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Interior lights/door issue


Mr. Pickles
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I've got a weird one, again, an electrical gremlin... again.. Is there a relay or something in the center of the dash/firewall area related to the doors and interior lighting on a '94? My after-market alarm stopped working a couple years ago, no biggie, there's nothing important to steal, but that was my first clue (thought it randomly worked a couple times since then). The front door light "switches/buttons" on the body have been in rough shape for a while, not sure if that is a factor. Suddenly there is now a clicking sound, almost like a turn signal continually clickinging on and off, but pretty loud, coming from the center of the dash and/or the firewall under the hood. I happens once I open the door, regardless of key in or out of the ignition or turning it to different positions. You can hear it fairly loudly both from the interior, and from outside/under the hood, but I haven't been able to pinpoint it. The interior lights will click on and off to it, over and over. It will happen randomly for a few minutes, several minutes, stop, start up again, etc.. One time, the alarm started acting up and turning on while refusing to turn off. In the end, it eventually shuts off, but it's irritating as hell. I've got a 2 year old, another on the way, and a few other projects, so finding time to track this down is a problem. Just wondering if this ring any bells. Initially, I'd be thinking the alarm is junk, but the door and lighting issues point me toward the Pathy itself.

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hmmm..

it definitely sounds like the alarm, as the alarm does click when 'upset'

opening the door after locked can mess it up. my red pathy doesnt like being unlocked with the key after being locked with the fob.

itll click over and over thn clickk and beep over and over then get faster and trigger the alarm..is this what yours does?

if so..definitely alarm.

hope this helps.

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I think its the alarm as well. Do you notice the outside lights flashing with the interior lights when this happens? We just pulled a bad alarm "brain" out of my buddies 93 because it wouldnt arm correctly, got another from the local Pick N Pull for 20 bucks and now it works great. Maybe try another brain?

 

Edited by Trogdor636
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It's an aftermarket alarm though. did you pull the wiring for the alarm horn? cause it sounds like the alarm is going off, and it turns off automatically after a couple minutes, then starts up again because it hasn't been reset and the door is still open.

 

It's been so long since I've driven my truck and I can't remember, but does the 94/95 have "courtesy lighting" where the lights fade out when the door is shut, or do they just turn off right away? if it's courtesy lighting, i wonder if it's the timer relay for that circuit?

 

One thing I would try, is find the alarm brain and see if it is what's clicking, cause it probably has a built in circuit for turning the lights on and off if that is case.

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They turn straight off... at least mine does.

 

But yeah, I'd bet that the clicking is coming from the alarm. The only things I've heard click from around there are the shift lock (auto) and the relays for the window controllers, neither of which are likely monitored by the alarm.

 

Your door switches could be shot... does the interior light flicker with the clicking? Or come on at odd times?

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Yes to being an aftermarket alarm, but once a door is opened, the clicking/lights will start up and continue, independent of if a door is open, except for the driver's side rear door. That one seems to reset the clicking cycle when it's opened/closed, so that might be a sign. The clicking is quite loud and a regular cycle - click on, off, in rythym,, and you can hear it inside and out easily, which it's never done before except for when arming or disarming the alarm, which brings me back to the "brain.". I've owned this thing going on 10 years, so I know what is "normal," or at least normal from my old beast. ;) A couple of the door switches are in rough shape, though I don't recall if that one is too, so I might try swapping some/all. The driver's door switch has been iffy for years, and the hinge pins are toast so it sags a bit, but closes firmly. Also, the exterior lights stopped flashing for the alarm years ago, I'd bet 5 years at least, and it's been dead almost entirely for the most part for a few years. It's my play rig, so it spends a lot of time parked these days, and of course new issues seem to show up each time I pull it out and start it up. Maybe I'll just disable the alarm at first, and see if taking that out of the equation solves things. Fun.

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I somehow missed the alarm being after market. lol. so when i though clicking behind the dash i though loose wires. :tongue: my bad. maybe try finding a new/used brain for the alarm?

Edited by Kyle94
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I don't really care about the alarm at this point if i can figure it out cheap/free. it's an almost 20 year old rig with old stereo equipment I that I really crank and can't listen to with the wife and kid along, only when I'm driving it alone once a month or so. :laugh: It's just the lights issue that makes it a deal breaker. I hope to have some time to spare over the next week/month or 2 to figure it out before the baby comes. ;)

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I'd say, since it doesn't work anyway, to just remove the alarm. I'm sure just pulling the alarm brain will suffice, that way you don't have to mess with the spider web of wires that connect it to all the doors and lights.

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I've had two aftermarket alarms, both of them were spliced into the ignition so if you removed the main brain you would have to find where the wires were cut and reconnect those. That's assuming your alarm has starter kill.

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  • Anybody that's also has an aftermarket alarm on theirs, what brand do you have? I'm just curious, I want to say mine is 90% Viper, though possibly Clifford, but I've had a mix on different vehicles.. It definitely doesn't have ignition lock/kill, as I had an issue years ago and ended up driving through the neighborhood at 6am with the alarm blaring. ;) Sorry for no actual feedback so far, my brother has been borrowing the rig this week along our utility trailer, but soon. Thanks for the feedback.

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