Topic: Something Doesnt Make Sense

[79 Rebel]

well this is bad news
i guess the foil did not work to fix the tear

[ta78w72]

I gave you three options, one was foil.  Looks like you're not having luck with that.  Trace the circuit.  I think there's one bulb on one side of the break and three on the other side of the break. 

Here's an idea.  Take the bulb out that's before the break.  Look at the metal tabs on each side.  Notice how the tab curves up and there's a little space between the metal and the plastic bulb housing.  I think you could take a small solid copper wire and force it into that space and it should hold.  You could put a piece of tape on it to hold it too.  Then, do the same thing on a bulb after the break.  That would supply power to the entire circuit.

Just like I did here:
note, this is a last ditch attempt to save the circuit.  If this doesn't work you'll have to replace it.  By the way, in the picture I didn't use the right bulb on the left hand side.  I should have used one two bulbs to the right......Ooops!  But this took me about five minutes to do.  This ought to work.  Also, double check to make sure you've got both wires on the 12 volt circuit and not one on 12 volt and the other on ground.  You'll want to be on the top of that bulb two over on the bottom.

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[79 Rebel]

ok thanks
so i can just use any wire that i have cut it and hook it up into where the bulb is
do it just like you have done it right - one bulb to the other or two to two
also i had alot of luck today i dropped the whole steering colum made it alot easier and its still down so imma try this

[ta78w72]

Just one bulb on one side of the break and another on the other side of the break.  Look at the side of the your bulb and you'll see where you can slide the wire in.

[79 Rebel]

ok and you said in your picture you put it on the wrong bulb right
and just normal wire will work

[ta78w72]

ok and you said in your picture you put it on the wrong bulb right
and just normal wire will work

Normal wire.  Trace the circuit that's bottom left from where the cluster plugs in.  That's the illumination circuit.  So, that first bulb is your target.  Trace the circuit to the other side of the cluster connector and find another bulb...that's you second target.  Once the wire is in place, you should have dash lights.  Also, put some black electrical tape around those two bulbs so the wires don't come off and ground.

[79 Rebel]

ok i tried it and im guessing i did it correctly
i took a black wire put the one end in the socket where the little tab is stuck it in above the tab
and did the same on the other side
what happened was when i turned headlights on it sent a power surge and restarted the radio?
i have no clue why did i do it wrong

[79 Rebel]

ok now that i read your reply
i may have done something wrong
i put the wire in the second bulb from left
and i didnt use tape so some of the wires were hanging out
maybe if you get time you could post pic where you slide the wires in
i think i know but my wires too thick

so maybe what i did caused the radio to turn on and off

[ta78w72]

The radio uses the gray wire for illumination.  So if you turn on the dash lights, the radio light should come on.  But, if your radio actually came on rather than the lights.....we're going to have another long thread to fix that. 

A picture of the wire won't do you any good, I guess I could pull the bulb and take a picture of that.  But you are stringing that wire from bulb to bulb, aren't you?  And you're careful to make sure that both wires are connected to the bulb part that touches the 12 volt circuit, aren't you?

Why don't you connect the wires and post a picture of the back of your cluster.  I can tell by looking at it if you have it right.

Before you connect it, we're going to have to trace your radio wires.  But let's tackle that after you get the bulbs wired.  I haven't tried a fix like this before.  It's just an idea and I'm curious to see if it works.  In the past, I've told people to replace the circuit.  But I think this will work.

[79 Rebel]

my radio was already on playing music
and when i turned the headlights on it sent a power surge to the radio and restarted the cd

[79 Rebel]

ok this would be correct right
on the left at first i had the black wire in the second bulb

like i said it didnt turn the radio off or on
just a power surge but maybe its because the copper wires were hitting cluster

i am determined to fix this dash damn it !!!! lol
were getting somewhere i do have turn signals lol

also 78 can i disconnect the clock wire and leave it out and put my 3rd black wire there instead


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[ta78w72]

You've got that wired correctly.  Put some electrical tape on those two bulbs.  It's a shame you don't have an ohm meter to test the circuit.  You could tell whether or not it's going to work.

As far as the clock, are you talking about slot fifteen of the cluster connector?  You could leave that wire out, but it's hot all the time so you better tape the end with electrical tape.  As far as sticking a ground wire in that slot, I wouldn't.

Now, let's check the radio wiring.  The harness comes from the factory with a black connector that fits into the back of the stock radio.  That connector has three or four wires depending on whether or not you have a power antenna.  I'm going to assume you don't have the power antenna.

You should be able to locate that black connector in the area under the dash behind the radio area.  If you can't see that connector (which means it's probably been cut) look for unconnected yellow, black and gray wires.  The yellow wire is switch powered and powers the radio, black is ground and gray lights the front of the radio.  It sounds like you've got an aftermarket radio, so you need to locate those three wires to see if they've been spliced to power your new equipment.  When radios are installed, the installers like to cut and splice, and they may not know exactly what they're doing.  Locate those three wires for me.

[79 Rebel]

yes the radio is wired fine..
i went through this about 4 years ago
when i put the new cd player in
i had to track all the wires due to the fact that they spliced everything wrong..

ok so just hook the wire up like that and put black tape around the socket's
im guessing it surged before because the copper was hitting the cluster..

ok so what do you suggest if i dont plug the extra black where the clock is what should i do with it..

2 blacks are in with the rest of the wires.
the 3rd is going up by the headlight switch which im guessing is grounded somewhere

maybe i have 3 because the 81 cluster had 2 grounds could this be ?

P.s.
i have never had battery or gas lights
and still dont

once about a month ago they turned whenever the car key was on but then that stopped

[ta78w72]

We can address your fuel and volt gauges in another thread.  That will be easy.

I'd plug that baby in and see what happens.  As far as the extra black wire....you could be correct that you harness had one more than the 79.  So, wrap some electrical tape around the end and don't use it...just let it hang. 

Hopefully we'll have it.  And, I think you could be right about your jumper wire.  It may have touched ground.  I hope this works!!

[79 Rebel]

Ok thanks for all your help
at school now when iget hom eill hook it up and see
and oh boy are we gonna have fun in the new thread lol

so just to make this clear
the black wire thats coming from up near the headlight switch just tape it and leave it not plugged in ?