gauges & indicators dont go

[A18A]

okaay i done a search, didnt find anything related to the problems i'm having...

pretty much like the title says, gauges (tach, fuel, temp, warning lights) & indicators dont work. however when i turn the key to ON, 2 of the warning lights light up (battery & oil i think?), but thats all that works... whys that?

not sure whats wrong with the indicators, i have the alarm wires tapped into the combo switch wire harness, and it works (might be a faulty switch??) cant think of anything else though.

i've checked ALL the fuses in the car, checked dash wiring & all that, but can't find anything wrong with why the gauges wont work... please help!!

[89T]

do you'r parking lights work?
if they do and there is no blown fuses it may be the dimmer switch.

[A18A]

all the dash lights work, and the park lights

[russiankid]

Well since you tapped into the combo switch, i would recheck all the wiring to make sure nothing is getting shorted. Also didn't you install a head unit? Check the wiring on that...

[A18A]

yeah im gonna check my wiring on the lights tomorrow, and i just have a stock honda head unit

[A18A]

i checked my wiring on the indicators, but all seems to be good, probably something in the combo switch, or ignition related..

any other ideas??

[LX-incredible]

So does the car run? Usually the guages and indicators are on the same contact as the ignition and FI. Have you ever taken the cluster out? The large connector can come out if not seated properly.

[A18A]

yup the car goes, i pulled the gauges out & checked that fat connection, but that seems all good, i'll try another gauge cluster though

[A18A]

oh and these problems only happened after i had a problem with my battery dieing overnight, but it doesnt die over night anymore, just got these problems

[Hazwan]

What did you do to fix the dying battery problem? That could be what caused this new problem.

[A18A]

i didnt do anything, these problems just started and my battery no longer went flat, thats what makes me lost haha

anyways i tried another combo switch, it still didnt work, i tried another gauge cluster, but they still didnt work

and when i turned the lights on with the original combo switch, something started burning, could see a bit of smoke, not sure what that was? didnt happen with the other combo switch, and i checked the fuses again after it started smoking, but none are blown

[LX-incredible]

Is it just the dash lights that aren't working, or is it the gauges themselves? If the dimmer switch is unplugged or bad, the dash lights won't come on. This will only affect cluster illumination, door ajar lights, AT lights, AC buttons and their selector lights, and anything else that is dimmable.

[A18A]

the dash lights work perfectly fine, it's the gauges & indicators that dont work (tach, fuel & temp, and the warning lights (except the battery light) when you turn the key to ON)

even with the lights on the gauge cluster lights up

[Hazwan]

I'm guessing your combo switch is shorted and caused the battery drain before and somehow damaged your cluster/indicator wiring now?

Oh well electrical problem is fun!

[A18A]

yeah that's probably right!

i wish this problem was fun for me :P you should buy a plane ticket & come here and fix it for me

[Hazwan]

Another thing, are you really sure the fuses is fine? Did you test it out? I have an experience with the fuse appears to be fine when they actually blown. Needless to say I wasted a lot of time tracing the other problems..

Buy me 2 way plane ticket and I'll fix them for you

[A18A]

well im not too sure about the fuses, they all looked pretty good to me, i actually pulled all the fuses out at once, then put them back in, so the fuses would have got mixed up, though i'll replace the gauge cluster fuses anyway

[LX-incredible]

Doesn't one of the blue wires from the coil go directly to the tach? Check #2 (10A) in the dash fuse box. If the charging light doesn't come on when the ignition swith is turned to II, before starting, replace the switch.

[A18A]

i found the problem!, the #2 10A fuse on the inside fuse box has a shit connection, nothing a bit of tinfoil cant fix indicators are also on the same fuse, now i can put my car back together!

[labeledsk8r]

i found the problem!, the #2 10A fuse on the inside fuse box has a shit connection, nothing a bit of tinfoil cant fix indicators are also on the same fuse, now i can put my car back together!

tinfoil?? that sounds safe................ lol

[A18A]

damn i should have kept that part to myself

[LX-incredible]

Wait, you said that the battery and oil lights are coming on? It can't be the ignition switch then. Check the grounds. Could you give a list of exactly what isn't working?

[A18A]

well i was wrong there, i thought it was the oil light, but it was the battery light & cat light, but those 2 are connected parallel(?) to each other, thats why i only ended up saying the battery light

the things that wernt working was the tach, fuel, temp gauges, oil light, engine check light, hand brake light & those lights that say which door is open (just noticed that one now)

[LX-incredible]

i found the problem!, the #2 10A fuse on the inside fuse box has a shit connection, nothing a bit of tinfoil cant fix indicators are also on the same fuse, now i can put my car back together!

Cool, I was right... for once, lol. Just take a pair of pliers and turn the prongs on the fuse from this: | to this: /. Much safer than tinfoil.

[A18A]

oh thats a good idea thanks for the help!