[polliviere]

I just completed replacing the bulbs in my cluster using the Sulvania 194 bulbs rated at 14V 3.8W. Since I removed the steering wheel I did not test the lights till I had put it all back togeather to avoid the ari bag light issue. When I turned the light switch on the cluster lit up as it should. I did not try to adjust the dimmer because I needed to complete a couple of other unrelated jobs. Later I went back to admire my refurbished dash lights and found I had no lights at all. When I checked the fuses I found #38, a 7.5W fuse blown, when I replaced it the new use blew again.



I pulled the cluster and checked that the bulbs worked by pulling them and hooking a 9V battery to them so I know the bulbs are good. I then checked for bad or pinched wires with no luck. While doing this and blowing my 6th fuse I had the light switch and the dimmer pulled from the dash but still connected. When testing I felt that the dimmer switch got pretty hot, i'm wondering if the new 194 bulbs might pull to much power and fry the dimmer causing a short.



As you can guess trouble shooting electrical issues is not my strong suite, so I'm looking for guidence in what to check next.

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[flash]

if you adjust the dimmer down, does the fuse stay intact?

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[polliviere]

No, the only way to save the fuse is to not turn on the headlight switch. As soon as you activate the lights the fuse pops.

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[flash]

sounds like a coincidental failure. the 194 bulbs should not be causing your problem.



if you disconnect the dimmer switch, obviously your dash lights will go out, but does the fuse still pop?

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[polliviere]

Correction to my previous response. I went out and checked that the fuse does not blow with the dimmer turned down. It will blow as soon as you bring the dimmer up. Remember I did see these lights work for a second or two before I turned the switch off the first time after the install.



I would suspect that removing the switch would be the same as turning it completely off. In that mode all is good except no dash lights at all.



Just want to point out that all other dash function are working as best as I can see



Peter

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[flash]

well..............



then it seems you have a resistance in the dmmer. plenty of guys are running the 194 bulbs, including me, so i don't think that's the problem. sounds like the dimmer is bad



if you switch back to the original bulbs, does the problem persist?

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[polliviere]

Was so tired of pulling cluster that the lsst time I forgot to put the original ones back, I will do that today and repost.



I wandered about the bulbs because of the spec change Sulvania has made to the bulb increasing both voltage and wattage.

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[polliviere]

Ok, here's the scoop. Put old bulbs back in, tested them first to make sure all were working, and promptly blew the fuse when i turned the dimmer up.

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[flash]

all-righty then. not the bulbs.



so, that leaves dimmer, relay, and headlight switch.



check to make sure you don't have a dead short in any of your parking lights. pull those bulbs and check the contacts.



i would see if there is somebody local to you to see if their headlight control relay changes the symptom. it's a pretty pricey part (about $170) so i would see if you could test somebody else's before grabbing one.



failing either of those, it's most likely the dimmer. daryl might have one.

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[polliviere]

All outside lights and flashers work, including headlight, turn, fog and emergency lights. I'll have to check on the light control relay but in the mean time ordered a new dimmer from Sunset.



That fuse seem only to control the dimmer and thus the guage lights and the plate light. Not much but does have a wire to the headlight switch.

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[MB968]

Check to see if you have a short to ground downstream of the dimmer. With the dimmer set low, you are adding resistence to the line, so even if there is a short downstream, it may not blow the fuse. Yet, with no resistence from the dimmer, you will.

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[polliviere]

Found the problem!! My thsnks to Flash and MB968. I decided to trace every light or wire that was effected by the dimmer. As MB968 said look down stream of the dimmer.



The problem was the right most rocker switch on the console. I had removed all the switches when i refinished the plate and had twisted the the wires when I put it back. Since i don't use this switch and my dash lights were dim I never noticed the short and that the fuse had blown.



Thanks for the help.



Peter

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[MB968]

Glad you found it.

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[flash]

yup - diagnostics are hard. the main rule is to never assume anything. always go back to the beginning. check out everything from beginning to end. it is often the simplest of things that you would otherwise have overlooked in the process of looking at what seems "logical".



glad you found it.

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