On my 69 Cutlass conv. I have a center map light right above the radio. Last year all of a sudden the map light stopped working. Around that time I had a funny issue: the courtesy lights in the foot area were lit once the door was open, but after closing door they get darker but they are still lit, about 50% of regular condition. No chance to turn off. Finally I had to take them out, to save battery from dieing. Map light switch used to turn courtesy lights on, but not anymore. Door pin is moving free and courtesy lights dimm down, but they wont switch off.

Today I unscrewed the map light, switch is working okay, but no light. I see three wires orange brown white. I look in the Service Manual, but no help, since the A body page would not show convertible specifications. So would anyone have an wiring diagram for a 69 Cutlass conv. And does any one have an idea how to solve this and where to start from. I have a electrical meter, but no idea where and how to start.

Regards,
Tom

 

I'm guessing that this is your problem. The door light switch is just a little plunger thing, and if it doesn't open all the way when the door is closed, you'll get the condition you're talking about.

The first thing I would do would be to go around and disconnect, one at a time, each of the door light switches. If removing one of them from the circuit solves your problem, you know which one you need to replace or repair. If you remove them all from the circuit and still have the problem, then, of course, your problem is elsewhere, such as the dome light control on the headlight switch or a bad ground at one of the lights or switches.

You might also try removing the bulbs from the lights one at a time and see if that has an effect. For example, maybe removing one lamp will cause the other one to start working properly. That would tell you the problem is with that lamp or socket.

Electrical problems are a pain in the you-know-where, and I've found that the best way to solve them is to test and/or remove from the circuit one at a time all of the switches and lights. Also, always checks that grounds are clean and attached. A bad ground can cause all sorts of strange behavior, and the bad ground might be far way from where the problem is actually observed.