1971 Courtesy Rocker Switch

@panterapatt posted:

The wiring diagram that SOBill did is correct.  There are 3 wires on the switch.  White/black wire which is hot from the fuse block which passes through the dome light (SOBill's diagram says this is a purple wire but in my car it is white/black).  A double purple wire set which is the door switches, and a black ground.  In order for the dome light to work when you open the doors, the white hot has to be connected to the purple  wire set.  When the door opens, the door switch produces the ground and voltage passes through the dome light which makes it light.  So if you want all 3 functions, yes, you need a 3 position switch and then play with the terminals to get the right 3 combinations of connectivity.  

Just received a new courtesy light switch(symbol) from Wikinson. It is a 3 position switch. By any chance do you have the wire position for the terminals you ended up with to have all 3 functions ?

Hot was on 1 and I think I used 6 and 8.   Will have to check later when home.  Your switch could be different however.  Need to take a multimeter and test what terminals are connected in each position and then apply the 3 wires to give the right result.  

There should not be a hot wire connected to this switch. To get the functions described earlier with a three position switch connect the two violet wires from the door lights to terminal1, connect the violet wire coming from the dome light to terminal 4 and connect the black ground wire to terminal 8.

NO, that is wrong.  The White/black wire is hot and when grounded lights the dome light by itself.  The violet wires when connected to the white/black wire simply connect the circuit through the doors and include the dome light.  That circuit grounds when one of the door switches is opened, creating the ground.  

I have exhaustively tested the circuit and promise you the white/black is hot.  On SOBills' diagram, he shows that wire as violet.  On my 71, it is White/black.

And OBTW, I now have two 3-position courtesy switches and their terminals and operation are DIFFERENT.  Hence my statement earlier to get a multi-meter and check which terminals have continuity in EACH switch position.  

Your two  three position switches may in fact be identical. I just installed a brand new light switch that looked correct but did not work correctly. Upon removal and testing, I found one terminal is apparently not internally connecting. The rivet attaching the terminal to the case is tight, but that terminal is not receiving power when it should.

I went through my junk drawer of spare switches and found two, three position courtesy switches that were both functioning correctly. I swapped out the black “courtesy “ rockers for “light” rockers and all is now good. Except for the brand new switch that is defective. ☹️☹️

I know of another owner that has also found brand new switches to be defective  

Larry

All of the wires on the switch will test as hot except the black ground as power goes through the bulbs. If you remove the bulbs I think your black/white wire will not have power.

Incorrect (at least on my car).  See the wiring diagram.  The "V" wire exiting the bulb of the dome light is white/black on my car.  It comes from the Fues block and sure looks hot to me, and was hot when tested.  When you ground that, the dome light lights up.  What isn't HOT about that?  Whatever at this point.  Mine works as it should in all 3 positions and I am moving on.

Larry - agree with you, the switches are all over the map in terms of which terminals they have, and whether they connect in a given position.  The only way to determine is to test a switch in all positions to see which lugs are connected.  From that you can map how to connect the device or lights properly to make the switch do what it is supposed to.  Simply attempting to stick wires on a numbered terminal will not produce the result unless you happen to get lucky.

Here is the diagram

That wiring diagram clearly shows that the grounds are switched, which is what I have always found.  Each of the three bulbs in the circuit are fed hot via the white/black wire.  The path to ground is completed via the door and rocker switches.  

John

And here is the diagram  modified to show wiring a 3 position switch.

@forestg posted:

There should not be a hot wire connected to this switch. To get the functions described earlier with a three position switch connect the two violet wires from the door lights to terminal1, connect the violet wire coming from the dome light to terminal 4 and connect the black ground wire to terminal 8.

I installed Wilkinson's 3 position switch. Different with a black/white instead of violet. Here is the wiring connections that worked on my early 72 production.

Terminal 1 2Violet wires. Terminal 2 Black/White. Terminal 8 black ground wire. Functions as position 1 always off. Position 2 door activated. Position 3 on with doors closed.