Dome Light with Reading Lights

Will anyone be willing to tell me the easiest way to wire up a dome light with reading lights on my our 78 Electra Wagon project car? The car has the plain round dome light that comes on when you open the doors. I snagged this optional dome with map lights and now am not sure how to wire this in. I SHOULD have looked at how it was wired in the car I removed it from....



Thanks in Advance as always!

-Mike

You'll need a wire that is "always hot", or at least hot in ACC or at KEY ON. The difference being with "always hot" will allow use of the light at any time but runs the risk of being left on, and therefore accidentally draining the battery. KEY ON setup, won't drain the battery accidentally, but obviously always requires the key in the ignition.

It will likely also need a wire from the door switches, so when a door opens, the center light goes on.
So you will need at least two wires for the two power sources, door switch and lamps, and a ground. Sometimes the unit can simply grounds to the body when you use a metal screw to mount it into a roof support.

Well it has the wires there already for the stock plain round dome light. I was planning to re-use those, but I guess I'll have to run a wire for constant power. Dang. Didn't want to risk damaging the headliner..

You can help the wire along it's path using a really long zip tie, a tape measure or similar thin stiff objert like 14/2 house wire will work.

Tie the wire to the end and ease the zip tie under the headliner. If you have the little courtesy lights above the doors, there is a hole that can help you pass the zip tie through it.

Do you want to turn the light on with the car turned off? Can you turn the original light on with the ignition off? If you can turn it on with the ignition off, it is already hot at all times, or at least to the switch that turns it on. If the wire is not spliced for any other courtesy lights, you can spice into it along the driver's side under the sill, or behind the kick panel.

If you remove the B pillar trim, and any other roof mounted lights on the driver's side, you should be able to pull the headliner down enough to see enough to slide a wire under it without damaging the headliner.

Just for reference, here is mine in the Electra