Type 44 Interior Light Modual/Monitor

[AUDIJIM at aol.com]

Has anyone had a problem with your interior lights going out? My lights will 
go out on the instrument cluster, or the center console, or both. Sometimes 
the center console will stay on while the instrument cluster is out or sometime 
the other way around. There is an interior light monitor that is located under 
the dash, above the glove compartment. It acts as a common ground for a bunch 
of things that contribute to the interior light staying on of off. One trick 
I found via Intended Acceleration's web site was to check if the rear license 
plate bulbs are in working order. The wiring diagram proves this due to the 
rear license plate bulbs do indeed track back to this interior bulb monitor at 
the glove box. This is for my 87' 5000cs TQ. I haven't checked my wiring 
diagrams for the Type 44 100/200's so I don't know if they are different due to the 
dash board/instrument cluster change starting in 1989. Is there a way to 
eliminate the need for this interior bulb monitor? I have had this problem before, 
and I would check the rear plate bulbs only to find that the are working as 
advertised. Then the problem wouldn't return for a long time (almost a year). 
Since I spend a lot of time in my car driving from NJ to Washington, DC for work 
(2 1/2 hours one way) and I drive mostly at night, seeing my gauges might be 
a good idea. :)

Ciao,

Jim