GREY-91-92-93-94-95-96-FORD-ESCORT-MERCURY-TRACER-/370558870785?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories &vxp=mtr&hash=item564707a501

You can probably pick up one at the junk yard cheaper though.

[TorqueEffect]

So, can anyone give me a year range to look for? I don't have much money and can't afford to get the wrong one.

Early 90s Escorts, and Tracers have these dome lights.

If you are willing to wait a while, when I can afford to visit the junkyard down in Cincy, I will be grabbing as many of these as I can find. I normally sell them for $15 shipped.

All you need to do is cut the headliner a bit, and splice two wires together, and you are good.

[bravekozak]

Read post 33870.
Here is exactly where you have to cut the holes in your headliner.
The two holes are hidden behind the headliner.
here is the picture showing the three punched holes for mounting the Escort lamp.
Good luck Dale.

[FestYboy]

please make sure your door switches are clean... they provide ground for your dome light and if they are corroded, the light becomes dim or doesn't opperate. same for that ball detent in the light housing, they are ground contacts. if that ball is dirty, you'll not have a dome light.

[DaleInTN]

Ok, thanks for the help guys!

[spoman]

I had the same problem, but I was able to fix it. The rivets that hold the circuits in place had loosened over the years. I figured that out by tracing the circuit with a continuity detector. So what I did was drill those out carefully, and replace them with pop rivets.

[MasterTec]

I bought a brand new dome light assembly from fourgreen.. it wasn't that expensive

[bravekozak]

How about replacing the stock map light with a JDM Map/Dome light with built in speakers (KA8 )? They have a KA6 on the bay for $65. I am scared to think how much this puppy cost when it was listed on the bay.

[muleskinner]

I just upgraded to a escort light easy to do and looks great

Ditto!banana time

[bravekozak]

I had to Google translate the Satan avatar wording a little further down past the speaker map light.

Yo soy el diablo, puedo hacer lo que quiera.
I am the devil, I can do whatever I want.