ArtyTheKid

whats up ht? ive had this problem for a few months now and i really wana fix it. one night i got in my 97 civic ex (stock) and my cluster / guage lights werent on. my signal lights light up bright, srs light, cel, hazards, all my climate control lights light up, my radio, just not the backlights / guages to my cluster. ive googled and came up with a few options:

1. check fuses under hood / under dash. I did that, with a multimeter and all fuses were good.
2. check dimmer switch. as far as checking it im not sure exactly how to do that but i swapped mine out for one that i got from my local junkyard, and still no lights.
3. try changing out the bulbs. i did that, took a bunch of bulbs out of a cluster in the junkyard. not one of them lights up.

what should i do next? it sucks shineing my phone at my cluster at night to see how much gas i have lol

Former User

Dust off the multimeter and test whether the two cluster connector pins for the backlights have power and ground.

chrysler kid

Bypass the dimmer switch, see if that works. I'm willing to bet the junkyard one is broken too

I didn't bother to try and replace my dimmer switch because I figured even a used quality ebay piece would fail again and the part is $80 new

Former User

This idea is inconsistent with the fact that the OP says the climate control lights work, unless I misunderstood.

chrysler kid

Oops I missed that. I think this is only the third thread this week about the exact same issue so I'm getting rusty

It was a dark dark drive when my switch was out.

ArtyTheKid

gona do that and ill get back to you

ArtyTheKid

I have neither power or ground going to the 2-pin connector.

Former User

Which 2-pin connectors are you talking about?

ArtyTheKid

heres a picture of the back of my cluster

http://s18.postimg.org/yyv2ihkdl/image.jpg

exactly what 2 wires should i be checking for ground and power?

Former User

A Google search will yield a service manual for your car.

Connector C, pins C12 and C13.

C13 should have battery voltage.

chrysler kid

That loom looks completely tangled I wouldn't be surprised if the connector spade was slightly pulled out of socket