Need help figuring out why my maplights won’t work after I installed a stock overhead console.

[Barrera92]

I have a 1996 C1500 ext cab that used to have a custom overhead console. It was there when we bought it new. It is two maplights and a cigarette lighter and they all worked fine. It got pretty beat up so I took it down and got a stock overhead console instead. I got constant power from the dome light via the orange wire and ground from the white wire. I soldered in a two pin connector and plugged it to the stock connector on the console. The problem is the front maplights only work when I open the door or use the switch on the dash. They don’t work if I press the button on the console itself. This isn’t the case with the rear dome light. That works normally with no issues. Any ideas?







Here is a video showing what I mean

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[Dubs]

If I remember correctly you have to put diodes inline and Y a power wire off. I can't remember the whole procedure. Google it. There was a guy that did a full write up on it. I just can't remember where I saw it.

 

[deadbeat]

Your dome lights have constant power (orange wire) but are switched on ground when you open a door. Ground the wire for the overhead console and you should be fine. This would allow you to use the push button lights whenever you would like and your rear light would work as it should as well.

 

[Barrera92]

Your dome lights have constant power (orange wire) but are switched on ground when you open a door. Ground the wire for the overhead console and you should be fine. This would allow you to use the push button lights whenever you would like and your rear light would work as it should as well.

Hey man, thanks for the reply. I was hoping someone could help me out. So basically I need to ground the ground wire from the map lights to the body of the truck?

 

[east302]

It looks like they share the same ground as the dome light. Diagrams below are for a 98, I would think it's the same for a 96.

The map lights on mine only come on when the button is pushed. Not with the doors and not with the interior light switch. The diagram looks to show power to the lamp only when the button is pushed.

Hope this helps.

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[deadbeat]

You need to ground it if you want it to work only when you push the button. Not really sure how to get it to work with the interior light with doors open or button. I did mine where it only came on with buttons pushed, you give it the interior light hot and ground it to the roof.

 

[Barrera92]

You need to ground it if you want it to work only when you push the button. Not really sure how to get it to work with the interior light with doors open or button. I did mine where it only came on with buttons pushed, you give it the interior light hot and ground it to the roof.

Is you're overhead override button on?

 

[resdave]

I have a 1996 C1500 ext cab that used to have a custom overhead console. It was there when we bought it new. It is two maplights and a cigarette lighter and they all worked fine. It got pretty beat up so I took it down and got a stock overhead console instead. I got constant power from the dome light via the orange wire and ground from the white wire. I soldered in a two pin connector and plugged it to the stock connector on the console. The problem is the front maplights only work when I open the door or use the switch on the dash. They don’t work if I press the button on the console itself. This isn’t the case with the rear dome light. That works normally with no issues. Any ideas?







Here is a video showing what I mean

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

white is not a ground...it gets pulled to ground when a door pin is opened...the stock map lights weren't meant to be dome lights they were meant to be independent on/off lights...since you wired it to the stock dome there is no dedicated ground for the map buttons to operate off of. you can get it to do both but you have to make a couple minor changes to the wiring

 

[Wallace83]

white is not a ground...it gets pulled to ground when a door pin is opened...the stock map lights weren't meant to be dome lights they were meant to be independent on/off lights...since you wired it to the stock dome there is no dedicated ground for the map buttons to operate off of. you can get it to do both but you have to make a couple minor changes to the wiring

What changes do you have to do to the wiring to make the map lights in the over head console work? I installed a 2005 short overhead console in my 95 C2500 regular cab, and the wiring on the console was orange, black, and grey with black stripe. But my factory dome light with map lights was only orange and white. So I thought color to color and grounded the black to metal and the footwell and some light will not turn off without unhooking the black wire from the console.

 

[Barrera92]

What changes do you have to do to the wiring to make the map lights in the over head console work? I installed a 2005 short overhead console in my 95 C2500 regular cab, and the wiring on the console was orange, black, and grey with black stripe. But my factory dome light with map lights was only orange and white. So I thought color to color and grounded the black to metal and the footwell and some light will not turn off without unhooking the black wire from the console.

What I did was hook up power from the rear dome light (which is orange I believe) to the console. Then I grounded the console to the roof. And the lights turn on fine now.