Guess I'm screwed.

"Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo" (thetomselleck)
05/28/2020 at 22:02 • Filed to: It's the new Jake!

No power to the dimmer. Bipass didn’t work. Bulbs all good (and tested!). Fuses good (and tested!). Battery good. No visible breaks or spookiness. No random applicable clip not plugged in for some reason.

Oh my Lord, I do not want to tear this thing apart...

Oh, also: my wife’s car won’t start.

DISCUSSION (31)

Noodles > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/28/2020 at 22:06

You might be screwed, but your photo shop skills are on point.

It sucks that your having such a hard time figuring out the problem, but Space Crab Designs has a nice ring to it

The Snowman > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/28/2020 at 22:07

Just run a new power wire outside the loom and snip both ends of that wire where it enters the loom? It's not a show truck

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/28/2020 at 22:10

I haven’t been paying attention, but does it have aftermarket stereo or tach hooked into the dash light circuit and shorting to ground? that would be downstream from the dimmer.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > The Snowman
05/28/2020 at 22:12

I didn’t understand a word you said because I’m not handy. But here goes:

You mean... run new wire from the thing that makes the power to the three points that feed the lighting, and the dash lights will just always be on as long as the accessory is turned regardless of the dimmer switch or headlights?

NKato > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/28/2020 at 22:17

Essentially, what you’re doing is a bypass. Run a new wire from where the dimmer power connection is, to the dimmer switch itself. If that doesn’t work, run a new dimmer-out wire along the harness to wherever the dimmer connects to, and hook it in. Basically you’re putting a new wire alongside an existing connection.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/28/2020 at 22:23

Is the dimmer switch itself bad?

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Snuze: Needs another Swede
05/28/2020 at 22:25

I don’t believe so, but if it were, the lights should have illuminated when I removed the wires going to the switch and touched them directly.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/28/2020 at 22:28

How many wires go to the switch?

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/28/2020 at 22:29

Well you are brave, I don’t touch electrical, I will fuck that shit up! I did one time swap the Mercedes lighting spinner knob thing with a million wires. I had to label each one with tape.One issue I had with the wipers ended up being the ignition according to the shop. I never would have found that.

Kinja'd!!!

The Snowman > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/28/2020 at 22:31

No just run new power to where it goes on the dimmer switch. My guess is it should be always hot power not keyed on an old truck.

Im just saying don’t bother looking for the break in the wire run a new one to replace the one with a mystery break.

66P1800inpieces > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/28/2020 at 22:33

This takes two people, but if your wife can watch the dash lights you can move the harness around starting at the battery or fuse box. O n a relative’s 2005 Toyota I found one wire in the harness that was a little longer than the others formed a little S but over time it became a Z and was broken in two places, about a cementer apart.

MiniGTI - now with XJ6 > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/28/2020 at 22:33

Could it be the light switch not the dimmer? The problem is almost certainly a component or connection point, very unlikely to be a fault buried in the loom.

MiniGTI - now with XJ6 > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/28/2020 at 22:35

And yes as someone suggested if all else fails, look for a fused circuit that is switched with the ignition and just run a new wire from the fuse to the dimmer

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > The Snowman
05/28/2020 at 22:36

So I connect new wires to the dimmer switch, which I then connect... to... uhhh... a thing in a place?

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Snuze: Needs another Swede
05/28/2020 at 22:37

just two

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > 66P1800inpieces
05/28/2020 at 22:38

Luckily I was able to do that myself as the fuse box is under the steering column and the the mess of wires are behind the gauges. I jiggled all the things. And there was no satisfaction.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > MiniGTI - now with XJ6
05/28/2020 at 22:39

But all my exterior lights, blinkers, and dummy lights work.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/28/2020 at 22:42

Okay. I was thinking maybe it was some weird multiwire setup. That seems simple enough.

Have you tried testing continuity on the wires, i.e. ground to chassis ground, hot to battery terminal?

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer
05/28/2020 at 22:46

Has an aftermarket SANYO TAPEDECK (boi), no aftermarket tach.

The Snowman > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/28/2020 at 22:50

Pretty much. Use all the old wires on the dimmer, only replace power wire.

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/28/2020 at 22:57

Sweet. Do you recall the tapedeck dimming with the rest of the dashlights? If it doesn’t light up should it? I always suspect the aftermarket anything. If it is supposed to light up it is probably boogered into the dashlights at the closest conve nient place, like the heater controls or those cool gauges above. I never explored the workings of my 85 much because it’s first serious issue was breaking in half.

This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/28/2020 at 22:59

One wire is power in, the other power out. Figure out which is which, then run a new po wer in. I did kind of go over this in your last thread fwiw.

NKato > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/28/2020 at 23:10

Start by finding the fuse that feeds the dimmer switch. Run a wire from that fuse’s output to the dimmer switch’s input. Test that. If it doesn’t work, run a new wire from the dimmer switch’s output to everything it connects to.

P.S. I have a spare spool of 25' white 16AWG wire if you need it. Hit me on Discord.

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)
05/28/2020 at 23:13

Is that the one that you pull and turn and the whole thing and all it’s spaghetti comes out?

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer
05/28/2020 at 23:16

Basically, I put tape and numbers on everything before I disconnected them one by one.

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)
05/28/2020 at 23:17

Is that for W123? I see the infinite possibilities upon closer inspection.

OPPOsaurus WRX > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/28/2020 at 23:18

If I can’t get my pool flowing it’s going to be green enough to spawn covid20 if that makes u feel better. That new wire recommendation from fuse to switch sounds pretty good.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer
05/28/2020 at 23:26

Yeah, I have a 300D.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer
05/28/2020 at 23:36

Tape deck doesn't light up, no dimming of any other lights

pip bip - choose Corrour > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/29/2020 at 08:27

time to update

MM54 > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/29/2020 at 18:19

You’ve measured voltage at both ends of the wire and it’s dropping somewhere in the middle? If so, run a stray piece of wire between the two points and make sure it 1) makes the lights work and 2) doesn’t melt. Once you do that, you know the problem is in that particular length of wire, and are more confident in taking the loom apart (or saying screw it and making the stray wire permanent).

I’ve somehow been roped into fixing a bunch of electrical issues on an early 80s F- 150 this weekend. I anticipate much shotgun-approach rewiring.