So ive been trying to fix my instrument panel lights. i replaced every bulb as a starting point. still after doing that there was no lights lighting up the instrument panel. So i got out the voltmeter and started testing the panel for continuity. the panel seemed fine so i moved on to the power supplying the panel. every connection set EXCEPT the power supply for the display lights was working fine. So the questions. Where does this wire bundle go to? Will i have to dismantle the dashboard further to fix this issue? Is it worth fixing. i ask if its worth fixing because i already have everything i need to drop in some Super Bright LEDs and tap power from the cigarette lighter. (if anyone is interested in the necessary components and schematics for this i have done it before on some other cars and the total conversion costs about 17 dollars and some soldering skill.) any help is appreciated greatly.
I'd say screw it and go with the brights. They work awesome with the white faced gauge conversion too!
everything on the panel works theres just no backlighting. im assuming the IC is good but im having trouble finding the specs on it. i suppose ill go take the necessary readings off the cigarette lighter and get the solder kit out then. probably too much work to diagnose 1 bad wire.
Take the sockets out and lift the little contacts up a bit, so they make good contact. Also, be sure the contacts in the connector socket are not rolled up or bent or missing. This can cause a mess. Good luck!
yea i wish that was the problem. there's no power coming out of the bundle for that part of the circuit.
Did you check your headlight switch? If you do the led's, will they dim and if so, how do you dim them? Would like to see your post an material (which an where, leds) used
My experience with dimming LED's is...they will dim, but only with the first (last?) 5% of dimmer switch travel. Not sure you'll like the results. Turn the knob 3/4 turn and nothing, then you go from full bright to off by turning the knob about the last 1/8 turn or so.
im a control circuits engineer. im not concerned with issues like that. a voltmeter will always work better than a test light to me. and there will be no ability to dim the lights on the panel because the somewhere between the switch and the power output to the instrument panel theres a break in the wire, or some other short that i could not find by eye. hence why i was asking where all those wires meet up and if you have to take apart the entire dash to get at them. it seems to be way too much trouble though whereas i can build and put in a new circuit fairly quickly. which is what im doing this afternoon. i even got a nice sleek little rocker switch to mount below the panel to turn on the lights with.
if you wanted to dim the LEDS and you were able to utilize the existing power rail the simplest way would be to put in an opamp circuit in front of them that regulated the voltage from the potentiometer on the switch. a proprtional control circuit that brought down the voltage by about 60% would give you a very desirable range for controlling the brightness. and if it didnt and you were slick enough to use more pots in the proprtional circuit you could increase the sensitivity to the dimmer until you achieved the desired result. not as hard as it sounds thank goodness.
Finished soldering the circuit together tonight. tested it as fully functional. tomorrow im going to start playing with it in the car. then once i find the best placement for the LEDs ill glue everything in and take some photos of the whole thing then make a new post detailing everything.
I used the 194 replacement LED in my dash and all my gauges . As for dimming they due BUT just very little BUT the light from them is not that bad ( very easy to look at ). If you have power at the switch BUT no power at the cluster plug just over lay a new wire from switch to cluster plug.
I am mostly finished with my upgrade to my instrument panel. I hacked in the LEDs using the cigarette lighter power source because it was simple. i added a dedicated switch so that i can turn on the lights as needed. The LEDs i used are super brights, extra large for a very well diffused light source. I engineered the circuit to be the close to the minimum light output for the lights because i wanted a mellow look. the fuel gauge looks a little dim but i wanted it this way. im very happy with the way the speedometer turned out. shot of both gauges. tomorrow ill post the component list and schematics.
