A buddy of mine recently purchased a 94 Rx7 from a local dealer. It came with an Autometer Boost gauge on the A-pillar however the gauge light does not work when the dash lights are activated. Having installed several gauges in my Mustang I thought I would take a look. Whoever installed the gauge did wire up the light to somewhere but the bulb is not receiving voltage. I tried tracing the wiring, however the person who installed the gauge used speaker wire and the route the wire goes into the dash it goes along the same path as the rest of the speaker wire in the car. So basically the wire is impossible to trace and remove.

On my Mustang I wired my gauge lights directly to the fuse that controls the dash lights. I would assume the same thing would work on his Rx7, right? Where would the previous installer have hooked up the lighting for the aftermarket gauge?

Any input in appreciated, thanks...

 

Most of us splice into the ashtray light.

 

I spliced into the headlight motor switch. (the one the moves the lights up for washing). There's a light there that I tapped into. It dims with the dash too. Much closer than the ashtray.

 

i would just cut the wire, cap it off somehow, then run a new wire from the gauge to the fuse box under the dash, i personally just connected it to the ciggarette fuse. as long as the speaker wire that the previous owner used is capped i dont think it will hurt anything.

 

What is the best way to wire through the dash? It seems VERY crowded and cramped. Do I need to remove the side to the dash? Would a coat hanger be a good idea for a pull string?

 

On FD if you have an after market raio installed with the plug look for the illuminator wire and tap that it will only be on when the light are and it's easier than the ashtray mnethod.