gotrice16

I have a 93 del Sol Si and my gauge cluster backlights don't work. All of the other lights such as turn signals, warning lights, hazards, and the del Sol status light with the car on it works.

I have my cluster out right now, and i've diagnosed all of the chassis fuses. They all check out ok, and my backlight bulbs don't seem to be blown. I've tried a different gauge cluster, and it doesn't work either.

What color wires in the dash harness correspond to instrument cluster backlights? I don't have a multimeter to test anything, but i can buy one immediately if necessary. I honestly don't know what to look for, and i'd like to know which color wires to inspect for breaks or shorting before i cut the wire loom off and have spagetti everywhere.

also, my left taillight harness has a tendency to get tangled, and there is a short in it somewhere. however, this only affects the running light when the headlights are on, and it occasionally comes back on and stays on. is this a bulb problem or a wire issue? if it is wiring, can this have anything to do with my gauge cluster backlights?

corkss

When my dashlights failed on me, it was the dimmer switch! I don't remember which colors, but if you jump em, the dash lights should turn on.. I really never use the dimmer and kept the two of three wires crossed, and pushed my dimmer back into the dash
do a search for dimmer switch should help you out further.

gotrice16

interesting scenario. when i jump the red wire and black wire at the back of the plug with a paper clip, the dimmer no longer changes the brightness of the climate control. but, the cluster lights do not turn on. i have a multimeter on the way home in 5 minutes. i'll check the wires to make sure that i have power. apparently, the black wire is not ground. the red wire is ground, and the red/black wire is power lead. not sure what black is, then.

i am jumping the 3-pin blue plug that hooks to the back of my gauge with the car on it. is this right? or should i be jumping the wires on the big long plug to the immediate right of it?

Former User

Pop out the dimmer switch from the dash and remove the connector. Connecting the red and black wires from the dimmer connector with a jumper wire should cause all the gauge and climate control lights to illuminate to full intensity when the parking lights are turned ON.

corkss

Yah, what RonJ said..lol..thats what I was trying to say

gotrice16

i don't understand.

my dimmer switch is in my gauge cluster. i can unscrew it, but is that what you are talking about?

also, what do you mean by dimmer connector? do you mean the plug that the wires go to, the blue one? or do you mean the 3 pins in the back of the dimmer switch module?

Former User

Must be a difference between Del Sol and Civic dimmer switches. Here's what the Civic one looks like:

gotrice16

problem. i jumped red and black and connected red to a body ground. no dash lights. connected red to ground after removing jumper wire. climate control lights up, but no gauge cluster lights. unsure what to do now. any suggestions? i just got my multimeter.

Former User

Are the cluster bulb burned out? Are any terminals bent or damaged in the connectors at the back of the cluster?

Also use your multimeter to check for continuity to ground for the black wire. It may be broken or disconnected, though this does not explain the lack of cluster lights.

gotrice16

nope. all the bulbs look fine too. any way i can test them with a multimeter? as you can see, i don't quite understand car electronics.

also, any way i can use a multimeter with the dimmer switch plug?

Former User

The result you got by grounding the red wire (climate control lights turn ON) suggests that the dimmer is not the problem. Focus for now on the gauge cluster and its connectors.

You can use the multimeter to test the bulbs. There should be continuity between the two bulb terminals.

gotrice16

ok, also, there is battery voltage between the red/black wire and a ground source. so no blown fuses.

now, what is continuity? how do i test for that?

Former User

Set the multimeter to measure resistance (Ohms). High Ohms = low or no continuity; low Ohms = continuity

gotrice16

k.
black wire has continuity. checking bulbs now

gotrice16

im going to replace those backlight bulbs, just in case. i have to get a new battery for this multimeter, and i'm going to just go ahead and get the bulbs anyway.

oh, also, does it matter that my hazard light switch was not plugged in while i was testing my dimmer switch? it was not plugged in.

gotrice16

New bulbs made no difference whatsoever.
Everything seems to be ok otherwise with the dimmer. it works on my climate control, and the climate control lights act as they are supposed to.

so, would the hazard switch have anything to do with this at this point? or is it a break in a wire?

i have checked the fuses under the dash towards the hood release latch. If it is a break in a wire, which wire is it most likely to be? no other component in my car seems to be acting funny, so i doubt it is a short circuit.
Should i cut the zipties holding my dash wiring harness and pull the harness out? or is the SRS wired with this system? i don't want to set my airbags off.

gotrice16

bump for an answer.

del_sol_sir

Look, what the last poster is trying to say is check OHMs between the bulbs. Black is ground. LOL. Check to make sure there is continuity between the CONNECTING WIRES. Not the ground.

