Strobe-light show on bumpy roads

[Houli715]

I have a 1992 Nissan 240SX SE convertible that is in good condition. I purchased it from a previous owner about 2 years ago and it only has a few minor things that need fixing. I realized a sort of silly problem recently while driving at night. Let me first explain that shortly after purchasing the car I could never find a switch inside to turn on the interior light. It will turn on whenever the car door is open, so I know it works. However, I don't believe there is a way to manually turn it on. No one I ever asked could locate a switch either, and I don't own a copy of the manual, so as far as I know there just isn't one. (Which is a little frustrating at night if you are driving and trying to read a map, I just learned to use my cell phone light.) Recently, however I noticed (when I was driving at night) that whenever I drive over a large bump the light comes on for a second. It rarely happens, usually just over bumps large enough, like railroad tracks, but it is odd. I wonder what is causing this? It is a bit ridiculous at night to wonder if I will turn into a strobe-light show out on the road. I would like to eliminate the chances and embrace the bumpy roads without the embarrassment.

[positron1]

I had this exact problem. As far as turning on the dome light, there is a switch on the roof of the cockpit on the dome light above your head unless yours is broken off. For the light show, open your doors and on the side of the car where the door connects to the metal hook/latch there is a switch there. There are two, one on each door. The switch causes your dome lights to go out when you close the door because the door presses the switch when you close it. Now there is a rubber stopper that fits over the switch and these tend to get old and rot out or partially come off. The partial rubber stopper not pushing the switch in all the way is what is making your interior lights go on and off when you go over bumps in the road. Basically what happens is when you go over a bump the switch pushes out because the stopper is not holding it in. You can get a new rubber stopper here. http://www.courtesyparts.com/2....html 80410M-Stopper

Part#: 25360-VG111 This is the entire switch but you can just get the stopper.

[Houli715]

Oh thank you so much! This is excellent advice, VERY helpful. I was getting frustrated this evening while driving home because it was happening. You have helped me solve my problem! I really appreciate it.

[Hijacker]

There's no manual switch on the verts to turn the dome light on. Nissan fitted some verts with a GM rear view mirror that had map lights. But not all models got that. So some are just SOL.

As for your problem, this happens to a lot of vert owners. It comes from sloppy door strikers. If you look in the door jam, there's a loop that the door catches and latches on to to stay shut. It normally has a black nylon bushing on it, but vert doors are heavy and tear the bushing up very quickly. You can take a screwdriver, break the screws holding it in place, and push it as close to the inside as possible. That should tighten it up and keep the door from activating the dome light on bumpy roads. The better solution is to replace either the striker, or fit a bushing on it. We have a write up on fitting a bushing to it in the vert section. Replacing should be pretty straight forward IMO.

[Houli715]

Alright, thank you so much for the information. And also for clarifying that there is no switch for the inside light, I didn't think so.