julian Posted March 2, 2021 Share Posted March 2, 2021 (edited) So as part of a general tidy up, I decided to get the interior lights to work when you open the doors. The actual lights in the roof work when you push them, but not when you open the doors themselves. Taking care (and Bentley manual says) not to drop the wire when you unscrew the switch, I did that only to be greated by no wire on the end of the switch. I removed the carpet piece (3 screws) by the door, thinking I'd be able to get at the pillar there, but no joy. So how do I retrieve the wire from the hole where the switch used to be in the door frame? Does the wire come from above the hole, or from below? Failing that, any ideas how I get the wire so I can re-connect a new switch on both sides, I am imagining that both have suffered the same fate from years ago before my time. I did a quick search here on IB, and someone mentioned having to take the dash vents on the dashboard sides out by unclipping them, and then rooting around behind the air hose to get the wire.... I'd rather not be doing any of that Many thanks. Edited March 2, 2021 by julian typo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SurlySurdi Posted March 2, 2021 Share Posted March 2, 2021 (edited) I’d take a wire coat hanger, snip off the long bit then take one end and bend the last inch around at a sharp angle so it becomes a hook and can go through the hole, with luck you should be able to capture the wire and pull it back through. Edited March 2, 2021 by SurlySurdi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterK Posted March 2, 2021 Share Posted March 2, 2021 When I put my SC back together, I poked a (longish) length of electrical cable (brown, as it’s an earth wire after-all) through the switch hole, towards the middle of the car and 45’ down. By reaching into the void on the outer edge of the footwell, around the hot air pipe, I managed to grope about and find the other end of the cable. I then routed it up behind the dash to the interior light loom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julian Posted March 2, 2021 Author Share Posted March 2, 2021 41 minutes ago, SurlySurdi said: I’d take a wire coat hanger, snip off the long bit then take one end and bend the last inch around at a sharp angle so it becomes a hook and can go through the hole, with luck you should be able to capture the wire and pull it back through. Thanks for that. So is the wire coming 'up' not down then, I assume... 17 minutes ago, PeterK said: When I put my SC back together, I poked a (longish) length of electrical cable (brown, as it’s an earth wire after-all) through the switch hole, towards the middle of the car and 45’ down. By reaching into the void on the outer edge of the footwell, around the hot air pipe, I managed to grope about and find the other end of the cable. I then routed it up behind the dash to the interior light loom. OK, thanks - the void you talk about is got at by removing the triangle of carpet in the foot well that butts up against the door pillar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SurlySurdi Posted March 2, 2021 Share Posted March 2, 2021 I only went through the switch hole same as PeterK, no need to lift any carpet AFAIK. The void is just the area you need to poke around in, for my case the wire was still around the switch hole area so I managed to snag it and drag it out via the switch hole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterK Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 9 hours ago, julian said: Thanks for that. So is the wire coming 'up' not down then, I assume... OK, thanks - the void you talk about is got at by removing the triangle of carpet in the foot well that butts up against the door pillar? Looking under the dash, follow the 40mm corrugated hose that runs from the vent to the footwell (to a blower in a 3.2 ?). If lucky, you can reach past the hose, and into the void. If not, can you move the blower ?. If you have to move the carpet, it maybe better to peel the carpet from the front of the car, to avoid damaging the fabric trim on the carpet that is glued under the door seal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julian Posted March 3, 2021 Author Share Posted March 3, 2021 1 hour ago, PeterK said: Looking under the dash, follow the 40mm corrugated hose that runs from the vent to the footwell (to a blower in a 3.2 ?). If lucky, you can reach past the hose, and into the void. If not, can you move the blower ?. If you have to move the carpet, it maybe better to peel the carpet from the front of the car, to avoid damaging the fabric trim on the carpet that is glued under the door seal. Thanks, yes there's a blower and the hose. I'll try fishing it out first... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GimmeShelter Posted March 4, 2021 Share Posted March 4, 2021 On my SC (if my memory's not playing tricks on me) the wire for the door switch comes from 'behind' (i.e. forward of, strictly speaking) the dash, so it goes downwards (a bit) towards the door switch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julian Posted March 4, 2021 Author Share Posted March 4, 2021 (edited) 18 minutes ago, GimmeShelter said: On my SC (if my memory's not playing tricks on me) the wire for the door switch comes from 'behind' (i.e. forward of, strictly speaking) the dash, so it goes downwards (a bit) towards the door switch. Thanks, now it's not raining, I will have a look this afternoon... Edited March 4, 2021 by julian typo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julian Posted March 5, 2021 Author Share Posted March 5, 2021 Success! But not quite as I expected. On a 3.2, or at least mine, you can't find the wire by scrambling around behind the heater duct and blower, and yes, no point in removing the side carpeted panel (too late). I bent up a metal coat hanger, but this didn't work as the one we had was too thick, so I used some thin race car wire used to attach nuts to bolts etc... that was bendy enough. Fashioned a paper clip type hook on the end and went fishing... I couldn't tell where it came from, seems to be a small wire (brown and white) held inside an insulated protective plastic sleeve on both sides as shown in the photo. Done. Thanks all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anil Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 Congrats on finding the wire. However, can you please share some more pics of your car? Looks to be a really unusual colour combo for a 3.2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julian Posted March 5, 2021 Author Share Posted March 5, 2021 Thanks, it's 1987 Carrera non-sport L10W SW combo (sunshine yellow and mahogany leather) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheep911uk Posted March 28, 2021 Share Posted March 28, 2021 Never could get the interior light in my targa to work!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pollenstein Posted May 17, 2021 Share Posted May 17, 2021 On 28/03/2021 at 19:37, sheep911uk said: Never could get the interior light in my targa to work!! its on my list, but I don't know where to start... they do work manually though (map light and roll hoop) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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