Just wondering anyone could send me pictures of how the hatch light is wired (not the actual bulb etc) but the wire that connects to the hatch strut or body, so when the hatch is released the light comes on. Mine has been cut and abused by the previous owner.

thanks Kelvin

You have a constant positive power to the bulb, then goes from the bulb up to the top quarter trim plastic with is screwed on to your hatch strut mount. it then comes out of there and to a floating cylinder on your gas strut. when you open the hatch and that cylinder falls to the base it earth's creating a full circuit. so basically run a negative wire from your light up to that float on the gas strut.

"to that float on" . what does this look like?. I must be missing this. D'oh..Picture would be great

Maybe someone replaced the strut with one without a switch.

This is one

It used to be a favourite trick when they were ~10 years old over here to see cars where the strut was replaced but people didn't realise the bit with the wire was a switch, so the boot light didn't do anything useful...

Similarly, some replacement struts over here were too short in the gas side to turn the switch off too

Very Nice Chris.

Kelvin

Let me know if you are missing one and having trouble finding any. I'm not sure I have any in the spares pile, but there are a few places over here that might have.

I have several switches "in stock" which can be fitted so long as
the gas strut ball joint is of the type that can be unscrewed.

Mac

Thats odd, mine definitely doesn't have one of those swithches, but the light used to work. That said one evening walking back into a dark driveway i could see a glow from the boot, it turned out the light was on permanently so i just disconnected it as i rarely use the boot. Not really helpful here, but just felt i'd share that

I have put new struts in hatch and guess what, they don't unscrew....looks like I'll be modifying a few things

Got one of those switches and hooked it up. Light now stays on all the time!!!! - Help

Did you move the plastic sleeve too?

There's a plastic sleeve which moves into the switch barrel, thus isolating the neg/earth return that lights the light.

Probably clearer here:


DSCF1084 by macplaxton, on Flickr

Does that make any sense to you?

sure does

Okay, so you're telling me you forgot to put the plastic sleeve on?

No transfered the whole unit with sleeve as well. The plastic sleeve can only be pushed inside the sleeve of the switch a tiny bit because there is a spring in there giving tension. It looks exactly as the picture state. So, the light should go off immediately when I close the boot?