Need Help...I have a gremlin

[ATL-GT]

Ok.....I have a gremlin and cannot for the life of me figure out what the hell is going on, and have checked all the fuses

this is what is happening.... I have power to the radio but no lights on the center console. When the dimmer functions for the low beams or I turn on the lights the Instrument cluster goes off......as in no lights to the needles, or gas guage!!! I tried pulling the fuse on the interior but things only got stranger. The fuse is fine. When the fuse is in I have the above symptoms where I get no lights to the cluster when the low-beam projectors are on, and no lights to the center console period. The clock is fine and functions properly when the low-beams come on. BUT......when the fuse is completely out I get full function to the instrument cluster but no power at all to the center console. I can still use the AC but I have no radio, no clock, and no center console lights.

I really really don't want to go to a dealer because I am out of warranty....and I have not played with any of the electrical anything.....I still have a damn stock radio!!!! If I got an OBD-II check at Autozone do you think it might point me in the right direction??? It isn't throwing a light or anything......... It is the wierdest damn thing!!! PLease help.

[2way]

Check the gauge light rheostat. The fuses your checking should be Panel 1 for the Cig lighter & clock lights, Panel 2 for the Gauge lights (both 7.5A Fuses).

[slidr]

Sounds like a bad ground or something.

Like this problem...

http://www.newcelica.org/forums/showthread.php?t=177355


Sort of...

[E13]

OBD scanner doesn't tell you anything about wiring. See if the dealer will give you a wiring diagram so you can check everything. You also have relays under the hood but I dont know what they are for since I havent messed with the electrical stuff on my ride. But I would get a diagram.

[2way]

Sounds like a bad ground or something.

Like this problem...

http://www.newcelica.org/forums/showthread.php?t=177355


Sort of...
Bad ground & the gauge lights wouldn't work @ all. But, it could be the problem w/the console. I'd be looking at the gauge dimmer rheostat. Gauge lights will be on bright daytime... and dim per the rheostat when the headlights are on. Somebody may have just been messing w/ya & turned the panel lights off...LOL....

Could you be more specific on which fuse your removing? BUT......when the fuse is completely out I get full function to the instrument cluster but no power at all to the center console. I can still use the AC but I have no radio, no clock, and no center console lights.


Also, your taillights are working correctly, yes?

[ATL-GT]

yes, the tailights work correctly. The fuse I checked that is acting funny is the 7.5 amp fuse that si for panel 1, panel 2, and ecu. acc......

the thing is that all of everything else works correctly. Except that I get no lighting to the center console, and when the dimmer functions, or I switch the lowbeams on I get no lighting to the needles, and the gas gauge goes out

[2way]

You can try the procedure that Slidr suggested and see if it resolves the problem. That procedure, I believe, will essentially eliminate the dimming function of the panel lights.

Good deal that the tails work.. it means that the relay is working. I suspect that it is the panel rheostat or the pass transistor circuitry on the Combo Meter (gauge cluster).

[ATL-GT]

The grounding thread........I'm gonna try that solution tonight or tomorrow, and let you guys know what happened.....It sounds exactly like what I have going on......I'm just thankful that I'm not the only one that has had this problem......thank god for NCO and you guys.......

What is the Rheostat and how do I check it?

[2way]

The rheostat is the device which you adjust to control the brightness of your panel lights... Knob on the left side of dash. It controls a pass circuit in the combo meter (gauge cluster) that prevents the rheostat from overheating (old school stuff). The rheostat can be tested either by voltage or by resistance measurement.

[slidr]

You can try the procedure that Slidr suggested and see if it resolves the problem. That procedure, I believe, will essentially eliminate the dimming function of the panel lights.


By panel lights do you mean the center console lights, or the instrument cluster lights?

My instrument cluster lights still dim, but I don't know about the center console lights since they went out a while ago and I just hardwired some wedge bulbs in their place.

[2way]

By panel lights do you mean the center console lights, or the instrument cluster lights?

My instrument cluster lights still dim, but I don't know about the center console lights since they went out a while ago and I just hardwired some wedge bulbs in their place.It would all depend on where the original break in the W/G wire was. If there is no break anywhere and you ground that W/G wire... it will defeat the panel dimmer's pass control circuit.

In your case.. there was a break between the gauge cluster and the radio (the 1st in the chain). So, when you grounded the W/G @ the Cig Lighter bulb (last in the chain)... you grounded everything back to the radio lights @ full brightness... but because of the broken wire, the gauge cluster still dimmed.

In ATL-GT's case... it could be a bad ground to the panel dimmer pass circuit, a bad pass circuit, a bad rheostat, or something in the 12V POS feed to the dimmer pass circuit from the Panel #2 fuse.

[ATL-GT]

I fixed it.....it was the DAMNED RHEOSTAT

[2way]

:thumbup: Glad ya found it :wiggle: