Hey guys

what im after is introducing red lights to the 4 doors of the car. 1991 124 300D. To work in such a way that when the door is opened the light comes on. Particualy handy in the dark when traffic coming from behind can see the mother getting the door open!

what i want is using the ground from the door switch i need to find a good +12v which will let the door lights work proper when the doors are opened.

i used a +12 from the window motors but it always seems to blow the fuses.

is there any other +12v that i can use in the vicinity?

thanks

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1992 "j" reg MB E300 3.0L diesel

I guess you don't have the puddle lights as fitted to the 300E then...

You'll need a 12 v feed that is only live when the door is open, so your best bet is probably to tap into the interior lights circuit that is activated by the door switch. You may be able to get a direct feed from the switch itself.

The window motor feed is live when the doors are open, yes, but is also live when the ignition is on and the doors are closed, which may explain why its blowing your fuse.

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1987 300e manual 250,000 km (sold)

well i thought that would work untill i came across some strange problem.

ok.. door is open. rear interior light is on. check voltage across switch copper connectors...nothing.

close switch. interior light goes out. hey.. voltage across switch again.

which would mean that when ever the doors were shut the puddle lights would be on. its like interior light switch is working opposite what youd think it would do. whereas i took a +12 from the window motor circuit and sent ground to the switch and everything works. put the door card back on again and the rear window motors blow the fuse. obviously id only think that it would do this if the light was on. and door open while someone winding window down.

what ya think?

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1992 "j" reg MB E300 3.0L diesel

The switch normally grounds (closes) when the door is OPEN. That is how the light goes on. What lamp did you use? It shouldn't draw enough current to blow the fuse even with the motor running. Are you sure it is safe to have a Scallie working on a German car?? (My boss from Manchester said I should ask this question)

Mike

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1998 C230 330,000 miles (currently dead of second failed EIS, yours will fail too, turning you into the dealer's personal human cash machine)
1988 F150 144,000 miles (leaks all the colors of the rainbow)
Previous stars: 1981 Brava 210,000 miles, 1978 128 150,000 miles, 1977 B200 Van 175,000 miles, 1972 Vega (great, if rusty, car), 1972 Celica, 1986.5 Supra