No dash lights in 4 of my cars!

[72RoadrunnerGTX]

Do you have power from the switch, lights on, at the dimmer connector (L7A-18BK)? You could jump the two terminals (E1-18T & L7A-18BK) at the dimmer connector, find a switch that gets you dash lights. Check continuity on L7A-18BK between the dimer connector and the switch connector.

 

[Kern Dog]

Do you have power from switch, lights on, at the dimmer connector (L7A-18BK)?

Yes, I do.

You could jump the two terminals (E1-18T & L7A-18BK) at the dimmer connector,

Does the plastic terminal plug have to be connected to do this? If so, maybe I can bridge across with a thin screwdriver. If not, I can slip a wire in to bridge the terminals.

find a switch that gets you dash lights. Check continuity on L7A-18BK between the dimer connector and the switch connector.

I'll step back outside to test this.
Thank you.

 

[72RoadrunnerGTX]

Yes, I do.



Does the plastic terminal plug have to be connected to do this? If so, maybe I can bridge across with a thin screwdriver. If not, I can slip a wire in to bridge the terminals.



I'll step back outside to test this.
Thank you.

If you have power from the switch on the black wires at the dimmer control and providing external power to the tan wire gets you dash lights, can only be an open in the dimmer control, bad dimmer. Just jump terminals in the dimmer connector, unplugged, with a piece of wire, should have dash lights, full voltage.

 

[Kern Dog]

YOU are correct, sir. I bridged these two:

The panel lights came up. I'm curious about.....
What drawbacks are there to bridging the terminals? I noticed that the lights do go on and off by the headlight switch so they are not staying on all the time. What do I lose by bypassing the dimmer itself? The ability to actually dim or brighten the panel? The illumination of the dome light without opening the door?
I don't mind going without the panel dimmer until I actually get to the point where I restore the car

 

[72RoadrunnerGTX]

What do I lose by bypassing the dimmer itself? The ability to actually dim or brighten the panel? The illumination of the dome light without opening the door?

Yep, full light brightness, otherwise won't hurt anything

 

[Kern Dog]

Heck, man.....that is where I keep it anyway.
Thank you.

 

[Kern Dog]

I figured these are $200 for a new one, I saw on ebay one listed for $165.
Then I saw this:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/197864947026?_skw=headlight+panel+dimmer+1970+Dodge+Charger&itmmeta=01KC5MQCQHQ6P6A58C51NC4N9Y&hash=item2e11ab7d52:gZcAAeSwBJRpGS2T&itmprp=enc:AQAKAAAA8FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1fIu8fRx+HkwQ0pcQYy76Bg3BdhWggIq0LQNM2zSzjrzDBgW9S01r2HI/RCYTP2/lyWvWmtVHaFz9P0lWIL0RJPEHGZu7gqaHWMc4SuwxSy30o2FINV6lcjH6wFNOvLMKkwv6CQ8jvpUFrLgXm2DzLcT3UA4ylTo37ZVpyxFpWG2e4vH01ws/aKRnxQY9kde2/cbXQ39FOrr8pBY6u+4XP+b06eDYygQOu174SFywENb11/wxjG8NKrLtybVCX+d9n6DyJVFuQMOZY5q0zRUAVaEKHWO9KY5tp2X7wImOKMHQ==|tkp:Bk9SR_bL3bThZg

Three used panel dimmers for $50 plus shipping. They are described as being functional but may have cosmetic wear.
For the price, I'll give it a shot.

 

[matthon]

Twist the switch back and forth a bunch of times, then do it again, done.
Fixed mine everytime.

 

[Geoff 2]

Sorry, I couldn't resist: buy a fifth car!

Seriously: I am not meaning to sound critical of a person's intellect, but electrical problems can be hard to solve without electrical knowledge. Trying to visualise what those electrons are doing or where they are going without some basic theory. It might pay you to get an auto electrician involved, because just poking around might makes things worse. You probably have mobile AEs that will come to your home, like we have here.

 

[OneWheelPeel]

It is dead no matter what. If I power up that center terminal, the panel lights up.
I feel like a guy on an island looking for gold, essentially using “layman common sense” instead of trained diagnostic skills.

That approach has served me well in a few disciplines, the thing is as you continue doing it and learning what you can the next thing you know you are trained in diagnostics. So keep at it.

 

[OneWheelPeel]

Also, maybe some will laugh and also maybe no one as an adult would want to mess with this, but I can directly trace what I learned with the following toy as a kid to the skills I had to fix several cars and other electronics. Nerd I know.

 

[Kern Dog]

Sorry, I couldn't resist: buy a fifth car!

Seriously: I am not meaning to sound critical of a person's intellect, but electrical problems can be hard to solve without electrical knowledge. Trying to visualise what those electrons are doing or where they are going without some basic theory. It might pay you to get an auto electrician involved, because just poking around might makes things worse. You probably have mobile AEs that will come to your home, like we have here.

Idiotic responses like this is why I put RJ Renton on ignore.
I was being humble earlier. I am not as inexperienced as I came across. If you had spent more time on the site, you'd see that while I am not one to claim that I know everything, I'm not new to this either. There are some things where I need help, this is one of those matters. Some people are capable of developing skills with experience. Nobody here was born knowing the torque sequence of a big block cylinder head.

 

[68BabyBlue]

Twist the switch back and forth a bunch of times, then do it again, done.
Fixed mine everytime.

Did this with my first GTX many years ago. Car would sit for weeks at a time the first year I owned it, lost instrument panels lights. Once I figured out the switch twist, had no further problems.

 

[68BabyBlue]

Idiotic responses like this is why I put RJ Renton on ignore.
I was being humble earlier. I am not as inexperienced as I came across. If you had spent more time on the site, you'd see that while I am not one to claim that I know everything, I'm not new to this either. There are some things where I need help, this is one of those matters. Some people are capable of developing skills with experience. Nobody here was born knowing the torque sequence of a big block cylinder head.

I have zero technical knowledge when it comes to electrical systems, and in areas where I've had technical training, such as conveyance of bulk materials, my ability to do the math is miniscule compared to an engineer. Ironically, I made a career in the bulk tanker business by solving problems in the field that the experts couldn't foresee. Each layer of experience enhanced the problem solving process.

Old Mopars have proved a similar arena for me. I was around these cars from the time they were new, and observed where they tend to have problems. My former brother in law, who was the service manager at the Plymouth dealer back in the day, and my late friend Sam, who maintained my truck, as well a Mopar stable of his own, gave me similar advice. Start at the weak links first, than expand the process. If you play with these things long enough, you get better at it.

 

[nitro_rat]

The factory PCB (printed circuit boards) are made of a phenolic (paper and resin) material with crimped terminals. This was state-of-the-art circa the 1950's. Unfortunately, they just don't hold up over time. They really weren't that great when they were new!

Many of the problems with instrument panel lighting and gauge operation are due to the condition of the old PCB's. The traces can break or corrode (often times they delaminate on the inside and you can't tell they've broken visually), the phenolic board itself compresses and the bulb sockets loose their tension, etc.

You can purchase new, modern, fiberglass PCB's with copper traces and soldered terminals for most Mopar and AMC's here:

Welcome - Premium Dash Decals by Mr.Heaterbox

Along with a modern, solid state 5v instrument cluster voltage regulator, a new PCB will usually solve most of your instrument panel troubles.

 

[Coelacanth]

So was the problem the dimmer wheel part of your headlight switch? I'd consider giving the switch a soak in electrical contact cleaner or similar, brush it with a toothbrush and see if that gets it working again. I did something similar with my high beam footswitch, but for that, because the switch button would go in but not pop out after. It had some corrosion that I cleaned up with a soak in EvapoRust, then rubbing alcohol to clean it up, and it worked properly after that. That wasn't an electrical contact issue, though.

 

[Kern Dog]

I clocked the wheel on the panel dimmer numerous times, it made no difference. Same with the spare dimmer that I have. Both have visual wear and age to them but the spring in the dimmer...

....looked pretty good in both.

 

[Geoff 2]

Kern dog,
Recommending you get help from an auto electrician is not an idiotic response & I do not how you could take it that way.

 

[nitro_rat]

Kern dog,
Recommending you get help from an auto electrician is not an idiotic response & I do not how you could take it that way.

I'd be willing to bet any "auto electrician" that's willing to travel today is more versed on troubleshooting CAN/BUS neworks (and righly so) than dealing with antique printed circuit boards and corroded mechanical contacts in old switches. In fact, he'd probably be baffled by the mechanical 5v voltage limiter in the instrument clusters of these old Mopars. A swing and a miss...

 

[Coelacanth]

Kern dog,
Recommending you get help from an auto electrician is not an idiotic response & I do not how you could take it that way.

If this is the default reply, then what's a forum like this for? ;) I would trust some of the guys on here long before I'd take my car to some random guy or shop. The members here who've owned and worked on these cars for decades have the best knowledge to share.