2006 Chevrolet 3/4 ton express van, door switch problem?

I have a 2006 Chevrolet 2500 3/4 ton express van. Instead of a simple switch in the door frame, lately the mechanism that turns on the dome light and shuts off the radio when you open the door is failing intermittently. That is sometimes the light comes on and the radio goes off as soon as the door is opened, and at other times it takes a few seconds for the dome light to come on. Then at other times it just won't come on at all.

The matter of whether the light comes on or not in itself is not the issue. I can always turn it on manually if I need to. And I can always manually turn the radio off. My alarm system however needs to see a voltage change at the dome light in order to activate.

The dealer says this switch is part of the door latch and can't be replaced, but judging by the exploded view of the door that the dealer sent me it the harness appears to be plugged into the window crank unit.

From what I've read this front door/light issue seems to be a common problem and it also always appears to be the drivers door that is affected. Why is that? Can someone please explain to me whats going on with this? Is it repairable? The dealer says you can't just buy the "switch". The entire window crank assembly and new latch is apparently part of this horror show for 600.00 as well. Of course I'm not prepared to go that route. Can you just replace or service a switch that is failing? I don't mind taking something apart to attempt this if it's feasible.

Amazing that over the years they went from such a simple arrangement,
(a door and a switch in the jamb) to provide a ground, to a nightmare like this. I did notice however that the side door seems to have a conventional
mechanical switch that turns on the dome light. I haven't investigated this fully yet. I'm guessing that this arrangement does not involve a module but hopefully either just grounds the dome light or puts 12 Volts to one side of it.

In any event I think that if need be I can rig up an auxiliary switch at the front door and tap into the side door wire to do this. It may not turn off the radio when the door is opened but I'm going to replace that with a different radio anyway. As long as I can get the dome light to work when I open the drivers door my alarm system will work.

The other possibility is that my old van, a 2002 Chevrolet one ton will be going to the junk yard pretty soon. The dealer says that there is a different part number for that door arrangement but he added that it looks like it could be the same part. Can anyone either confirm or deny this? I never had any trouble with the lights on that van, so if that arrangement would work in my 2006 I suppose that I could try to swap it.

I appreciate any advice or further insight on this problem. Thanks, Lenny

wrote:
> I have a 2006 Chevrolet 2500 3/4 ton express van. Instead of a simple
> switch in the door frame, lately the mechanism that turns on the dome
> light and shuts off the radio when you open the door is failing
> intermittently. That is sometimes the light comes on and the radio
> goes off as soon as the door is opened, and at other times it takes a
> few seconds for the dome light to come on. Then at other times it
> just won't come on at all.
>
> The matter of whether the light comes on or not in itself is not the
> issue. I can always turn it on manually if I need to. And I can
> always manually turn the radio off. My alarm system however needs to
> see a voltage change at the dome light in order to activate.
>
> The dealer says this switch is part of the door latch and can't be
> replaced, but judging by the exploded view of the door that the
> dealer sent me it the harness appears to be plugged into the window
> crank unit.
>
> From what I've read this front door/light issue seems to be a common
> problem and it also always appears to be the drivers door that is
> affected. Why is that? Can someone please explain to me whats going
> on with this? Is it repairable? The dealer says you can't just buy
> the "switch". The entire window crank assembly and new latch is
> apparently part of this horror show for 600.00 as well. Of course I'm
> not prepared to go that route. Can you just replace or service a
> switch that is failing? I don't mind taking something apart to
> attempt this if it's feasible.
>
> Amazing that over the years they went from such a simple arrangement,
> (a door and a switch in the jamb) to provide a ground, to a
> nightmare like this. I did notice however that the side door seems to
> have a conventional mechanical switch that turns on the dome light. I
> haven't investigated this fully yet. I'm guessing that this
> arrangement does not involve a module but hopefully either just
> grounds the dome light or puts 12 Volts to one side of it.
>
> In any event I think that if need be I can rig up an auxiliary switch
> at the front door and tap into the side door wire to do this. It may
> not turn off the radio when the door is opened but I'm going to
> replace that with a different radio anyway. As long as I can get the
> dome light to work when I open the drivers door my alarm system will
> work.
>
> The other possibility is that my old van, a 2002 Chevrolet one ton
> will be going to the junk yard pretty soon. The dealer says that
> there is a different part number for that door arrangement but he
> added that it looks like it could be the same part. Can anyone either
> confirm or deny this? I never had any trouble with the lights on that
> van, so if that arrangement would work in my 2006 I suppose that I
> could try to swap it.
>
> I appreciate any advice or further insight on this problem. Thanks,
> Lenny

First - Why the drivers door - It gets the most use of any door on a
vehicle so it sees the most wear.

The switch is NOT the actual problem, rust and dirt are. The switch in
the latch is activated by the latch pawl. Over the years the rust and
dirt build up and the spring that once snapped the pawl open and into
the switch gets weak and the pawl doesn't open real real well.

The 2002 uses a different connector and latch assy, it won't interchange
directly. BUT the internals of the latch itself may be the same.

You have a few options,
One replace the module for $$$$
Two hit a salvage yard and see if you can find one with the EXACT module
you need.
Three - Remove the doors inner panel, remove the module, then strip the
latch down and clean it out and lube it with dry graphite and silicone
grease on the pawl.

I've done the third option many times, It really isn't that difficult to
tear them apart, basically you remove a couple small screws and remove
the metal plate that holds the pawl in the latch. There are a couple
springs to deal with as you remove the plate. Then clean out the crud
and rust. A thin coat of silicone grease on the inside of the plate and
in the pivot pin and reassemble.

For a temporary fix you can take a can of electronics cleaner and flood
the inside of the latch a few times wile moving the pawl with a
screwdriver to get the crud to flush out, then spray some dry lube in
there and work the latch to free it up.

--
Steve W.