Our Community is 940,000 Strong. Join Us.


84 Ram 250 Wire Diagram For Interio Lights


comet240
07-17-2007, 12:31 PM
i have a 1984 dodge ram 250 that turned into a camper van but now the interio lights stay on i guess when we bought it years ago the side and back door switch lights were removed and taped off i guessing and the fronts seem to work but when doors are closed they stay on

does anyone have similar problem or at least a pic of the wiring diagram for the interio lights so i can by pass it close to the fuse and run a toggle switch to turn it on and off, as i notice i cant do it at the fuse as it controls the brake lights too

alloro
07-17-2007, 01:26 PM
Believe it or not, it is just as easy to fix this problem as it is to bypass. Your problem is 99.99% likely a wire grounding out at one of the two door switches or the wire of one of the two eliminated switches.

But if you really insist on bypassing it, disconnect the battery negative cable then pull the headlight switch out of the dash and you'll find an 18 gauge white wire going to it's plug. Actually there will be two white wires together on it, one goes to the dome lights and one goes to the door switches. You'll need to cut the one that goes to the dome lights and run it to your toggle switch. (Tip: Cut it far enough away from the plug in case you ever change you mind and want to splice back to the plug.) The other side of your toggle switch gets a ground wire not +12 volts. That's it!

comet240
07-17-2007, 03:22 PM
ok found a new problem i was walking by and i noticed the reverse light lite up slightly its like dim, now when i go inside van and put it in reverse the intertio lights shut off or go very dim, and the reverse lights come on and once i put it back in park or drive etc intertio lights come on and the reverse light is once again very dim

what could this be or where would i look?

alloro
07-17-2007, 09:05 PM
Best guess is you've lost ground from the battery to body, engine to body, or both. Most vehicle have a braided grounding strap that goes from the engine to the body. Look for that one first and make sure it didn't break near the end. If that one is okay, then inspect the battery's negative cable for a smaller wire that bolts to the body and check that connection.

comet240
07-18-2007, 07:44 AM
ok ill check those and let you know

comet240
07-18-2007, 08:07 AM
ok those didnt work there was no braided wire so i just ran a wire from the engine to the battery ground
and there only 2 wires off of the negative onet hat goes to the body and the other goes inside the van i re cleaned the terminals and put back on the van can start but the reverse lights are still on very low and interio lights still on and when i shit to reverse the reverse lights come on and the interio lights goe out

where can i look next?

comet240
07-18-2007, 12:53 PM
ok i curious i forgot to mention on the van i redid the rivots on the top of the van that hold the camper cap on the van so i had to redrill holes are there any power wires along the top of the frame i might have drilled into?

as i still can find the short

alloro
07-18-2007, 12:54 PM
Change that engine to battery wire you added to engine to body and see if that makes a difference. There is no electrical commonalities between the dome light and the backup light circuits other than ground. They share no common splices, switches, fuses or components on the +12v side. The one and only thing they do share other than ground is a 6-pin rectangular connector which is usually located up top 2-3ft. behind the driver's seat. You could check out that connector for signs of corrosion. If the engine to body wire or that 6-pin connector do not yield any results, then your next step would be to pull out the dome light bulbs and see if the "dimmed backup light" problem goes away. BTW, what happens if you're in reverse, the dome lights are off, and you open a door, do the dome lights go on like they should?

alloro
07-18-2007, 12:57 PM
ok i curious i forgot to mention on the van i redid the rivots on the top of the van that hold the camper cap on the van so i had to redrill holes are there any power wires along the top of the frame i might have drilled into?

This piece of information would've been helpful from the beginning since the dome and backup light circuits both run together up at the roof along the driver's side. :banghead:

comet240
07-18-2007, 02:09 PM
sorry for not posting that earlier

umm i try the 6 connector later today but ya when i put it in reverse and the lights go out or very dim, the reverse lights go on and if i open the doors then the lights come on like they suposed to so that means what?

ill try the removing dome light too

comet240
07-18-2007, 02:10 PM
oh now i noticed as the battery dies the door buzzer light goes off like is making noises as its slowly dying does that help at all?

alloro
07-18-2007, 05:22 PM
This all tells me that you have a short through one of your rivets between the white dome light wire and the black reverse light wire. You'll have to inspect the wiring where you installed each of those rivets to find at least one (maybe more) that is causing the short. If you find that 6-pin connector, pull it apart and place an ohmmeter across the black and white wires that run toward the back. If the meter shows a short then you know the short is in that direction. If it doesn't show a short, then the short is towards the front. Don't use the ohmmeter to check the wires that run forward unless you first pull the fuses for the domes and backup light circuits. I say this because the dome light wire is live all the time and you'll damage your meter.

comet240
07-18-2007, 08:30 PM
well the riviots i did all away around the van and i cant take the cap off now to see the wires i can pry up the wooden frame a bit but hard to find,
i couldnt find the 6 pin connector but on the driver side i found a white 12 gauge wire a red one, and electrical taped wire 4 wires now can you tell me if the wires run on both sides of the van or just on say passagener or driver this way i can narrow it down to the 3 sides well one of them,

does it matter is a ram 250 Royal SE

comet240
07-19-2007, 10:41 AM
ok i got it fixed i found the wires on top running to back of van by driver side i had drilled into at least 6 locations for the wires i didnt check where i have the cabinates cuz id have to take it down but it seems to have stopped the shorts if there is more i guess the cabniet and back pannel hopefully nothing on the passagenger side

but thanks for the help (:

alloro
07-19-2007, 11:33 AM
The factory wiring is limited to the driver's side only. I can't speak for any wiring added during customization. Six locations?!! Wow that's something to bang your head against the wall over. :) At least it's fixed and everything is now working.

comet240
07-20-2007, 12:30 AM
ya i wouldnt know i drilled into the wires when i re drilled all new holes for riviots and drove it in the wire lol

ya i glad its fixed was driving me nuts

Add your comment to this topic!