I have had this car for 2 years and have yet to understand the internal lighting; when the door opens. In my 88 the moment you opened the door, like all other cars, the light went on. In the 87 if the passenger door opens or if the driver side is open for 10 seconds, then the light goes on. But it does not go on immediately when driver door opens.Very bizarre!

Also I have found that the car does not chime when the door opens and the keys are in the ignition or when the lights are left on and engine is off\keys out of ignition. My 88 always had the chime.

Any ideas? Is the 87 just a weird one or is something blown?

Thx again!

 

have you pulled the door striker switch out to check or by pass and check operation ? it may need wire brushing

 

Yes I have. The car is VERY clean!! I bought with very low miles and it was meticulously stored for its life with very little usage. The rubber is fresh and nothing getting stuck.
Had the car been a rough\bad condition I would have assumed it was a malfunction. But, because everything works and is fresh, I presume it was designed this way.

 

But, I will take you up on the suggestion and when the weather warms a drop I will dig into the switch and see what's up. Now that I have someone(s) to speak to about this, I have become far more determined.

 

Did a little testing: Seems when either the driver or passenger door are opened the dummy light on the dash does NOT go on. If the hatch is open, the dummy light goes on.
SO, it seems something is up with sensing the doors. Is there a central point of failure like a fuse or the like?

 

Bad switch from the passenger side!!

 

I will check it tomorrow. Thx!

 

I have a brand new switch laying,let me know if ending up needing one.
Just pay $10 shipped for it.
Jamal

 

I checked both door switches and even in the cold, they seem to be fine. I checked the fuse and that was OK. So again; the light goes on when the handle is lifted from the outside..I have the model where you have the key-lock light, so the interior dims on and off when you pull the handle. BUT, when the door is opened from the inside it is not sensed.

Any additional ideas as to what is wrong, are appreciated.

 

Time control unit above the ECU may be going bad

 

My tendency to think is that it is nothing exotic like a timing device. It go a bit warmer so tomorrow I will get down to look deeper at the switches.

I am determined! I'll keep you posted.

 

Problem solved..or at least figured out. The rubber covering over the door switch is not fitting correctly. I pulled off the rubber covering and viola! The chimes chime, the lights go on etc..Moreover, when I bought the car 2 years ago, the guy told me I had to slam the driver door to shut it. I thought someone had repositioned the window and therefore the door was more difficult to shut. But, it was because of the rubber covering. It was seated properly but something is off about it. On the passenger side as well. I will leave the rubber off for the time being and try to get new ones.

 

This is bizarre! I am looking at pictures of the rubber bumpers for the Z31 on ebay..either the pictures are wrong or I have the incorrect bumpers on my car..likely the problem as removing them has corrected all the lights and chimes.

Anyone have a part number for the bumper stop?

 

Just spoke to the former owner and it looks like the Nissan dealer put in the wrong bumpers.