One more electrical demon.....

[gtgto]

When I started this job of tackling all of the electrical issues my 70 340 Duster with Rallye Dash had pretty much the headlights and parking lights working and my fuel gauge and temp gauge. I removed the wiring harness and from it removed extra wires that were added but connected to nothing. I replaced the dash pad, added a brake light switch, oil sending unit and a new headlight switch. Oh and a turn signal switch since my emergency flasher knob was broken off and I had no turn signals either.
After re assembling everything and slowly I have gotten to the point where I have my turn signals, brake lights, emergency flashers and all of my factory gauges including the tach working and the dome light too. I have a few remaining problems to overcome. No lights in my dash work, None of the gauges light up, my turn signal indicators, or my high beam indicator. I have a wiring diagram and have tried to figure out what could be at fault and its not going well. I have tried adding a couple of additional grounds and cleaned up the fuse box and bulkhead with wd 40. Oh my horn doesn't work either but I'm thinking that's because I do not have my steering column fully back together with the new to the car Tuff Wheel and the mounting of the column since I've had the gauge cluster out a couple of times to troubleshoot. I also put in new led bulbs in place of the regular 194's that I took out. I don't think my remaining issues are all due to one problem since different circuits are involved. From what I tried to describe does anyone have a better idea than I do what I should be checking? Thanks

 

[67Dart273]

OK!!!! LOL

TS indicators are simple, possibilities:

Indeed cluster ground, if you have not done so add a ground pigtail just for "general principals" from a ground point on the cluster, bolt that to the dash frame or column support

The TS indicators are simply 2 extra wires branching off the L and R wires for the front, come out of your connector, and go right up to the cluster connector

Could be bad pins on the cluster board or connector, weird they would both "go out"

Bulbs and sockets................

I assume you have checked and the front (grille) TS lamps actually do work

High beam indicator......This is a simple wire that branches off the high beam feed coming off the dimmer switch and feeds right up to the cluster. Same as above, bulbs, sockets, connector pins, cluster ground

The cluster illumination lamps and other dash lamps are a bit of a "trick"

There are TWO power sources for the headlight switch, one of them comes off the tail fuse and feeds to "B2" on the switch. ............So your park and tail (and side marker if equipped) MUST work FIRST

Inside the HL switch, power is fed to the lamp dimmer, you twist the knob to the left. WIGGLE the daylights out of it and see if anything happens

So power goes through the dash dimmer and out of the HL switch on TAN. .......that goes down to the small INST fuse in the fuse panel, so that is ONLY HOT when........

The tail fuse and circuit is working

When the light switch is in "park" or "head"

and when the dimmer knob is twisted "some" to the left.

All dimmer controlled lamps go from that fuse out on orange wiring to the various lamps

 

[Dubob]

"I also put in new led bulbs in place of the regular 194's"

Is the polarity of the leds correct? May have to turn the leds in the sockets.

 

[gtgto]

"I also put in new led bulbs in place of the regular 194's"

Is the polarity of the leds correct? May have to turn the leds in the sockets.

How do you know what side is what? There are 8 bulbs.....I might just go out and get 8 new 194 bulbs and if they work deal with the non brightness...That doesn't explain the lack of high beam indicators and turn signal indicators though. Should I mount the steering column and steering wheel? Will that change anything?

 

[67Dart273]

I also put in new led bulbs in place of the regular 194's that I took out.

"I also put in new led bulbs in place of the regular 194's"

Is the polarity of the leds correct? May have to turn the leds in the sockets.

Holy **** in the 3000 page book you wrote, I completely missed that!! YES!! You most likely have them in backwards!!!

"How do you tell" I don't know, they may or may not be marked. You CAN determine the PC board, all you have to do is LOOK. The positive side EG the TS indicators, has a trace going from each socket directly to on cluster connector pin. So does the high beam

You cannot damage an LED with wrong polarity. They simply won't work

 

[RedFish]

Odds that all 8 LEDs are installed reverse polarity is very slim. On all of the replacement headlight switches I have seen , there is a extra male spade tang for a chassis ground wire. So you could just place a female spade terminal there with ground wire to ring terminal attached behind the left kick panel. Thus a plug and play chassis ground that remains present even after the column is dropped, panel pulled away from dash, etc...

 

[gtgto]

Holy **** in the 3000 page book you wrote, I completely missed that!! YES!! You most likely have them in backwards!!!

"How do you tell" I don't know, they may or may not be marked. You CAN determine the PC board, all you have to do is LOOK. The positive side EG the TS indicators, has a trace going from each socket directly to on cluster connector pin. So does the high beam

You cannot damage an LED with wrong polarity. They simply won't work

Well I removed the gauge cluster once again tonight and I cleaned all of the contacts where the bulb sockets go and put regular 194 bulbs back in. After re connecting everything I actually have some lights. I have my left directional indicator light on and my tac and gauges are lit up. The speedo and right hand directional indicator and high beam indicator are dark as night. At this point I have to believe its the sockets are not making good enough contact to the pc board. I gave up for the night but I plan on twisting the bulbs that are not lit with the lights on as my son watches. I'm starting to see light at the end of the tunnel. Oh I also have not connected the 2 additional grounds I added. One to the light switch and one to the gauge cluster mounting screw.

 

[67Dart273]

Use a pencil eraser, one of the good ones to clean the board and lamp socket contacts, and bend the contact fingers as necessary. Be sure to check for loose connector pins at the PC board connector(s)

I would check each lamp individually. It would not be heard of, LOL, in this day of Chineseoationized products, for some of them to just be defective.

