Dome Lamp, Daytime Running Lamps and/or Dome Lamp Time Delay Inoperative (Repair Connection at G200)

Some customers may comment that the dome lamp cannot be turned on manually but it will turn on when a door is opened. Others may comment that the daytime running lamps and/or the dome lamp time delay may be inoperative. The most commonly noticed symptom is the loss of the time delay feature of the dome lamp.

This condition may be caused by an open or poor connection at ground G200. The dome lamp will illuminate when a door is opened because it will have a ground through the door switch.

Ground G200 is a five cavity black plastic connector with a silver colored metal tab that is bolted to the body. It is located behind the left hinge pillar trim panel. The terminals should be removed from their cavities in G200, inspected and repaired if necessary. Use the following steps to perform this repair.

1. Remove the driver's foot rest. Refer to the Foot Rest Replacement procedure in the Interior Trim sub-section of the Body and Accessories section of the Service Manual (SI2000 Document ID #597268).
2. Remove the left hinge pillar trim panel. Refer to the Trim Panel Replacement-Left Hinge Pillar procedure in the Interior Trim subsection of the Body and Accessories section of the Service Manual (SI2000 Document ID #716458).
3. Remove the bolt that attaches G200 to the body.
4. Release the two tabs on the terminal retainer and open it.

Important: At this point, you can feel how well the terminals grip the ground spades on the ground tab. Without proper tension, the terminals will loose their connection to ground. If all the terminals are loose on their respective ground spades, the ground tab will fall out of the connector.

5. Remove the silver ground tab from the connector.
6. Remove the terminals from their cavities using an appropriate terminal lock release tool. Note the locations of the wires to aid in reassembly of the connector.
7. Look at the terminals to see if the spring blade is stuck open. The spring blade will be above the two ridges in the sides of the terminal if it is stuck open.
8. If a spring blade is stuck open, apply a light pressure to the backside of the spring blade and push it below the ridges in the terminal. In this position, the terminals will grip the ground spade properly.
9. Reinsert the ground tab and check the grip of the terminals. The ground tab should be held in place by the terminals.
10. Close and lock the plastic terminal retainer.

Important: Loose ground connections internal to the connector may be caused by pulling on the wires while lining up and driving the G200 attaching bolt. The spring blades are pushed out and become stuck open leaving no spring tension on the ground spades.

11. Carefully reattach G200 to the body.
12. Install the left hinge pillar trim panel. Refer to the Trim Panel Replacement-Left Hinge Pillar procedure in the Interior Trim subsection of the Body and Accessories section of the Service Manual (SI2000 Document ID #716458).
13. Install the driver's foot rest. Refer to the Foot Rest Replacement procedure in the Interior Trim subsection of the Body and Accessories section of the Service Manual (SI2000 Document ID #597268).

For vehicles repaired under warranty, use: