Maiden "Voyage"

I learned a long time ago, that if you don't take extra pains along the way to make the dash frame ground solidly to the car body.....that you will be chasing electrical problems forever! There is usually one screw in an instrument cluster/switch panel that grounds it to the dash frame. Then the dash frame needs to ground to the car body. Where the dash frame mounts on the bolts at the kick panel/door jamb area, I always sand that down to bare shiny metal and then tape it up to keep paint off of it. I do the same thing with the back side of the tabs on the dash frame, where it gets mashed up against the car body when you tighten those bolts. Then tape that up and paint everything like it's supposed to be. When it's time to install the dash frame into the car, peel the tape off both pieces and brush it one more time to get it good and clean. Smear a little dielectric grease on the places you shined up, and then install the dash frame. Touch up the paint around it when it's together if it bothers you, but the dielectric grease will maintain a good ground for the dash frame, and keep it from rusting. I've not had one lighting problem since I started doing that. There also should be a separate ground with good connections from the steering column to the dash frame. Tail light housings may also need paint scratched off under one screw, and a star washer between the screw head and the housing to make a good ground.