Help requested: Electrical/lighting issue.

"Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo" (thetomselleck)
05/25/2020 at 09:00 • Filed to: Longbed 2020

I drove my pickup last night to find that the lights behind my gauges no longer worked. This also includes the oil pressure gau ge and volts which are in a separate cluster above my shifter. My dimmer switch does nothing.

Turn indicators , dummy lights, exterior lights , and gauges themselves all work. Battery tests good. Fuses are good.

I’m not holding my breath thinking that the bulbs just happened to burn out at the same time... What should I be looking for/testing/consider as I prepare to take my dash apart?

DISCUSSION (12)

pip bip - choose Corrour > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/25/2020 at 09:08

no broken wires? being so old now, maybe a ground wire has become brittle?

or any wires broken off near the fuse boxes perhaps?

otherwise no idea.

E90M3 > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/25/2020 at 09:11

If they’re all out, I’d assume it’s not the bulbs. My guess is they’re on the same circuit and something went bad in that.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/25/2020 at 09:14

Can you test the dimmer switch? Take it out of the loop somehow?

Pixel > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/25/2020 at 09:15

Ground or bad dimmer switch are the most likely culprits.

MiniGTI - now with XJ6 > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/25/2020 at 09:22

The panel lights in our 86 Camry used to come and go. It just became a quirk and was like that for many years.

Look for loose wires but you might have to pull the cluster and do some checking with a meter.

AestheticsInMotion > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/25/2020 at 09:27

Bad dimmer switch would be my first guess. That was the culprit when I experienced the same issue in one of the Volvos.

Roadkilled > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/25/2020 at 09:31

The good news is that it will probably be easy to find the problem once you get the dash apart. It shouldn’t be too hard to trace backwards through the wiring until you find where the connection is broken. It could be just corrosion on the dimmer switch that made it lose connection.

My suggestion is start with a burnt offering or a sacrifice to a volcano first. You may not want to look at the state of the wiring until you have appeased the gods.

The Snowman > Pixel
05/25/2020 at 09:54

This

shop-teacher > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/25/2020 at 10:19

Like a few others have said, the issue probably lies within or leading to the dimmer switch. That switch is what supplies power to all those lights . I would try pulling that, and see if you can clean the connections. After that, if you have a test li ght, you can check if it’s getting power. If it is, try replacing the switch. I would think that’s a cheap and easy part to get ... Although I know squat about the specifics of Toyotas.

If the switch is not getting power, you will have to trace further down the line looking for broken wires/bad connections.

ClassicDatsunDebate > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/25/2020 at 11:13

The dimmer switch can get corrosion between the contact arm and the plate. A simple fix is to rapidly twist it back and fourth to see if it kinda self-cleans.

We do it all the time with crackly volume and tone knobs on guitars.

You can also buy electrical connector spray/lube and give it a few shots.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/25/2020 at 11:56

ground

fintail > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
05/25/2020 at 13:10

Working turn signals? Well laateedah.