2008 E350 dome light - Page 2

Zeta · 07-12-2012, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daveb

yes...the little round directional lights are dim. I don't know if they can be heavied up though.

I lined the little housings with aluminum duct tape then polished it with metal polish. Made a difference.

Z

http://www.tomsinclair.net

**daveb** · 07-12-2012, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zeta

Quote:

Originally Posted by daveb

yes...the little round directional lights are dim. I don't know if they can be heavied up though.

I lined the little housings with aluminum duct tape then polished it with metal polish. Made a difference.

Z

http://www.tomsinclair.net

Any chance for a brighter LED replacement in the map lights Tom?

Zeta · 07-12-2012, 07:45 PM

I tried, but they were a bit too long. Very little room in the housing.

**daveb** · 07-12-2012, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zeta

I tried, but they were a bit too long. Very little room in the housing.

Crap, figures.
I was thinking of getting the 08 model. I have those in my work truck and they kick butt.

86Scotty · 07-12-2012, 10:43 PM

Would it be a bad time to mention that every recent GM van I've seen has a factory some override switch right there by the light switch? It's great on a work/utility van like I used to drive, very handy. Why on earth doesn't Ford do this?

Ultrasport12 · 07-13-2012, 12:03 AM

[quote="86Scotty"]Would it be a bad time to mention that every recent GM van I've seen has a factory some override switch right there by the light switch? It's great on a work/utility van like I used to drive, very handy. Why on earth doesn't Ford do this?[/quote

Just for the sake of saying it as a long term GM van guy since 1977 when I bought my first brand new van until I sold my rare 1980 Chevy Nomad and near mint 1995 GMC G-30 cargo vans in 2010. Those switches were optional from 1978 until at least 1995 (last of that body style) after that I don't know because I switched camps to Ford vans. On GM vans that switch only shuts the lights off so they never work at all and nothing else. It cuts the power wire from the fuse that feeds the dome light power. I have installed a few of them as kits in the past. Those vans did not have any battery saver stuff like the Fords do. All they were is power again from the fuse and ground from the dome light switch's (which were also optional on every door but the drivers side) or the head light (the same thing as turning the knob all the way) switch. The optional lighting packages they had included High Quality map lights that worked well and something I miss is Step well lights for the front and side doors. OK enough of the easy old system, back to the Ford questions.

redrock,

So I got the light out tonight and here is the part number that came on my 2008 van from the back of the light but that's usually all the dealer needs. YF1A-13776-DE It DOES have the on (door open) off (center position) and always on (as long as the timer allows) switch on it.

I checked with my van tonight while packing (as we have decided to go spontaneously camping this weekend) and all of my lights stop working after 30 minutes. The Black and Blue stripe wire goes off first (the dome lights) and then the Green and Yellow (Map Lights and Sun Visor Lights) striped wire dies after that. In order to turn them back on you have to excite the Can Data Bus by closing all of the doors and then reopening one or hitting the brake pedal or turning the key on.

My replacement light with the map lights is YF1Z-13776 AA just in case anyone needs that number.
Both of these lights are interchangeable and are kind of oval shaped with one edge being slightly straighter than the other side.

It could be possible that for some reason your van is different (newer?) or that Sportsmobile did some rewiring of the dome light circuit. I know my headlight switch knob that turns on the dome light is super way to easy to turn at that end. It seems fine for dimming the dash lights but at the end near the dome light (full bright on the dash lights) its so sensitive. I guess I should think about getting a new headlight switch someday.

Hope that helps..

9pb9 · 07-13-2012, 08:17 AM

Being the kind of person whose on the road repair kit features a cell phone and a AAA card, when I had this problem with my 2011 Ford, I took it to the dealer. I had the type of dome that was either always-on or conditional-on (when door was open) with no switch for always-off. My mechanic couldn't find any special programming or switches to fix this, so he disconnected a wire (I guess the one that tells the light the door is open). So now I have an always-off or always-on light which is fine with me. I was really surprised that SMB didn't take care of this annoyance as part of their regular build process.

regist1 · 07-13-2012, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carringb

A while back I ran across a TSB from Ford which said a dome-light override switch can be added to the B-pillar, by simply splicing a switch into one of the wires. However, I can't remember which color wire it is. I think the dome light harness is the only 3-wire harness in the B-pillar.

Yes, I located the wire in the B-pillar, followed it along the floor in the drivers side step, easy access under the removable plastic cover, and spliced in a switch that I located next to the head light switch in the dash. If I remember right it was LG-YE in my 2007 15 passenger E350. GM trucks have this pre-wired. The center lights still work when manually switched on regardless of the switch position.

salivan · 07-13-2012, 12:17 PM

On my 2008 E350, the driver's door and passenger's door turning on the map lights doesn't bug me, but the side and back doors did. So I disconnected the push button on the side and back doors and kept them attached to the plunger with a zip-tie, so I wouldn't lose the wiring. Then I replaced the 2 dome/map light with LEDs with the same push in base. I'm happy. If I get in to drive, the lights come on, but if camping and come in the side door, or go to get something out of the back, they stay off.

Philip

**daveb** · 07-13-2012, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by salivan

On my 2008 E350, the driver's door and passenger's door turning on the map lights doesn't bug me, but the side and back doors did. So I disconnected the push button on the side and back doors and kept them attached to the plunger with a zip-tie, so I wouldn't lose the wiring. Then I replaced the 2 dome/map light with LEDs with the same push in base. I'm happy. If I get in to drive, the lights come on, but if camping and come in the side door, or go to get something out of the back, they stay off.

Philip

I'd probably do similar but my vehicle alarm works off those