lol, was only a joke man.

 

Oh I know. I was just humoring you.

 

 

Exactly ...

 

Find correct wire and wire away...

 

The cops do it all the time, brake & reverse lights too.

 

This is an issue that's driven me crazy for quite some time so maybe it's a fitting first post for me

Here's a description of the wiring for the dome light from the Factory Service Manual for a 1997 XJ:

So, to keep the dome light functioning as normal with the headlight switch, we need to attack the first ground path - the one that is closed by any of the door switches.

The location of that ground path may vary by year. I used the FSM wiring diagrams to track the wire back from the door switches to the Power Distribution Center, underneath the glove box near the passenger door. Happily finding the right wire was easy - in the diagram below, the FSM indicated that it's somewhere in the plug marked C7. It also states that for 1997 (and, in my case 1998) it was a yellow 20 ga wire. Examining the cluster of wires, there was only one of these in the bunch (top row, second from right), so I just unplugged that connector and used a wire to jump that wire to its corresponding pin, noting that the dome light lit up when jumped and the door was open, and also noting that the dome light turned off when the door was closed - that's the one!

After that, it was a simple matter of cutting that wire, splicing in a section of 18ga speaker wire to a toggle switch, running the speaker wire under the passenger carpet to the center console, and being content in finally having an override switch

(Note - this would also be the easiest way of cutting all the door switches out at once if you didn't want to use them at all. Just cut that one wire, cap it off, and be done with it )
(Additional note: despite the description in the FSM, my liftgate doesn't seem to activate the main dome light - only the rear dome light. Thank the powers that be for that, or there'd be yet another wire to track down and add a switch to. This method should not impact the rear dome light function, but I'd be interested to hear if for some reason it does...)

Cheers!

 

You know how a picture says a thousand words?

Here's the wire I cut before adding the switch. This wire provides the ground path from the dome light to all four door switches, so you can cut this wire and cap off to disable the door switches, or splice in a switch to let you choose whether or not to use the door switches. Cutting this wire has no effect on the dome light function of the headlight switch or the cargo dome light.

If you do this mod, please doublecheck that this is the right wire by unplugging the connector, and with a door open, jump the yellow wire to its corresponding pin in the Power Distribution Center. Be careful not to jump to the wrong pin. If you've got the right wire, the dome light will turn on when it's jumped.

I hope this helps! I know I wouldn't be able to enjoy my XJ without the help of this forum, so I'm happy to get a chance to share some knowledge.

 

Thanks guys. I think that will do it.

 

hello. I found this and had a question that might be silly. I'm brand new to wiring things but i want one of these dome light overrides. what do you mean by "jump" the pin? to simply remove the wire from it's slot, and touch a wire to it's end and to the slot where it came from?

To be clear, I just have to splice a 14ga wire to the yellow one and basically connect it to a switch right?

if I want to add a second dome light that works by switch only do you happen to have advice on that? I really appreciate it either way.

today I'll be changing out my tie rod end. hopefully it'll go good.

 

The dome light in my 2000 XJ has map lights on either side that you push on the lens to turn on. It also has the keyless entry receiver in the housing. What I did was cut the power wire to the dome light bulb and installed a small rocker switch in the housing so I can just cancel the main dome light when I want to. When doing my newspaper route, I have places I stop to drain my bladder and don't want to show anybody my stuff. This switch just turns off the main dome light but leaves the footwell lights on as well as the cargo light. I've found you can cancel the cargo light by pressing on the lens. It works for the intended purpose. My WJ has a feature in the dashlight dimmer portion of the multi-function switch where you just run it down to the bottom and it clicks off all the interior lights. Why can't they add that function to the headlight switch in XJs?

 

you said you cut the power supply wire but do you remember which one it was? I cut the yellow one in the interior fuse box and added a rocker switch but the cargo light stays on and I want to deactivate both of them with a switch. hell if I have to have two switches I'll do it. one for each.

 

This is why I love forums. Long live the forums and TY to the guys that figured this out and shared the information 10+ years ago

Eric
92 XJ