Camtastic

Hey my 1990 Toyota Camry's dome light is not working. Already tried replacing bulb and fuse. Nothing else has a problem except the dome light. it does not turn on EVER. Any suggestions of what to check/replace next?
Thanks!

ice745

Take out the bulb, and turn the switch to On. Then use a voltmeter on the contacts and see if 12 volts is present. Use a voltmeter that has sharp pointers instead of alligator clips. You can scratch the contacts a little bit to get a good connection. If there is 12 volts, the bulb is either not seating properly, or you need to clean the contacts. You can clean them abrasively with a small file, or get electric motor cleaner. You can spray electric motor cleaner onto a paper towel, and rub it on the contacts.

If you're not getting voltage, then there is likely to be something wrong with the switch for it, since that is the only other moving part.

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ice745

You should be able to get one at radioshack, sears, lowes, home depot, maybe even walmart. It may be called a "Digital Multimeter", it's a device for testing electronics that will have a voltmeter capability. You can find a cheap one for $10.

It'll have a black (negative) lead and a red (positive) lead. When you do the test, hold one lead to each contact that the bulb is supposed to touch. It doesn't matter which, the readout will either be + or - 12 volts; or 0 if there is no voltage there.

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