[ikickuintheball]

Hey guys. yesterday my dimmer switch blew the circuit for the tail lights (they would only go on while I would brake, or put on my turning signal as if I didn't have my lights on) and that also made the gauge cluster not work. I put in a new fuse and now the dimmer knob doesn't fade. The gauge cluster (and everything that gets faded by the dimmer knob) doesn't fade, and is only at the mid point.. in other words.. they're not nearly as bright as they should be. What could this be caused by? I have the wires hooked up correctly. They have worked for the past week, but now it's pissing me off, and I must cuss at it because it's not working. lol. Any help will be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[NOCM]

With the little bit of info you provided, it sounds like there is a short in the system somewhere. Check all your connections at the dimmer switch, as well as throughout the wiring to the gauge. Make sure that the connections are connected securely, taped or shrink wrapped, and that the wires aren't rubbing on metal anywhere. It is usually something little, like a small bare spot on the wire that is toughing metal. Also, you may have blown out the dimmer switch. You might want to take a Fluke to it and test it out. Good luck

 

[brads]

How did you hook the gauge up? Could you elaborate on that please? What sort/brand of gauge did you hook up? Have you tried removing just the wiring for that gauge to see if everything goes back to normal? If the gauge wiring got messed up, or if something in the gauge itself blew, that could cause what you are seeing. Removing the gauge from the circuit will quickly tell you if thats the problem.

To test a dimmer switch on a 2G, you would have to test the voltage output with it in the car, and everything plugged in. The dimmer is not just a simple potentiometer, and there wouldnt be any simple resistance to check to see if its working. And the voltage swing on the dimmer output is backwards to what you would expect. It will go to a higher voltage as the lights get dimmer.

Brad

 

[ikickuintheball]

I hooked the Autometer Phantom Boost gauge with the black wire to the black/yellow stripe wire and the white wire to the green/white stripe wire. I'm going to try to take the plastic panel off so I can get to the dimmer switch to make sure that none of the plugs came out. Going to make sure that the wires aren't touching any metal. Then I'm check it w/ my multimeter and see if the voltage varies as I turn the knob. Be back in like an hour.