If you've installed a different cluster, it's wiring. Not fuses, nor connectors. I'd check to see if you burnt a wire somehow, or check to see if one of your wires are exposed, possibly grounding itself somewhere to the metal behind your dash. Believe me, it's very possible. I have the same car you do. -cont

(I'll tell you this little story to confirm what I'm telling you. My car was parked in a field for 2 years, and collected a small nest in the heating ducts. I pulled the dash off and pulled the duct thats attached to the fan motor off, and let the heater run so it could expell all of the debris. All of a sudden, my fuel pump wire caught on fire! I to this day don't know what caused it, but del sol wiring when it gets old is very suspect. It's not uncommon to have your 16 year old wiring dry rot. Check what I tell you to check, and I almost guarantee you'll find your culprit.)

cont- This is going to involve taking most of the dash apart. Process of elimination. If you have that multimeter, check to see if power is getting to the bulbs. The green (i think it's green) wires to the bulbs should have power. If they do, then move on to the next possibility. If you have no power to the bulbs, trace the wire back until you find a problem. All car electronics are is a process of elimination.

(this is what I WOULD DO)


Take your multimeter and turn it to volts.
Touch it to the bulb wires to make sure your either getting power to the bulbs, or not.
If yes, check the connection of the wires to the bulbs.
If no, follow the wires back until you come to your next crossroad. (fuse, relay, or connector)
You will find your problem that way. I've found if I do this, I learn more about my car, and feel more gratified when I fix it.

del_sol_sir

Wow, you're welcome?

gotrice16

thanks a bunch.

so, basically unplug everything from the cluster, check the hot wire (green or whatever color it is) for voltage to the bulbs, and look for broken wire if no voltage?

if there is a break, wouldn't it be possible to unplug the dash wiring harness from the junction towards the fusebox and cut all the zipties holding it to the dash and just pull it all out?

i am just afraid of setting the airbag off, and i don't have any torx srews to remove the SRS unit from the steering wheel. would this happen if i unplugged the dash harness towards the fusebox? my cousin broke his nose pulling a dashboard out because the airbag popped on him. plus, i don't want a dust cloud screwing up my interior, that crap is a pain to get out of suede.

plus, having the wire in one big spinal cord in front of you would make it easier to diagnose than standing on your head with a flashlight or pulling the dash.

gotrice16

ok.

i found a pinout diagram for the dashboard sockets. The bulb wire is red/blk, but there is no voltage going to it. The fuse has battery voltage, so the fuse is ok. There is a break in that wire somewhere. I'm deactivating the SRS unit right now, but which plug coming from the fuse box has to be unplugged?

gotrice16

Pulled the harness, found that the red/blk wire was severed and i resoldered it.

after 10 minutes of retaping and reconnecting plugs, the cluster backlights still don't work.
however, i found a ground wire on my workbench that i unplugged from under the dash. wire is severed so i have to pull the harness and find where the sever is. there goes all that electrical tape!!!

also, i noticed that my high beam indicator light didn't come on, but my lights did. so, that is probably ground wire related, isn't it?

i'm going to try to reconnect it but i have to retrace my steps and find the break. the fuse is still getting voltage, but the power wire is not when i do a reading. i assume that the ground is not connected, so that is why i have no reading.

gotrice16

I've been tracing the black wires, and i see how each one goes to each plug. I am still confused, though. Does the fuse box have a place where the black wire with the connector on the end of it starts? I can see that the connector plugs to the metal dash, grounding it. I don't see where the other end of the wire goes, the bare end.

i also see where the ground wire from the cluster plug goes and how it splits into 3 wires several times to insure that all plugs are grounded. Does the wire i have loose now; the one that grounds to the dash, does it connect to one of these splits?

gotrice16

i have continuity from the ground on the gauge cluster plug to the ground where the harness plugs to the fuse box. i am completely bewildered. i also have continuity on the red/black power wire from the bulbs to the fusebox.

however, i don't have voltage to the power wire when i have the harness plugged up, which leads me to believe that the broken off ground wire i have, the one that hooks under the kick panel, is the cause of this. Is this why i don't have voltage, because the circuit is not grounded?

also, where does this wire connect to? i have traced all of the grounds in the harness to a plug, which leaves only this broken wire i have now. it has a plastic end on it with some copper inside, which connects to the inside of the dash to a ground.

if i soldered the bare end of it to the ground wire from the gauge cluster that splits to each other plug, and grounded it, would the lights work? i don't want to short anything.

i need an answer soon, because i still need to reinstall everything and tape all of the wires up again before dark.

shady3260

i haev the exact same problem on the exact same make and model del sol.......ive done everything youve done and still cant find out the problem