dimmer?

i fried the part on my BCM that controlled my dimming/courtesy lights when the doors shut. now i've deicded to redo them using my own module. my truck is a 2002 toyota tacoma. when the doors shut, the button the door hits is grounded out. i'm assuming that would make it called negatively switched(ha). this is the diagram i'm going off of http://goldsswagon.com/domedimmer/domelightdimmer91.htm my question is what else would i have to add to make the lights go off if the key is in the "on" position?

I have no idea about your vehicle, but most vehicles have an open circuit when the door is closed, and grounded when the door is open.

heh.. that's what i meant to say :) you are absolutely correct, i didn't realize i wrote it that way.

Or as posted in interior light dimming to off, a simpler circuit.... (well, one less transistor..) ... and its birdsnest layout:

that's the thread i was going off :D i took a parts list for both circuits and radio shack (2 different ones) didn't have all the things i needed for that one. for that circuit i only got the resistors, the 47uF cap, and the 2n3055 trans.

could i sub the em401 and 2n3638 for something else?

That circuit is from 1985. Or was it 1885??? (Let's see - did I fit it to my car, or to a horse buggy?) The diode would now be something like an 1N400x - eg, 1N4004, 1N4007 etc. (That's a 1A diode with 400V PIV or higher; a 4001 is a 50V rating & 4002 a 200V rating (I think), but the 400V IN4004 is cheaper and more common...) The diode is not that critical - it just has to carry the capacitor discharge current (well under 1 Amp) and tolerate 12V systems - eg, >16V means a 50V rating, or 200-400V if voltage spikes are around... The 2N3638 can probably be almost any PNP transistor... aha! the 2N3638A is a 500mA PNP transistor with a gain of ~100. Equivalents include the BC328. I reckon the PN200 would also do.... ... and probably any PNP transistor that handles 500mA.... (Not that I was ever good with transistors, but I'm reasonably confident it's not that critical (it's config'd as an emitter follower??) - the main issues are the heating of the 3055 over long delays or multi-cycling; and that's its case is "live" (but in a non-destructive way).)

And shove an ignition controlled relay across this to break the power when the ignition is turned on thus shutting down the dome lights. I believe Velleman market a kit which incorporates ign shutdown.

i have some playing around to do first. i attempted a circuit last night and blew a transistor. for now i just wired them to come on when the doors open - no fading. i need to learn some more

Which blew? The smaller Q1? Sure the CBE orientation was correct? (Trannies can be bricks - especially TO-92 packages - they have a "standard" called TO-92(var) - the "var" is various/variations etc which cover most combinations!) That's where a DMM is handy - I used to do a resistance check, but these days they include diode/continuity checks, and transistor (gain) checks (not that I have ever use it...) And there is another circuit for "external" shutdown, though I think that was triggered by the beam switch... but IGN is the same thing... in fact why not diode-OR to have both of them? (I think the Jaycar kit includes that).