Interior Lighting - Master On/Off Switch

[Nightside21]

Alright, searched the forums for quite a while for this and came up with nothing. I want to add a switch that will allow me to keep the interior lights from coming on when a door is opened. I'm pretty sure that all the door switches must trigger a relay, but I haven't been able to find one labeled as such. This is in a 1998 Cherokee Ltd and any help/suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[WOLFMAN]

switch

i put small rocker switch on dome light housing. to cut off hot wire from door

 

[Matthew Currie]

The positive is always on for the interior lights, and the door switches, tailgate switch, and light switch all provide a ground for the circuit. There is no relay. Exact details probably differ from year to year, but as far as I can tell from Haynes and the 95 FSM, you need to find a pink wire which will come from a fuse (#9 in 95) that is shared with the clock and probably the radio memory, and interrupt that wire (obviously downstream from the clock and radio) to kill the interior lights.

 

[Eagle]

Re: switch

i put small rocker switch on dome light housing. to cut off hot wire from door

Well, unless the 97+ are different from the older ones, there is no hot wire from the door. On the older ones at least, power goes to the dome (and tailgate) light(s) first, and the door post switches are in the ground side of the circuit.

For a true master switch that would interrupt all the courtesy lights, you need to follow the wire from the appropriate fuse, and interrupt that with a switch before it splits off to the various lights.