Small victories....baby steps...

[Guest]

Well I got fed up with not having any interior lights/dash lights in the car so I put on my game face and decided to tackle an area I have been putting off due to lack of knowledge and past bad luck in the wireing dept......I started with instaling the old Sun Tach properly, went to Autozone (of all places) and got a new light switch, installed it and then started to test all the wires.....ohming out and checking voltage as I went....so far the interior lights/the Tach light and the original fuel-amp-temp cluster all work now as well as the fuel quanity actualy functions properly now......I had to bypass the amp meter (part of the start circuit) becasue the gauge is bad and was draining the battery...got that all squared away....now I am going to see if I can get the Autometer cluster I have to light up properly as well as the spedo cluster.....wish me luck......

Also......I have moved no less than 30 feet of old wire that went nowhere, was poorly spliced and/or installed...under dash looks much better

[DanStokes]

Re: Small victories....baby steps...

See, it's not REALLY that bad. For me, it's a matter of having the right frame of mind and just diving in. I'm glad that you are getting things sorted out. Every time you drive the car, you'll thank yourself.

Dan

[Blazerteam]

Re: Small victories....baby steps...

Small step for a man,but big steps for the feeling you get when you drive the thing ;)

[Shawn Anderson]

Re: Small victories....baby steps...

Sounds like its going well its amazing over the years how much extra wiring can end up under the dash

[malc]

Re: Small victories....baby steps...

See, it's not REALLY that bad. For me, it's a matter of having the right frame of mind and just diving in. I'm glad that you are getting things sorted out. Every time you drive the car, you'll than yourself.

Dan

Me too, IŽve found doing jobs and not being in the right frame of mind tends to lead to cockups and frustration.

The change I found under my backseats didŽnt amount to one dollar but the build sheet and car order sheet were there.

[JOES66FURY]

Re: Small victories....baby steps...

I hit a brick wall and amunsere what to do at this point...any electricians?


Ok, the circuit board has very low resistance about 1 ohm...the light bulbs and sockets are high IMO about 6 to 10 ohms....so the total drop arcoss the board with all the plugs and bulbs is huge from the first light to the last 5 total...its about 23 ohms....doesnt that seem like allot? I am wondering if the old light bulbs are not part of the problem becasue I am getting 12 volts to the input but only 2 of the lights on the board will light

[TheSilverBuick]

Re: Small victories....baby steps...

That's only about a 1/2 amp draw, that doesn't seem too bad. My fuse box for the dash lights is a 2 amp fuse. I'd be checking the grounds now, you've proven the 12v feeds. If the grounds check out then look at the bulb socket for corrosion or damage.

[JOES66FURY]

Re: Small victories....baby steps...

Good deal, thanks...I will check the grounds...... am willing to bet that is the problem...had a similar issue with my truck....had not thought about it till now....THANKS!!!!!!

[TheSilverBuick]

Re: Small victories....baby steps...

No problem. I once left 1 ground wire disconnected under the dash of my Skylark the results were no Wipers and no Dash Lights. Took me a good while to track that bugger down.

[JOES66FURY]

Re: Small victories....baby steps...

I losmy back up lights and my plate lights and couldnt figure it out..put new bulbs in and had 12v at the input...but nothing...took it to dodge and a friend looked at it and shot it down to a bad gorund wire... will mess with it tomorrow and see what happens