MainstreaM

Searched and got nothin like my problem. Dash guages and some dummy lights arent working. Good fuse, getting power to the guages but nothing is working except back lighting. Only have brake, door, hatch, and sometimes fuel on my dummy lights. Could this be a bad ecu? I have two ecus 326 and 327 and i get the same result with both. I have checked all the power wires coming into the ecu and every one has at least 12v. Please help in my last posts didnt get much but i have got the car cranking now(bad clutch switch)

thanks
Kane

J-Rat

iTrader: (2)

I solved this problem in my car by removing the cluster, cleaning the main harness contacts (and a bunch of other stuff). Once the cluster was installed, it worked wonderfully.

Philip_g

Just today actually I was trying to fix a broken boost gauge, when I pulled the surround with all the switches off, I noticed one wire had shorted out and melted part of the plug, the wire in question powered the dash lights. Do your parking lights work when you turn them on? Mine wouldn't, but I'd get in there and clean those contacts as suggested before.

MainstreaM

after hours of chasing shorts, they are all repaired. Everything in the car works except for the guages. I hope the ecu is good. I havent started the car and dont want to till i at least have an oil pressure guage. Ill try to clean the contacts tommorrow.

thanks
Kane

HAILERS

The ECU has nothing to do with gauges.

Download the fsm and the wiring diagrams. You will find the site somewhere on this site.

Make sure the METER fuse is good.

Take both round connectors off the combination meter. See if you have 12v on the BY wire.

See if both Black wires are good grounds.

Ask yourself if your SHIFT INDICATOR LIGHT works??????


Does ANY gauge work????

Does your tachometer work???

g_dripht-alex

nothing works in my car but the speedo and my apexi boost guage, i got no heat, no guages, no dummy lights...hopefully its just a shitty ground...maybe a short somewhere...i dont know any ideas? im about to just replace the whole dash harness if i have to take the dash out...

HAILERS

The above jpg is for a series four. A series five is similar but different. Download the fsm for a series five schematic.

Think METER FUSE first. Change a whole harness. That's drastic for no good reason. A digital meter and the wiring diagram is all you need to fix it.

g_dripht-alex

i think its a bad ground due to like if i step on the brake the lights in teh dash/boost gauge will dim out and then if i let off they'l come back to normal...and if i hit a bump they'll flicker...bad connection somewhere...but ill check the meter fuse.

Philip_g

did you check all the screws in the back of the cluster?

g_dripht-alex

nah, i just thought of that cause i have a tII cluster sitting in front of me and i was just taking it apart and i relized all the screws in the back are grounds.

Philip_g

yeah, they seem to like to work loose or corrode, thats what was taking out my boost gauge, sorta.

g_dripht-alex

well nothing works...so i dunno we'll see ill take it out today and see whats up.

g_dripht-alex

but my heat and stuff doesnt work either so its leading me to belive its something else

Icemark

Your problem sure sound like a blown fuse (since one 7.5 amp fuse controls the gauges, the idiot lights, part of the climate control as well as the cruise control, the back up lights, the theft system and the warnings in the CPU).

How did you check the fuse?

You know you can't always see a blown fuse if you pull it from its socket... that you need to test it with a meter.

HAILERS

Yep. Lights flicker when going over a bump. Right on. Change out the whole instrument harness and it would not hurt to change out the rear harness while your at it. Looking at the input from the METER fuse would be a waste of time and effort. You'll have those harness changed out a lot sooner than fiddling around with inputs and outputs to the gauge cluster. It could be your injun harness too since your boost gauge does not work...so change it out also. Sort of *just in case*. OH! Is your spare tire fully inflated??? Check it out if the changing the harness does not work.

MainstreaM

Ahhh victim of a post thief!!! j/k Yes my fuse is good. I have the fsm downloaded and the BY wire has 12+v. The shift light does not work. Tach does not work. Nothing works except the back lighting. Haven't checked the grounds but I still haven't havent cleaned the connections.

HAILERS

Looking at the schematic above you can see the backlighting is not related to the power for the gauges. If indeed you have 12v on that BY wire....then see if the black wire has a good ground of approx .5ohms or less. If it does...then I'd say the traces on the combination meter are burnt/damaged/toast. Remove and replace same and return to service.