 

[RedFish]

The plastic lamp sockets have 2 tiny little tangs holding them in. Plastic gets more brittle with age. Tweak those metal contacts if you want but... The more pressure the contacts generate the more likely a tang will break off a 50 year old socket. I had to learn this the hard way a long time ago. First one bulb inop, then a few weeks later a different bulb inop.
So if/when I service a rally panel I'll renew every possible aspect including 8 new lamp sockets and 8 Sylvania #2825.
I did once try LEDs in the 4 illumination sockets. The first 4 bulbs I bought at Ebay were a tad too long and bottomed out against the blue tint diffusers. the next 4 fit too loosely in new sockets. Something about their bayonet base was too thin, the plastic or the wire. They worked initially, testing on the workbench. Vibrations in the car caused them to flicker and/or completely inop.
Other members have reported the same while some have good results with LEDs. Good luck with yours

 

[gtgto]

The plastic lamp sockets have 2 tiny little tangs holding them in. Plastic gets more brittle with age. Tweak those metal contacts if you want but... The more pressure the contacts generate the more likely a tang will break off a 50 year old socket. I had to learn this the hard way a long time ago. First one bulb inop, then a few weeks later a different bulb inop.
So if/when I service a rally panel I'll renew every possible aspect including 8 new lamp sockets and 8 Sylvania #2825.
I did once try LEDs in the 4 illumination sockets. The first 4 bulbs I bought at Ebay were a tad too long and bottomed out against the blue tint diffusers. the next 4 fit too loosely in new sockets. Something about their bayonet base was too thin, the plastic or the wire. They worked initially, testing on the workbench. Vibrations in the car caused them to flicker and/or completely inop.
Other members have reported the same while some have good results with LEDs. Good luck with yours

I actually did buy 10 new sockets and LED bulbs to start this. I will have my son watch the dash as I jiggle and tweak the sockets to see if I can get the rest of the lights working. I could've bought a car that was done but where would the fun be in that???

 

[RedFish]

I actually did buy 10 new sockets and LED bulbs to start this. I will have my son watch the dash as I jiggle and tweak the sockets to see if I can get the rest of the lights working. I could've bought a car that was done but where would the fun be in that???

So did you clean those contacts surfaces of the circuit boards? Before someone suggests Texas Pete, etc.., don't use a product that contains salt. Salt on copper causes that green corrosion patina ( Certs called it Retsyn ). Something like Meguires All Metals will clean as good or better. Even dry 600 grit paper will work.

 

[gtgto]

So did you clean those contacts surfaces of the circuit boards? Before someone suggests Texas Pete, etc.., don't use a product that contains salt. Salt on copper causes that green corrosion patina ( Certs called it Retsyn ). Something like Meguires All Metals will clean as good or better. Even dry 600 grit paper will work.

Yeah I did clean the contacts with an eraser and CRC electrical contact cleaner. The contacts were actually shiny when I was done. I think the little fingers on the bulb sockets need to be adjusted. If that's the case grabbing the socket while having my helper look at the dash will be able to tell me if the lights go on. Can the sockets be installed 180 degrees wrong. I know with the bulbs I used it doesn't matter

 

[RedFish]

Can the sockets be installed 180 degrees wrong. I know with the bulbs I used it doesn't matter

No sir, sockets are not polarized.

 

[gtgto]

No sir, sockets are not polarized.

Got another crack at it last night and I now have my speedo lit and my high beam indicator. Last one to fix is my right turn signal indicator which does not light up at all. The friggin bulb sockets I bought are junk and the 46 year old ones work. I don't have enough of them so I will have to pick up a few. I'll try here and place a wanted add.

 

[RedFish]

Got another crack at it last night and I now have my speedo lit and my high beam indicator. Last one to fix is my right turn signal indicator which does not light up at all. The friggin bulb sockets I bought are junk and the 46 year old ones work. I don't have enough of them so I will have to pick up a few. I'll try here and place a wanted add.

So can I guess you purchased the bulb sockets thru Ebay? Cheap too right? To define "cheap"...
NAPA stores have or did have these socket in the Echlin brand. One socket in each box at about 4 dollars each. We have to think they are industrial or aircraft grade.
I wont go into all my bad experiences with poor quality purchases at Ebay. There's not enough internet to hold it all. I'll just say that the very recent 96 Camry oil pump fiasco was my very hard and final lesson learned. Going forward, every time I save on labor I will invest in premium quality parts.

 

[gtgto]

Got another crack at it last night and I now have my speedo lit and my high beam indicator. Last one to fix is my right turn signal indicator which does not light up at all. The friggin bulb sockets I bought are junk and the 46 year old ones work. I don't have enough of them so I will have to pick up a few. I'll try here and place a wanted add.

I finally have all my lights working. I had to buy a new pc board that has the 3 pin connector for dash lights, left blinker light and high beam indicator cause I got a little crazy jiggling the connector and broke a pin off. I could've tried to fix it but I just spent the $50 bucks plus shipping and got the part Friday. With the correct bulb sockets and new bulbs all is working. I put it all back together today and broke out the Tuff Wheel and adapter and installed it. Checked my work and all dash lights are now working as is all the blinkers, brake light and hazards. Onto the next project which will be floor repair. I have a few pinholes under the gas pedal that need attention before I put my new rug in. Not sure how I'm going to go about it yet.