Damn Dome Light...(Help, Please!)

[Subtle_Cynicism]

My boyfriend turned my backseat dome light on. The light literally FELL and is now dangling in the middle of the car, obstructing my view.

I have tried everything to fix it, but due to the cheap nature of this car, it looks as though I'm going to have to take it in.

The little cheap black plastic up inside the headliner, will connect to the dome light when I pull it out from inside the headliner, but I can't get the light to lock in with it when its up inside the headliner.

I have a huge roadtrip to do tomorrow, and I need this fixed. I can't afford an accident because of a cheap part.

Someone give me some advice, please.

[GrandAmSSE]

Duct tape. OR you could just take it out till you can fix it. I'd say till you can put a loop of duct on the back of it and stick it up where it needs to go.

[RedGrandAm2003]

yeah, just loop the duct tape for temp repair, then have it fixed when you have the time. Would probably be the best way to go. Unless you were real lazy and just left it with the looped tape.

[Subtle_Cynicism]

The duct tape didn't hold.

After cursing American cars probably unnecessarily, I did a search and found a trick. I put a pop bottle cap on top of the black plastic piece, and it easily snapped back together. But now I have a rattly pop cap there.

I was satisfied with myself, and then my foot snagged the cheap plastic door sill in the backseat, and it broke a cheap plastic piece on the underside off.

It is currently duct taped. I love my Grand Am, it's a beautiful car, but with the series of events thats been happening to me, I'm severely beginning to question whether I'll be buying American again next time.

Try not to flame me too hard...

[DFizzle]

The only problem with the bottle top solution is that now that bottle top will potentially come loose and roll around up there. Not that you'll probably hear it, but some people could be bothered by it. When I changed my dome light out for LEDs, I took the actual plexi glass piece off the light then looped a piece of speaker wire around the black plastic part in the headliner, then trough the dome light and pulled down on it as I pushed up on the light. Once it snapped in, I pulled the speaker wire out, pushed the glass back on, and it was good as new. When I first pulled the light down I had a moment of panic about how I was going to get it back in, but that worked first try. Good work finding your own solution though. Don't give up on American cars all together, there are always going to be little anoying issues, domestic or otherwise.

[Prospeeder]

LOL my moms dome light falls occasionally too! By id say american door panels are alot stronger than imports, i went to the junkyard yesterday in search of speakers, and i could litterally tak emy hands and tear the door panels in half on most of the imports, but on the domestic cars, Espeically GM and Ford, they wouldnt budge! So i had to actually unscrew the the 20 freaking screws an then the last one happends to be a torx bits....

[RedGrandAm2003]

lol If it wasnt for these awesome american made door panels, we wouldnt be buying these cars now would we? *rolls eyes* :)

[Prospeeder]

Hey, just stating how people think imports will solve all thier quality problems is a load of crap!

[RedGrandAm2003]

Well I dont know... This is my first car, and I've yet to see all the 'bad' things with GM and such people are always complaining about. a car with 103KM (donno in miles) and I've yet to have any horrible problems or whatever. Imports... meh.. bash up a bumper and prepare to pay out the ass kind of deal.