frontinteriorlight

Add an additional interior light ...

The standard Suzuki SJ interior light is not the brightest and on a dark night it is always handy to have a little extra light in the cab. Why not fit an additional interior light to the front of your Suzuki SJ? An ideal place to mount this extra light is on a plate attached to the interior rear view mirror.

The extra light can be connected to work by itself, or in conjunction with the standard factory fitted interior light operating off the standard door switches (if fitted).

No unusual tools or accessories are required for this installation. The mounting plate can be made from steel, aluminium, or Perspex acrylic plastic. The interior light can be an aftermarket accessory, or a genuine Suzuki part. Overall, this is a relatively easy addition.

Making the mounting plate ...

Start by making the mounting plate for the light out of 3mm thick aluminium plate or plastic sheet. You will need a rectangular piece 71mm wide by 87mm long. We used plastic.

Begin by marking the location of the large 13mm hole, with the centre 11mm in from the side, and 36mm from the edge. Once marked, you are ready to drill the first hole.

Mark the two mounting holes for the light as per the measurements shown in the picture on the right, and hold the light in place to confirm that the light's mounting holes are located correctly. Drill out these two mounting holes (shown by the two red arrows). Use an M5 tap to thread these two holes to accept M5x10mm screws.

Use two M5 screws to mount the interior light, and then mark the radius of the light's corners onto the plate. Remove the light, and curve the corners of the plate to match of the light.

Radius the bottom two corners slightly to get rid of any sharp edges and make it more aesthetically pleasing. Finally mark and drill the two holes for the mirror mounting screws.

This is what the finished plate should look like with the interior light mounted.

Note: Although measurements are given in this article, they are approximate. After marking the hole positions, it is best to check that all your parts line up correctly before drilling.

Installation ...

The installation will vary from the hard top to soft top models. Either way, you will need to route three wires (Black, White, and Blue) from the top of the windscreen surround, through a rubber grommet, to the area underneath the dashboard. These wires can be routed through the driver side, or the passenger side of the windscreen surround, but must be long enough on the dashboard end so that they can be connected to a suitable power source.

On the light, you will have a Black wire and a White wire. Coming out of the dash surround, you should now have a Black wire, a White wire, and a Blue wire. Connect a ring connector to the end of the blue wire. Thread it through the 13mm hole on the mounting plate and connect it to the M5 screw on the bottom right, opposite the switch. This is the main "Earth" wire for the light, and will be connected to the chassis "Earth" or a "Ground" point later on.

Connect the two Black wires together, and the two White wires together, making sure that they are properly insulated. Push the wires into the windscreen surround as far as possible through a rubber grommet, and screw the rear view mirror back into place on the windscreen surround with the new interior light mounting bracket sandwiched in between them.

Electrical connections ...

Disconnect the negative terminal from the battery. Remove the flat dash cover from underneath the steering column, and the bottom section of the steering column cover.

Take the Blue wire coming out from the windscreen surround, and fit a ring connector to the end. Under the dash, on the side closest to the door, you will see an "earth" point. Attach the Blue wire to this point. It is the main "Earth" for the light.

The next step is to find a permanent power source. This power source must have 12 volts power with the ignition off, and the key removed. This wire can be found on the fuse box or under the steering column in the buch of wires leading to the ignition switch.

Connect the White wire coming from the new interior light to this permanent 12 volt wire.
Remember to fit a fuse holder and a 10A fuse to protect the circuit.

Now we need to connect the Black wire coming from the new interior light to the wire leading from the door switch. This door switch wire is usually Blue in colour.

When the door is opened, the door switch is activated and completes the electrical circuit by providing an "Earth" to our new interior light. This wire should have a 12volt reading when the door is opened, and nothing when the door is closed.

The resulting new interior light.

Check all the electrical connections are properly insulated, and that everything is safe before reconnecting the battery. Finally fit the fuse, and test to see that everything works as it should.

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