Dash lights electrical issue

[Tepot]

Hi everyone,

My lights in my dash won't come on, it is also breaking the small fuse. I've replaced my headlight switch but unfortunately it didn't fix anything. Of course it can't be that easy! Damn it! So here's my troubleshooting.

I've put a new fuse, turned the lights on, lights in dash where ON only in middle cluster where gas, temp click is located, nothing came on in dash. I've played with wires once and everything came ON in tach and speedometer, but then when OFF again and i was not able to bring them on again. I tried everything after and those lights won't come on, also realized one thing, as soon as i turn on the car the fuse blows and the lights in middle cluster goes out, as anybody seen this before? I don't know which wire or really where to look for this.

Everything tells me it's probably a bad ground or live wire that triggers that fuse to blow, but which one? The car works perfectly fine besides that.

Any help would be apreciated, i am good with mecanic but i suck at electrical!


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[bill81vette]

Electrical can be frustrating when it wants to be....
if your blowing fuses you have a short somewhere.
finding it isn't easy,especially behind the dash...
just try moving one wire at a time till you find the culprit..
wish there was an easier way but there isn't....

 

[Peer81]

I have to agree with Bill. You have to eliminate after the other. As the dash lights are lights connected in serie (not parallel) you can take out one bulb from an entire system and the system wouldn't work. I would almost say that 9 out of the 10 the pastic wiringharness behind the cluster have come loose and that is making the short, but I could be wrong.
Good luck!

Greetings Peter

 

[Tepot]

Thanks guy's! Pointing out that the bulbs were serie and not parallel helped! I've actually changed all the light bulbs and the headlight switch and also found the broken wire which was causing the short! So i'm good now the dash is all lughts ON!

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[Antz81]

Thanks guy's! Pointing out that the bulbs were serie and not parallel helped! I've actually changed all the light bulbs and the headlight switch and also found the broken wire which was causing the short! So i'm good now the dash is all lughts ON

I would never have thought that the lamps would be in series. Probably because it's a stupid idea.
Good you found your problems though.

 

[LLC5]

I would never have thought that the lamps would be in series. Probably because it's a stupid idea.
Good you found your problems though.

They are not in series, they are in a parallel circuit from positive to ground source, which is why when only one bulb goes out the others will still work.

 

[Tepot]

Hhaha well I've changed them all anyways, while your there might as well, everything works perfectly now


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[Peer81]

They are not in series, they are in a parallel circuit from positive to ground source, which is why when only one bulb goes out the others will still work.

You're right! My bad, was thinking the other way around. But good think you found the problem and fixed it!

Greetings Peter

 

[GTR1999]

I had the same problem with a 75 we bought. The previous owner installed a new switch and still was blowing out the fuse for the dash lights. Knowing the new aftermarket switches had issues, I found a good used switch and once installed solved the problem. Tossed the new import switch in the trash.