No Dash Lights

Discussion in 'Sparky's corner' started by Phil, Sep 18, 2016.

  1. Phil

    Phil It really *is* a 350...

    I took the instrument cluster out to change a few burned out bulbs and install my tach this weekend.
    I got the bulbs in, hooked everything up, and tested the lights. Everything worked fine. I then proceeded to connect all the wiring to the tach. that's when I noticed that the tack wasn't lighting up. Then I noticed none of the gauges that were lit earlier were lighting up either.

    The tach works, which is a plus, as do the tail lights, brake lights, parking lights, headlights, and interior sail panel and the two under dash lights by each kick panel. But the instrument panel lights and the lights for the heater panel aren't lighting up anymore.

    Any ideas? It's been driving me nuts for an hour or so and I had to walk away from it.

    :(
     
  2. LouV

    LouV Silver Level contributor

    Phil, Have you checked the fuse panel for a blown fuse? Check the ground for the dash to see if it got pulled of when you put the dash pad back in. Could you maybe have turned the dash light level to off? Did you maybe disturb the main feed for the dash lights?
    That's all I got.
    Lou
     
  3. Briz

    Briz Founders Club Member

    There is a very small fuse in the lower R part of the panel. It controls only the dash lights and is fed from the larger lighting fuse above it. Its hard to see if its blown by looking at it. Test with a continuity tester or just replace it to rule that out.
     
  4. Phil

    Phil It really *is* a 350...

    I did rule out the lights being dimmed out, but it's possible the ground is disconnected. I'll have to check the fuse as well. I saw it there but it's hard to tell if it's blown or not. all the other fuses looked fine.

    Thanks for the tips. I'll check it out tomorrow after work.
     
  5. Phil

    Phil It really *is* a 350...

    Well, it was the small fuse at the bottom of the panel. replaced it and i've got lights.

    14434872_10207504505191743_260286700467645716_o.jpg

    The LEDs are great. I have a standard bulb in the tach for comparison.

    Thanks for the help!

    -Phil
     
    Grandpas67 likes this.
  6. Briz

    Briz Founders Club Member

    100% better!
     
  7. DeeVeeEight

    DeeVeeEight Well-Known Member

    That looks great! Are the LED's dim-able?
     
  8. Phil

    Phil It really *is* a 350...

    Yes they are. I used Sylvania ZEVO LEDs and they are dimmable. I got them at Autozone. Pricey at $10 each but you may be able to find them cheaper online, but most of the sites I checked were comparable in price.
     
  9. Briz

    Briz Founders Club Member

    I Got a zip lock sandwich bag full of assorted bulbs for 20.00. Ebay.
     
  10. Lance Williams

    Lance Williams Well-Known Member

    What size were the led bulbs needed? Also, is the AC controls supposed to light up at night? I can see just two little greenish light on the selector but nothing to light up wording? Also, where is the radio bulb? My radio does not work but I'd love to at least have it lite up.
     
  11. Briz

    Briz Founders Club Member

    Its in the top of the radio. I put LED in there also but that one will randomly blink. It wouldnt be a bad thing if it was in time with the music!
     
  12. Lance Williams

    Lance Williams Well-Known Member

    Do I unscrew the radio bezel to get to it? Also, what exactly lights up in the AC area just the selector switches or the whole thing? What numbers are the bulbs and will a faulty external voltage regulator cause issues??
     
  13. Briz

    Briz Founders Club Member

    What car Lance? For the radio you will have to remove it from the dash. Thats the reason I have not fixed my strobe light.
     
  14. Lance Williams

    Lance Williams Well-Known Member

    72 gs
     
  15. Briz

    Briz Founders Club Member

    I dont have that car but I do believe it is lit by fiber optic cable and you should see all of the control lettering. Other A body guys can confirm.
     
  16. Jamie Carnes

    Jamie Carnes May the Torque be with you.

    Here's a photo of the back side of an old heater and a/c control assembly from a 70-72 Skylark. The arrows illustrate where the bulb sockets are inserted. I believe the factory bulb size for this application is an 1893.

    upload_2017-8-29_20-28-5.jpeg
     
  17. Lance Williams

    Lance Williams Well-Known Member

    Ok I changed all my regular bulbs to LED's in gauges, under dash aftermarket gauges, and hood tach they look great (WAY BRIGHTER). The A/C seems to only light up the up and down switches on mine though so assuming that's just the way it is? Also, nothing on radio bulbs yet.
     
  18. austxsteve

    austxsteve Well-Known Member

    Quick question. Do your blinker lights work? I did the same thing about a year ago, but somehow I lost my blinkers. On the outside of the car, they work as designed and all others work for me so I opted to just leave it alone instead of taking dash all apart again.
     
    Last edited: Aug 30, 2017
  19. Lance Williams

    Lance Williams Well-Known Member

    My outside blinkers work fine. My insides were working but even before I changed out to LED both insides went out on me. After changing to LED still work on outside but not inside. To change the bulbs I just dropped steering column. If anyone can tell us how to get the green light working on inside again that would be cool but not super important.
     
  20. austxsteve

    austxsteve Well-Known Member

    So you have the exact issue I have. Blinkers work on outside, but no lights in the dash. Wonder if it should be a different bulb. Next time I am in my dash, I would put the old lights back into the blinker sockets.
     

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