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Dash light problem |
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mramc
AMC Addicted Joined: Jul/12/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 3223 |
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Posted: Aug/22/2019 at 6:36pm |
Ok, Folks I have a problem with the dash lights on my 1974 Matador coupe. I replaced all the dash light bulbs when I had the dash apart to replace the speedometer . I replaced the head light switch too. Still no dash lights . Before I worked on the dash I only had a left turn signal light. Now I have both left and right and high beam light plus I believe the brake light. The dash has been molested . It has cheap dual AM/FM /CD player that mostly works badly. And of course the seat belt interlock has been removed. The cars been worked on before to various degrees for one reason or another. I'm thinking the dash light problem is ground some where. The service manual is not giving me a good idea of where the grounds are.
I'm also wondering as I'm more familiar with Javelin and AMXs if it is suppose to have a copper ground in the upper left hand corner of the dash where the instrument cluster goes like on the Javelins and AMXs do , because if so it has none. Bad ground some where is my only idea at the moment . Any one have any thing better. I'm good with electrical but by no means a complete expert . LRDaum |
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LRDaum
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george w
Supporter of TheAMCForum Joined: Jan/27/2013 Location: New Jersey Status: Offline Points: 2899 |
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Larry, Do you have a volt meter or a test light ? The dash lights are fed from a separate circuit from the headlights. Check the TSM to see what fuse feeds them then if that's OK, and it probably is, then you'll have to see if you have 12 volts getting to the proper pin on the instrument cluster connector. I suspect that since the turn signal and the high beam lights work that the ground is Ok. All lights in the cluster most likely share the same ground
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Long time AMC fan. Ambassador 343, AMX 390, Hornet 360, Spirit 304 and Javelin 390. All but javelin bought new.
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billd
Moderator Group Forum Administrator Joined: Jun/27/2007 Location: Iowa Status: Offline Points: 30894 |
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Not sure on Matador but yes, the dash cluster lights share a ground pin - sometimes those get loose from the copper trace. And yes, it's a different feed on the switch.
Even more fun is the big Javelins - it's a different switch. "Instrument lighting" is as said typically a fuse apart from all other lighting (meaning head, tail, brake, etc.) |
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mramc
AMC Addicted Joined: Jul/12/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 3223 |
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The first thing I did was check the fuses. In fact I put new ones in. No change at that add. I'm not really happy to take the dash apart unless I've got a good idea of the problem. Some one else suggested a problem with the radio wringing . I've got to say , being kind the radio is pretty poor. It has a cheap Walmart Dual, AM/FM/CD player in the car. I believe the car has four speakers and I think sound is only coming out of one. It cuts in and out a bit. The radio is marginal but the CD player is OK. the wringing is poor at best , and that being kind and not using any really bad words. I tend to think the problem is a ground some where. Because why would the turn signal , and non light items work but the dash light don't work when they seem to be on the same power circuit. Yes, I have a continuity tester, two in fact. I did not find a loose pin when I had the dash apart to replace the speedometer , but then I was not looking for one either. I mostly figured the old bulbs were bad , as only the left turn signal light worked. LRDaum
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LRDaum
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george w
Supporter of TheAMCForum Joined: Jan/27/2013 Location: New Jersey Status: Offline Points: 2899 |
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You can't do any more troubleshooting from in front of the dash. The fact that the turn signal and high beam lights work is a 99% indicator that it's not a ground problem. You'll have to pull the instrument cluster and check to see why you're not getting power to the lighting circuit of the cluster itself. This should not likely be related to the radio as the radio lighting is not fed off the cluster. If your Matador is like my older AMCs then the dash light circuit is fed from the orange wire that starts at the headlight switch connector. Use your test light and see if you have 12 volts at the orange wire terminal of the headlight switch when the headlight switch is on and the dimmer is rotated for full brightness. If you do then it's a short distance over to the cluster connector plug to see if you have 12 volts there on the orange wire terminal. If you do, then you have a bad connection on the IC board itself. Possibly a bad, broken or cracked copper circuit trace coming off at the connection point where the orange wire connects to the cluster. A broken connection on the trace can usually be easily fixed with a soldering iron, some "electronic" solder (60/40 rosin core) and a small length of solid bare copper or buss wire. Even a piece of a paper clip can be used to "jump" a cracked trace on a circuit board.
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Long time AMC fan. Ambassador 343, AMX 390, Hornet 360, Spirit 304 and Javelin 390. All but javelin bought new.
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