Automotive internal lights have a molded housing defining an elongate recess and bus bars which integrally include lamp holders secured within the molded housing and adapted to hold a lamp therebetween. The lamp holders have a base exposed to irradiate heat from said lamp. Connector terminals and an earth terminal are secured within said molded housing. The bus bars also integrally have spaced-apart fixed contacts secured within the molded housing so as to establish respective surfaces flush with the housing but exposed to said elongate recess. A slide switch is moveable longitudinally within the recess between at least first and second positions, and carries a generally U-shaped movable contact member which is adapted to contact the exposed surfaces of the fixed contacts so as to turn the lamp held by the lamp holder on and off, respectively. The housing includes notches formed in the recess opposite to the exposed surfaces of the fixed contacts. The slide switch includes a chamber, a ball accommodated within the chamber, and a spring extending between the moveable contact member and the ball. The spring thus urges the ball and moveable contact member away from each other and into forcible contact with the notches and the fixed contacts, respectively.

Automotive lighting systems include a casing which defines an interior space and a pair of shafts extending thereacross so as to establish adjacent first and second interior space regions. Lamps are positioned in respective ones of these adjacent first and second interior space regions and are covered by a respective pair of lenses. Each lens has proximal and distal ends and is connected pivotally at the proximal end thereof to a respective one of the shafts to allow for independent pivotal movements of the distal end between inoperative and operative positions. Push switches are operatively connected to respective ones of the lamps and positioned in respective ones of the first and second interior space regions in such a manner that the distal ends of each lens is in contact with a respective push switch. In such a manner, the push switches may be operated in response to the pivotal movements of the lenses between its inoperative and operative positions to thereby illuminate the lamps. Most preferably, the pair of shafts are positioned closely adjacent one another and extend across the casing at generally a central position thereof such that the proximal ends of the lenses are immediately adjacent one another with the lenses extending in opposite directions toward the distal ends thereof. The automotive lighting systems may be provided as a component part of a door switch circuit which responsively operates the lamps on opening of an automotive door.

Switch mounting structures have a generally rectangular body switch with oppositely extending planar base extensions, and a housing which defines a pair of spaced-apart slotted mounting entries to receive respective terminal edge portions of a respective one of the base extensions. The terminal edge portions of the base extensions include diagonally opposed pairs of coved portions and recesses, while the housing includes a pair of diagonally opposed proturbences. These proturbences are engaged with said diagonally opposed pair of recesses when said base extensions are rotated relative to said housing from an initial insertion position, where the base extensions are in a slanted orientation relative to the mounting entries, and a mounted position, where the base extensions are in a non-slanted orientation relative to the mounting entries. In such a manner, the switch body and the housing are brought lockable engagement with one another.