• Hi Guest!
    If you appreciate British Car Forum and our 25 years of supporting British car enthusiasts with technical and anicdotal information, collected from our thousands of great members, please support us with a low-cost subscription. You can become a supporting member for less than the dues of most car clubs.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

TR6 Door Jam Light Switch Replacement

Share this page

SherpaPilot

SherpaPilot

Jedi Hopeful
Country flag
Offline
My door jam light switch has failed on my 72 TR6. There doesn't seem to be any of the British car parts guys that sell replacements. Has anyone had any luck replacing their switch with one from another make/model? I know of similar situations where a BMW brake light switch works great in the Triumph (which uses a cheap plastic switch that frequently fails). Any experience in this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks....
 
Our Spitfire had a similar issue with its door light switch. The OEM part and reproductions were NLA except for the occasional (and quite expensive) NOS part on eBay.

You brought up the brake pedal switch. That happens to be what I used in my workaround for the NLA door switch. I bought the generic brake pedal switch from BPNW (MUCH less expensive than bought anywhere else). I made a plastic plate roughly the same size as the flange of the OEM door switch. The plate was tapped 1/2-20 to take the brake pedal switch and had a countersunk through hole for the door jam mounting screw. To mount the switch I had to loosely mount the plate and thread the switch into it from the back, then tighten the flat head screw. It was a fair amount of work but it gave me a working inexpensive solution. I barely had room to get the switch in from the back. I don't know if a TR-6 has similar access.

Sorry... no pictures. I can't even take a picture to send you. We sold the Spitfire last week!

EDIT: I offer this footnote for those wanting to offer other suggestions. I could be wrong, but if the TR-6 is like our Spitfire, the door light switch has two terminals that close to turn the courtesy light on. This is NOT the same as most cars where the door light switch has a single terminal and when the door opens, the switch closes, completing a path to ground via its mounting screw. This switch is basically insulated from ground and has two NC terminals which are "open" when the door is closed.

EDIT2: According to the Advance Auto Wire schematic by Dan Masters, the TR-6 LH and RH door switches are even more different than I imagined. I am leaving my earlier text for those it might benefit but it looks like the TR-6 used a driver's door switch with two pairs of contacts. One set of contacts is for the tunnel courtesy light, the other (like what I described above) is for the ignition key lock lamp.

Link to Advance Auto Wire TR-6 Wiring Diagram
 
dklawson said:
Our Spitfire had a similar issue with its door light switch. The OEM part and reproductions were NLA except for the occasional (and quite expensive) NOS part on eBay.

You brought up the brake pedal switch. That happens to be what I used in my workaround for the NLA door switch. I bought the generic brake pedal switch from BPNW (MUCH less expensive than bought anywhere else). I made a plastic plate roughly the same size as the flange of the OEM door switch. The plate was tapped 1/2-20 to take the brake pedal switch and had a countersunk through hole for the door jam mounting screw. To mount the switch I had to loosely mount the plate and thread the switch into it from the back, then tighten the flat head screw. It was a fair amount of work but it gave me a working inexpensive solution. I barely had room to get the switch in from the back. I don't know if a TR-6 has similar access.

Sorry... no pictures. I can't even take a picture to send you. We sold the Spitfire last week!

EDIT: I offer this footnote for those wanting to offer other suggestions. I could be wrong, but if the TR-6 is like our Spitfire, the door light switch has two terminals that close to turn the courtesy light on. This is NOT the same as most cars where the door light switch has a single terminal and when the door opens, the switch closes, completing a path to ground via its mounting screw. This switch is basically insulated from ground and has two NC terminals which are "open" when the door is closed.

EDIT2: According to the Advance Auto Wire schematic by Dan Masters, the TR-6 LH and RH door switches are even more different than I imagined. I am leaving my earlier text for those it might benefit but it looks like the TR-6 used a driver's door switch with two pairs of contacts. One set of contacts is for the tunnel courtesy light, the other (like what I described above) is for the ignition key lock lamp.

Link to Advance Auto Wire TR-6 Wiring Diagram
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info Doug. I have the associated lights disabled which is no big deal. I'm only trouble shooting a problem with blowing the associated fuse. I thought this interior circuit may be at fault since the switch is no longer working.
 
Before buying anything, go back to the Advance Auto Wire schematic I posted a link to above. If this is for a '72 TR6 as your signature implies, the schematic shows a single pole switch for the passenger door and a double contact switch for the driver's door. Make sure what you buy is right for the switch that is giving you problems.
 
Doug, I just got off the phone with Albert from TRF. We agreed the only switch available is a single pole switch and may not work in my particular car. I seldom drive the car at night anyway but really dislike the idea of unused wires taped inside a door jam. I may try to rebuild this old switch. Thanks for all your advice, it is greatly appreciated.

Don
 
Mine is disconnected. Why have the light go on with opened door while you're working on inside of car? I installed two small lights on sides of gearbox tunnel with a switch on the dash. Now I get light when I want it only. I seldom drive at night with car anyway but it's a good map light.
 
Call Scott Harper at Team Triumph he may have a used switch. 330-392-7176, Warren Ohio. Call after 1 as he's reduced his hours somewhat.
 
Back
Top