Where is the door open electrical switch?

[craigh]

I should know this, but with a visual inspection I don't see an obvious electrical switch for when the door opens. The one that turns on the interior lights. Does anyone know right off hand where the switch is located and what triggers it?

 

[joegr]

Yes, it's a micro-switch inside the door latch assembly. You can't see it without taking the latch assembly apart, and those weren't designed to be taken apart and put back together. There's flat-flex circuit that usually breaks in the process.

 

[craigh]

Does anyone know of a way to bypass the switch? i.e. work on the car with the door open and not have the lights/circuits turn on? I am looking for a amperage draw when the car sits.

 

[ajv8]

try to close the latch with a screwdriver

 

[joegr]

Does anyone know of a way to bypass the switch? i.e. work on the car with the door open and not have the lights/circuits turn on? I am looking for a amperage draw when the car sits.

This is actually quite easy. Leave the door open. The car will still go to sleep in about 30 minutes, just don't close or open anything. (The interior lights will go off several minutes before the car goes to sleep.)

Note that even with the door closed, you'd still have to wait out the 30 minute sleep timer, unless you locked it and armed the alarm.