Dome Light Repair
SUCCESS
After reading how soldering was required and also reading somewhere else that someone inserted a screw somewhere, I took my battery charger, attached the negative to one connector terminal and then started there, Immediately I found the problem. One of the terminals on back of the unit was no longer connecting to the wire underneath! It looked perfectly normal but if I touched power to the center of the solder it lit up, but if I touched the power to the tab that was connected to the solder and has the tab that goes in the connector, no light!
So I new this was where the solder was somehow not connecting. I was lucky in that it was the first contact point I checked. It might be the very weak spot on all these dome lights or you might have to test and search for yourself to see if you have a bad soldered connection on your light assembly. Remember they will appear to look perfectly connected and soldered!
I didn't feel like searching for solder and my soldering gun. I have not soldered anything in many years and as I recall I sucked at it. So I got my drill and a small drill bit and I drilled the solder out.
I then needed to be lucky enough to find a nice small tapered metal screw that I could use in place of the solder. My first thought was.... McDonalds Happy Meal toys! I had to look pretty good to find a small happy meal type toy that had a phillips head instead of the weird triangle screw head.
I found an Easter Toy that once topped a plastic container of candy. I pulled the bunnies screws and Whallah I had a screw that would work. I ran the screw through the open loops left by the solder being drilled out.
I tested the light and it worked fine! I installed the light back in my Supra and so far so good. Of course I can solder it later if this does not hold but I took some pics for you guys because no one had actually shown what they did.
Check out the 2nd pic to see the screw ran through the connector tab and into the eyelet on the other side that is attached to the positive input lead.
Almost ready for Inspection this was a big one just for my own enjoyment of the car. Can't live without an interior light when you have a 7 year old daughter. Will buy some cheap horns from Auto Zone tomorrow. Cost of repair????
One Dismembered Easter Bunny!
Thanks for reading this post.
Scott
ps I put the Easter Bunny back together with one screw and he is recovering nicely!
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1987 N/A 7MGE Left Hand Drive MK3 Red 5 Speed and Black Auto Supras
My Next project is the Batmobile!
Last edited by batmmannn; 06-05-2010 at 09:54 AM.
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