early dash lights

Jmasters · 06-07-2004, 10:00 PM

My 1984 944 na, dash lights don't work, I have tried cleaning the grounds behind the fuse panel, cleaned anc changed all fuses / contacts but my dash illumination lights don't work, I pulled a gauge out and took out a bulb holder and tried to pull the bulb out but noticed that it was soldered on the buld holder. can these bulbs be changed or do I need to get a special holder with bulb?, Thanks, seeing the speedo at night would be a good thing,
Any help will be appreciated, thanks

bearone2 · 06-07-2004, 10:08 PM

bulb and holder are together.
i got a few from one of the pcar wrecking yards.

make sure the alternator lite comes on with the key on, or the batt won't charge.

Jmasters · 06-07-2004, 10:16 PM

ok, bulb and holder are one piece, does anyone know where the dash lights are grounded, and the alt, brake, headlight, lights work, just the dash illumiation ones don't work

Brando · Brando's Garage

You have two sets of grounds. One come right off of the main ground by the fuse/relay panel, the second come through the center gauge cluster and go to those gauges. The one by the fuse/relay panel comes up to the back of the gauges on your dash. The lights have a single wire (usually) that goes to them and they ground themselves on the instruments in the dash.

ernestedward · 06-08-2004, 04:25 AM

That's odd - in my 83 944 I had no trouble pulling the bulbs from the holders. In fact, autozone carries them (the bulbs). The info cluster (I didn't really mess with it) seems to have a slightly different setup, but all the other ones have wedge type holders and the bulbs slipped right out.

mattdavis11 · 06-08-2004, 08:21 AM

I had a problem with my gauge lights as well, it turned out to be bad grounds, and shorted wires in the rear of the car. Do you keep blowing fuses? The license plate lights are on that same circuit. You might dig around back there.

Brando · Brando's Garage

The wires for your lights (instruments) all run through the headlight switch. When in the first and second 'on' positions, the exterior driving lights, license plate lights, and instrument lights are all on. Through the same circuit. In the instrument clusters the line that provides power to the lights is white/gray with a blue stripe. It'll look 'chained' through them all. If there's a break in this line before other lights, the repeating lights will fail. Make sure the wire is OK, while you're in there too.

bearone2 · 06-08-2004, 01:49 PM

i killed one lite taking the bulb out.

Gordon Rankin · 06-09-2004, 07:50 PM

What do you mean about the alternator lite?
This does not make sense..

Quote:

Originally posted by bearone2
make sure the alternator lite comes on with the key on, or the batt won't charge.

bearone2 · 06-09-2004, 08:30 PM

it's like xmas tree lites in series.
if the alt lite doesn't come on with the key in the ignition, car not running, the system won't charge.

if the light doesn't come on when the key is turned on, how will you know if the alternator fails.

i posted this a while back and it happened years ago in a volvo with a bosch ignition system, same thing.

no alt lite with key on, both systems showed a little over 12v when running, replaced the lite bulb in both cases and showed 13.7/8 after being started.

the volvo info came from a volvo service writer and he claimed it was one of the poorest designs he'd ever seen and golly gee, it's a bosch system in the p-car.

i'm used to checking lites when the system is powered up, silly lites like for oil pressure, generator and then making sure all of the lites are out as oil pressure/voltage come up before i go to work.