Dash light troubleshooting

[WorksOnRovers]

Hi All,

My brothers 944 has become a new project for me and the "seemingly simple" items on the to-do list have been anything but. I'm used to working on Land Rovers and figured this would be a nice change of pace.

There's two electrical issues that are really puzzling to me. Firstly, the headlight motor has failed. Secondly, the dash lights no longer work. Initially, the dash lights were just blowing the fuse from the main box

For the headlight motor: I tore the motor apart, cleaned up all the contacts, made sure the brushes were ok, and ensured there wasn't any loose wires or shorts.

The 4-pin power connector was half broken though and I managed to put it back on backwards causing the dash light fuse to blow and melt a couple of wires. (melted wires and blown fuses have been replaced).

The dash lights were initially just blowing out a fuse. Since the headlight-motor-incident, however, they refuse to turn on.

I can figure out the motor issue. Clarks garage seems to have a good diagram for it and I'm convinced I just need a new motor at this point. The dash lights issue is where I could really use some guidance.

Would anyone be able to provide a link to the correct wiring diagram for the instrument cluster? I've seen partial wiring diagrams over the last few searches both here, and on clarks-garage.

Is there a downloadable repair manual for the 944 that contains absolutely all there needs to know?

[Rasta Monsta]

headlight full voltage goes through the switch, something in that area is cooked

[Mr. Squid]

I agree with Rasta's comment above....

Are the headlights the stock wattage units? Early on I attempted to upgrade my headlights without upgrading the wiring or adding relays, after my first drive my headlights wouldn't turn off, and when I looked at the back of the headlight switch, the harness had partially melted where it plugs in. Another member on here had a similar situation to yours and when he looked at the back of his fuse/relay panel there was one spot that was physically burnt and when trying to source a replacement fuse panel a lot were in similar condition.

Many 924/944 owners update their headlight wiring harness to something similar to the one found in the link below. You'll end up with brighter headlights, and less stress on the switch and other wiring.

944 Headlight Relay Harness

Hope this helps.

[WorksOnRovers]

Thank you both. I'll start digging at the switch and work forwards.