Defeating "Door Ajar" light while camping

[VirtualJJ]

...In the middle of first camping trip with "new" L300!!!

But we leave the sliding door open a lot and I'm worried about the battery.

Any quick on-the-road suggestions?

( we don't have many tools with us, but we have a few... )

[Golf Cart]

Take the bulb out ?

Install a toggle switch close to the light that ties into the wiring ?

[mararmeisto]

Turn off the overheads or switch over to LEDs.

[FalcoColumbarius]

Wait a minute, we are talking about one incy wincy light bulb in the instrument cluster that tells you that one of your doors is open? How long do you intend to leave the door open with the key in the ignition? Presuming that your batteries are not too old, I think you can safely do it for a night ~ or ~ take the key out of the ignition and the light goes out.

If you have the key in the ignition so you can listen to your groovy tunes then might I suggest purchasing an alternative battery pack (the kind you can boost your van with should you wind up with a flat battery). These usually come with a compressor in the event you have a flat tyre; you can plug them in at home to charge them or... You can charge them as you drive by plugging them into the cigarette lighter (in the back, preferably). And this is where I get to my point: If you have the battery plugged into the cigarette light whilst the engine is off then it will power your system from the other side of the ignition, i.e.; your stereo. It will also power your DRLs if you have it ~ so have some kind of cut-off switch or pull the fuse to the DRLs if you are doing this or you will flatten your alternative battery in no time.

Falco.

[lopar]

I do not know what the door uses for a switch, push style? out camping? Jamb a stick in there to keep it off. Or if switch is reasonably accessable, take it out, remove wire, deal with it later.

Wait a minute, we are talking about one incy wincy light bulb in the instrument cluster that tells you that one of your doors is open? How long do you intend to leave the door open with the key in the ignition? Presuming that your batteries are not too old, I think you can safely do it for a night ~ or ~ take the key out of the ignition and the light goes out.

"incy wincy" lights are often culprits of draining battery to a no start condition. Probably get away with it with an LED light. Just from my experience.........

If you have the key in the ignition so you can listen to your groovy tunes then might I suggest purchasing an alternative battery pack (the kind you can boost your van with should you wind up with a flat battery).

agreed, camping = spare battery <--- wise

[VirtualJJ]

It is the little dash light that I am talking about, and it stays on without my key in the ignition.
I cannot find a pressure switch, so assume it is the contacts on the door itself that close the circuit.

Dual battery will happen soon, but not this trip.

Is there a fuse I could pull?

[FalcoColumbarius]

So long as your battery(ies) is/are healthy ~ I really wouldn't think that that bulb would cause you grief for one night, not like say a dome light that could use up amperage ~ although I must say that it seems odd to me that this light would remain on when the key has left the ignition. I have often camped with with the side door or the tailgate or both doors open and not had an issue, mind ~ I am pretty sure that light doesn't come on in the MLB when the key is out of the ignition.

Falco.

[VirtualJJ]

Key-out was the first thing we tried... but light still stays on. It glows in the night when we open the door for ventilation.
We will definitely "fix" this when we get back...

Our next stop will be for 4 1/2 days without moving, hopefully the battery will be ok.

We're still looking for a quick on-the-road/minimal tool use suggestion (ie jamming the switch, pulling a wire, pulling a fuse etc.) definitely not involving dash disassembly or switch installation, as we are far from home and did not bring tools or info; we just need a temporary fix for now.


We will possibly be moving out of Internet range tomorrow. Wish us luck!

[luckydad]

Try to push in the button that activates the dome light. If the door ajar indicator goes out at the same time, just tape the button down. I hope that works.

Phil

[thedjjack]

OK walked out to my Delica

There is a little push in switch located on the outside of the door frame at the back side of the door. Push in the little button and it thinks the door is shut.

Instructions to turn off:

1) Open sliding door

2) put a small stick between the open door and the switch (sticks provided free of charge in forested camping areas)

hope that helps.

[RichD]

So long as your battery(ies) is/are healthy ~ I really wouldn't think that that bulb would cause you grief for one night, not like say a dome light that could use up amperage ~ although I must say that it seems odd to me that this light would remain on when the key has left the ignition. I have often camped with with the side door or the tailgate or both doors open and not had an issue, mind ~ I am pretty sure that light doesn't come on in the MLB when the key is out of the ignition.

Falco.

The light comes on when the door is ajar, regardless of key state.

As Falco states, the draw from that light is tiny. It would run for weeks. There is actually a bit of draw on your battery(ies) whenever the vehicle is sitting, unless you disconnect the battery completely. This is within normal operating parameters.

Don't worry about it.

[Erebus]

OK walked out to my Delica

There is a little push in switch located on the outside of the door frame at the back side of the door. Push in the little button and it thinks the door is shut.

Instructions to turn off:

1) Open sliding door

2) put a small stick between the open door and the switch (sticks provided free of charge in forested camping areas)

hope that helps.

I did a more convenient/permanent solution. Remove the trim behind the sliding door, find the wire that goes to the switch mentioned above, and wire in a SPST switch in-line with it, and mount the switch in the trim.

Because the way the dome lights work, the switch at the door grounds when the door is open. In other words, the lights and wires are live, and opening the door closes the ground and the lights come on. So my extra switch is normally in the "closed" position, allowing the dome lights to work normally. But if I flip my inside switch, that opens that part of the circuit, and the vehicle doesn't know the door is open.

I've actually done this to all doors, so I can open everything when camping and no lights will come on. Also handy when you open a door when it is dark out -- you don't blind yourself.

If you want more instructions, don't hesitate to ask. (And that goes for anyone!)