Luggage Light

[87CamryTan]

Iv'e been having trouble with the luggage light on my '87 Camry, it stopped working the other day. It's very convenient for when I work night shifts and since it stopped working iv'e had to fish around for things blindly in my trunk lol. I replaced the bulb and replaced the 7.5 dome fuse and it still isn't coming on. Even went to wrecker and pulled multiple socket connectors and plugged them in but none of them worked. The only thing I haven't checked is the luggage light switch that turns on the light when you open the trunk. But I wouldn't think that would fail? Just wondering if anyone else has had this kind of problem and what it could it be. All other interior lights work including dome and courtesy lights.

[nopain00]

Do you have a multitester? You can check for voltage at the socket if you're not sure about the bulbs. Seeing as how you've tried several, the next step would definitely be the courtesy light switch.

It's located at the bottom of the trunk latch, fastened with two screws, with a white switch that gets depressed when the trunk is closed. It connects to ground when the trunk is open. You'll have to remove a few of the trim pieces to get good access to it. One quick way to check would be to disconnect the harness right next to it (1 wire, black usually), and connect the side from the lamp to ground (with a jumper). If the lamp lights, the switch is bad. If the lamp still doesn't light, you'll need to check the wiring itself.

I've never had that particular switch go bad, but I've had the door switches fail. Sometimes you can clean out the switch with electronic parts cleaner, but it seems that you have access to junked cars, so pulling another would be simple.