Door Jamb Switch Wiring - Help Please

[mercman1951]

I am a stickler for details. I was irritated when neither of the doors on my truck, when opened, would turn on the interior lights. Anal, I know.

I took the driver's side switch out, and found a new replacement one at the local auto parts place for 4 bucks, replaced it, lights come on now like they should. Even the little one under the middle of the dash.

I ordered the second one for the passenger side, unscrewed the old one, pulled it out, and the wires were broken off and fell down inside the kick panel. No biggie, I thought, pull off the trim from the kick panel, stick hand in access hole, and fish the wires up to the switch opening...EXCEPT...there is no access hole behind the kick panel. It's solid steel all the way back to the firewall...I assume because most of these trucks didn't have a trim panel there, it was plain steel and exposed unless you had a higher up trim option like my truck does...

My question is...has anyone had to try and get those wires back up to that little hole where the door jamb switch is, and how did you do it?! Are the wires part of the door wiring harness that runs into the kick panel and then into the door or are they separate?

Short of cutting an access hole in the kick panel, I can't get to those loose wires now! I tried to nab the wires thru the little switch hole with a coat hanger, no luck. I stuck my hand up into the fresh air vent, no luck...can't reach them from that far back. Any ideas?

[beaterC10]

The wires should run up and exit in an area behind the the outer corner of the dash. You will have to pull the glove box and possibly the dash pad. Normally the wires pass through a rubber grommet about 1" diameter that will pull out. You might try pushing a small fish tape up from the hole in the door jamb after you remove the grommet.

[Pyrotechnic]

Something similar happened to my truck. I'm guessing the switch broke so a previous owner just unscrewed the switch, taped off the wire and shoved it in the hole. I what I did was pull the grommet and wire out in the area up under the dash. I then took some safety wire and shoved it through the switch hole and fished it up to where the grommet goes. I hooked the safety wire on the switch wire and pulled it back through.

[87rado]

I pulled mine out to change the switch and it fell back inside. I did manage to fish it out through the small hole for the switch. I just used a small piece of bare copper wire about 18" long with a hook about an inch long.

[Captkaos]

pull the vent/kick panel off to reach the wire and put a wire though the hole, attach it and pull it back through...