The problem is I cant see my gauges when im driving my 86 firebird at night.Its been like this since ive bought it. The gauges and shift indicator lights are supposed to shine red . The dome light and all other lights work. I think the factory Delco radio/cassette player may have some connection to the problem because when i turn my headlights or parking lights on the display goes blank yet its still on and plays fine, i just cant see anything. I took the radio out today and noticed when i disconnected the orange and brown clip (Brown = dimmer , Orange = Constant +12 volts) from the unit i could turn the headlights on which used to make the display go blank and I still had display and music, just no gauge lights still. thanks for reading... any help will be greatly appreciated.

Oh, man. I know how irritating your situation is! Nothing worse than gauges that aren't working or have a bulb out.

Since you know your dome and other interior lights are working properly, I would trace the wires from your gauges lights, back towards the power source and see where they're hooked up. They've GOT to be wired wrong. They SHOULD be wired to your headlight switch's panel connection WITH the dome and interior lights.

Hope that helps.

Alan Horvath
<a href="http://AlanHorvath.com/54chevy/" target="_blank">54 Chevy Pickup</a>

thanks , how do i go about tracing the wire back w/ out ripping the dash the whole way out... ive tried to take off as much as i can... but i cant get any further is there an easy way to trace the wire back to the switch?? i have a voltmeter and a test light from a friend. another thing i wanted to mention is my headlights and interior dimmer are seperate switches. the dimmer is only activated when the headlights are turned on. how does the headlights being switched on enable the dimmer switch and can that be the problem?? because the dome light which is activated by turning the dimmer all the way to the top works. ~thanks for replying , i really appreciate it... im 16 and this is a huge task for me but its possible for with your help.

1 - To trace the wires, it's definitely a pain in the butt! I stick my head up behind the dash (after snapping my spine in half in the attempt!) ... but with my '54 Chevy pickup, at least, I CAN get my head up there (partially). The other deal is by playing "Blind Man" and feeling with your hand -- finding a wire that comes out of a gauge and slowly working your hand along it until you come to (hopefully) the headlight switch. This has also become easier for me since I totally rewired the truck myself with a new <a href="http://www.ezwiring.com/18_fuse__21_circuit_harness.htm" target="_blank">EZ-Wire Kit</a>

NOTE! : Again, make sure you disconnect both battery terminals before doing any of this -- a shock from a car battery is a very PAINFUL thing!!!

2 - It definitely sounds like your headlight switch is wired wrong. The dimmer switch, which turns on the dome light, should work the dome light with the headlights OFF ... and this may very definitely be your whole problem. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you rewired the headlight switch properly that your gauges would work right.

Alan Horvath
<a href="http://AlanHorvath.com/54chevy/" target="_blank">54 Chevy Pickup</a>

[ May 22, 2003: Message edited by: horvath ]</p>

sounds to me like burt out bulbs or a bad headlight switch.