Courtesy Light???

Last night in order to fix the speedo I had to pull the gauge assembly. When I put it all back together and turned the key I had a "new" light under the dash. [huh] It's only on if the ignition is on but the car is not running. As soon as I start the car it shuts off. Also, it has a connector on it to plug in somewhere but can't find where it goes. Anyone heard of a light like this before? I couldn't find anything in my shop manual other than it possibly being an "H.M.T. light" that I found on the wiring diagram and I don't know what that means.

Anyone have a light that does this? Can you tell me what it is or what it's for? Thanks!

Sounds like a courtesy light, There should be one on the passenger side too. Mine don't have bulbs in them but I see the little round lenses where the lights go. I'll see if I can find a picture of mine

Ok these are the only pics I could find that kind of showed the lights


See one by the vent and one above the parking brake. The one for the brake blinks when the ignition is on and the brake is on. The other one is probably the one you're talking about


If you look close you'll see a round bezel on the bottom of the dash and you can see the plug for the bulb hanging down

I did have the problem with the car stopping when i let go of the ignition key.
This is properbly not related to the light, but rather related to the ballast circuit. When the key is turned to 'start' the engine cranks, and direct 12 V goes to the distributor. When the key returns to 'ignition' the distributor should be powered through the ballast resistor, where a spade connector had come loose in my case. Resistor is a U shaped metal piece. Check for 12 V there when the ignition is on. If available the resistor is the broblem. Otherwise the 12 V + is lost on its way from the ignition switch to the ballast resistor. Since you just put the dash back together i surgest checking the connector on the back of the ignition switch. I don't think that the curtesy light has anything to do with this though.

If you cant find the problem with the ballast circuit, try putting a wire between ignition + and the opposite end of the ballast resistor from where the distributor is connected.

As i recall it i have no curtesy lights under the dash - but this may be an option...

Hope you can use some of this .

My car has 2 recessed courtesy lights under the dash... they're beside the manual pull knobs for the air vents. Mine has an overide controll twist knob to the right of the radio. As luck would have it they just recently stopped working. Have a bit of trouble shooting to do now.

As for your light situation, on mine the oil pressure light comes on hen I turn the ignition on and then it goes off once the engine starts. Oil light is located at bottom of far right round gauge. The word "low" is illuminated briefly. When I removed my gauge cluster some of the bulb assemblies popped out of the sockets but still lit up. Maybe this is what happened to yours and the light is dangling free under there... just a thought.

PS. It's real easy to plug the bulbs back into the wrong sockets, so check various functions before you button it up.

starchief1959.....Check your "OIL" lamp. That and the "COLD" lamp are the only ones that should come on with the ignition switch, as a check that the bulbs are good. Of coarse the "COLD" lamp will stay on until the engine warms up. The "HOT" lamp should come on while cranking as a check. Hope this helps......John

PontiacCat59 and CATBIRD. You guys were right. It was my oil pressure light. I looked up in there and didn't see any lights missing cause the wire loom was in the way. Kind of hard to see up there too when the gas pedal is digging into the back of your neck. LOL!

Nice!

starchief1959.....I'm old and getting older. It's a real pain to try to work up under the dash, especially with power seats, as they don't go back as far as manually adjusted ones. I've found it easier and faster to remove the top of the dash for any extensive work to be done. A good trick; the last time I had the top off, I painted the underside white. Much easier to see under there if you have to work with the top on......John

It started just replacing the speedo cable but the speedo was locked up so I pulled the gauge assembly. After installation the oil light popped out. Didn't want to pull everything apart to find where a light bulb went. LOL!