No Instrument Lights

[jwhite]

I have a new ignition switch on it's way from Vicks and with some help from Denise as far as how the ignition should be wired correctly I will have some peace of mind there, however, the idea that the ignition switch being connected wrong might not be the problem and I will have to go back to my guage lights that went out and look into that mess. Unless I am wrong, I have the neg. terminal disconnected and I connected the test light to the cable and touched the neg. post and the light went on, this is with the ignition wires removed form the switch. Is that telling me that the drain is coming from somewhere else and not the ign. switch?

[mdrburchette]

I'm going to have to test that theory on mine to see if the light goes off. As far as the instrument lights, are you talking about the dash lights that illuminate when the headlights are on? You know that a white wire goes from one gauge to another in a line and if the you have a bad connection anywhere in that loop your dash lights won't work?

[jwhite]

As far as the instrument lights, are you talking about the dash lights that illuminate when the headlights are on? You know that a white wire goes from one gauge to another in a line and if the you have a bad connection anywhere in that loop your dash lights won't work?

Yes, the dash lights that illuminate when the headlights are on. I will take a look at that wire and see if there is a bad connection anywhere and also change bulbs. Lets say that the white wire that goes from one guage to another is fine, where does that wire get it's source from? A day or two after I noticed the guage lights were out they they would flicker on / off a couple times and then remain off. If there was a short wouldn't I blow a fuse?

[Tappy]

i've got the same problem time to time , didnt locate it yet , but when i grab some cables behind my instrument cluster they suddenly start to work again , when you find the problem , pls tell me what it was

[jwhite]

Will probably mess around with some wiring this weekend and will let you know what I find out. I think I will start to document my movements when working on my car as I seem to forget what I did and didn't do. This way when the problem is solved, I will have step by step information to share.

[mdrburchette]

Good idea. Keep us posted on your progress.

[DougC]

I had my instrument panel off today but couldn't get it over the steering wheel. I have the same problem with the lights. I couldn't see anything out of place, but I didn't have my multimeter with me at the time. I'm looking forward to hearing how you fix yours!

-Doug

[mdrburchette]

Doug, you can access your instrument cluster by lowering the steering column. There are four bolts that hold it up. I can usually remove the two forward bolts and the steering wheel will drop enough for me to remove the cluster.

[DougC]

Doug, you can access your instrument cluster by lowering the steering column. There are four bolts that hold it up. I can usually remove the two forward bolts and the steering wheel will drop enough for me to remove the cluster.

Cool! Thanks, I'll give it a try.

[jwhite]

I have searched high and low trying to figure out why my guage lights do not work. I am not the best with the meters and such that will track down problems so I am wondering if I could hook up another source to where I get lights on my guages. I know this is a micky mouse way to do things but I don't like driving at night in a dark cockpit so to speak. Could I run a wire from my side markers to the wiring that should light up my guages? Now this is on a 72 Spider so there are no ground pods etc. They flickered once or twice so to me that means a loose connection somewhere. To the best of my knowledge I have traced all the wires an can't find anything loose. I had bypassed the dimmer switch years ago so I know it is not that. Any suggestions? This would be a temp. fix until I track it down..