alright so listen, I painted my interior trim. didn't break any clips, harnesses, wiring anything...but now my gauges won't go on. or any other my interior lights for that matter, with the exception of my mirror lights. any ideas? I'm pretty pissed. kind of difficult to drive at night without a speedo or tach

thanks!

 

wtf? you took the plastic off and now the gauges dont come on? did you accidentally snag a wire?

 

nah man...the harness for the dimmer switch (makes it lighter and brighter) all of the connections are fine from what I can see. the only thing that got messed up was the small backlight for the foglight switch got ripped off but I soldered it back in...and that shoudn't effect it anyway. all of the wires look like they're connected to the pins in the harness. maybe I'll see something in dayight but even with a bright ass flashlight everything looks tight as can be

 

hmm..check the fuses on the passenger side ( by the feet ) and see if anything decided to commit suicide

 

that's kinda what I was thinking...too dark and late and too buzzed to check right now. figured i'd ask and see if anyone had any other ideas

 

x2 wires come loose fuses pop

 

x3
You have to disconnect the neg lead on the battery when you pull any wire harness apart. Otherwise when you re connect them you blow a fuse, which I guess you found out the hard way (I think we all did for one thing or another)

 

lol it appears as though I learned the hard way....I'm gonna go check my box now...I'm assuming I'm looking for fuse #7 (as per the manual its the "cluster") here's hoping that's all it is

ok I'm at a total loss. no blown fuses. no VISIBLE loose connections. hooked up the dimmer switch harness to a voltmeter and it was dead, no power. the foglight switch is totally functional and has power.


cliffs:
no blown fuses
basically all of my backlighting is not working
my DIC is working
HVAC controls working as well as the indicator light to show when ac or defroster is on etc
HVAC back lighting not working
Can't find the loose connection anywhere...anyone have any ideas?

bump to the topppppppp



bump?

 

check all fuses with avoltmeter and dont forget the ones under the hood...

 

Check the fuses and the relays under the hood, sounds like it localized itself to one system so it should be easier to track back through the car.
follow the wiring to the source , taking readins along the way, when you find power you know you have gone to far

 

sure you didn't turn the knob all the way down when you put the trim back in? Just a quick thought

 

lol yeah I think I'm good there...it's definitely localized. all of the mechanical functions of the switches work (windows work, mirrors move, fog lights go on, hvac works, dic works, gauges work) just no lights!

anyone have any particular fuses in mind? I checked the ones that I think it is but throw some out there...

 

??? probably something in the interior fuse box

 

ok so here's where my mechanics and I have gotten. there's a fuse under the hood fuse box for daytime running lamps. something is overloading the circuit because everytime we put a fresh fuse in there it pops it immediately. so, there is a wire, somewhere, that is grounding out and causing a short and for my car to eat fuses. so we have to try and track it down. ******* crazy.

what I don't understand is that all I did is literally take the plastic off and unclip everything. I changed a strut on a mercedes today, and I've never changed a strut before, without any problems. but I touch plastic and **** gets fucked up. what the ****...

 

try it with the buttons unplugged.

 

which buttons? you mean the switches to turn each item on and off?

 

ya..

 

alright...the car is at the mechanics to see if they can figure out something I can't. I'll them tomorrow to give them the idea if they haven't already done it.

thanks man

 

I have a feeling that your problem was already there, you just agrivated it when you pulled your trim out. You might want to check the molex at the door, maybe pulled a wire loose when disconnecting the plugs.
If you do what emp says and it solves the problem, re hook them up in small groups, it will take a while but at least you'll narrow down the area the problems coming from. Also check that backlight you fixed for resistance, a small speck of soder in the wrong place might not be all that visable but could cause problems.
If your poping fuses right away then your shorting somewhere, maybe the wire was already knicked or cut and when you puulled things apart changed its position to touch something metal

I feel for you guy, this must be frustrating....hang in there. These things are usually easily fixed and starring you right in the face, there just overlooked.

 

thanks man I really appreciate that.

thanks for the suggestions everybody

right now it's looking like a headlight switch