2004 forester dome light has no power - Cars & Trucks

First, check the following. I believe the 2001 Forester had a 3 position dome light switch. One position turned it on, one turned it off, and the third position enabled the light to come on when a door opened. Not all years had this type of switch. If yours does, check whether the light comes on for each and every door one at a time. If it fails for a particular door, you have narrowed the problem.

If this problem always existed for your Forester, possibly the assembly was not properly done. If it is a new event and the dome light switch is in the proper position, there may be a short in the wiring. You would have to test the wiring with a multimeter. Perhaps this service manual will assist: https://servicingmanuals.com/manual/2001-subaru-forester-wiring-diagram/

most dome lights are controlled or actuated by a ground supply switch rather than a power supply switch therefore the problem can be in the switch at the door jamb or the latch mechanism inside the door or perhaps a bare wire in between the light and the door contacting ground.

Hi J, The ground connections are on each of the units. that is to say there is one power feed to the dome and another to the instrument panel. From there each door is separately grounded via each of the door switches. If one is rusted, contaminated or damaged and not operating correctly, it will cause the dome light and the door warning on the instrument panel to flicker. regards John

i just replace my GEM module and still no windows and dome light still flickers

The clock works, correct? It is just not illuminating when your headlights are turned on? If this is the case then it is most likely that you have 2 burned out bulbs. The forester clock bulb is Sylvania bulb part #2723

Hope that helps! I have a bunch of clock related info on my website www.autoclockrepair.com. Let me know if I can be of assistance.

turn off the dome light.


the door opens, it turns on the dome light, so the wire that goes from the door switch gets powered up and makes your dome light come on. if your door is closed, and you turn on the dome light, the same wire gets power and is actually sending power to your light bulb on the dash.
just ignore it , or get a diode and put it on the correct wire, and it wont allow the electricity to flow back towards the light bulb when you put the dome light on.

you need to connect to the actual dome light ,the one that feeds the bulb

Is this for a 1999 Forester or for a 2004 forester, the title lists both years. If it is a 1999 model then the problem most likely resides within the clock itself. Unfortunately, many clocks of this vintage go bad over time. I offer a reasonable repair service and many clock removal instruction sheets at www.autoclockrepair.com
I'd be happy to assist.

Take a look at your dome like switch to see if it can dim the overhead light any.If it can't, I would start there. If that checks out, then check all connecters going to the instrument panel to see if any of them are loose.

switch is probably dodgy. mine was doing the same thing i just bent the contacts a bit and sprayed contact cleaner in it