Hi, I recently got my 87 2.8 5 speed on the road after working on it all winter. It was all working fine until today. First i noticed that my dash lights were coming on an off as I drove. I have LED's in and a stereo system with subs. I check all that to make sure the grounds were not loose. Next I noticed some issues with my turn signal. I check all my fuses. they are all good. I decided to pull the dash cluster to check bulbs and proper fit. After all checked out I reinstalled the cluster and now when I pull my head light **** out in first position my marker lights come on in front and my right turn signal stays on. The left turn signal works when I use the turn signal but my right one will not work. I can get my dash lights to work if i jiggle the cluster but its only a split second. When i pull the **** to 2nd postion my head lights and high beams work but still same issues with turnsignal, dash lights and ac control light. Is this a ground issue? Could my head light switch cause this? Where are the grounds that pertain to the gauge cluster?

 

ive heard of the headlight switch making this happen but it could be a number of things.. i would try disconnecting ur leds and stereo system and then try to track down the bug

 

Ok, So i went down the same road i usually go down. The 5 amp fuse was the problem after tearing apart my dash, headlight switch. ordering a new headlight switch which I cancelled. tearing at my key/door alarm module and almost about to pull my newly installed after market steering wheel to see if the horn wasnt grounded properly.

So now that admitted to being a dumb *** there is a lesson to be learned and a moral to the story. I DID check the fuses first....Visually. And the 5 amp Instrument cluster fuse looked perfect as did all the other fuses in the box. I then checked my haynes manual for the wiring diagrams and followed the only two possible wires. The dark green which goes to the headlight switch and then the dash cluster. And the other wire is the gray wire which runs from the fuse box to many things starting with the door/key alarm then goes to the rear window defogger switch. Then it goes to the stereo and the ac/heater light. The gray wire is for the clock dimmer on stock stereos but the after market does not require it. So I wrapped the gray wire in electrical tape and thats where it sat on the metal of the body. The cause of all this is from the wire arching randomly which makes sense because the lights were failing randomly. Then the lights stopped working completely. This is because the fuse went bad but didnt pop like what typically happens. I found the fuse was bad when i was probing the back of the fuse box to see where I had power and where I didnt and i had power at the dark green wire but none at the gray wire. I used a quick touch of my prob across the fuse and sure enough lights lit up.

Moral of the story is. Always TEST check the fuse in question, especially when something fails with no real good explanation. I hope this helps many of the people who have similar electrical problems after adding lots of after market equipment. Also the blinkers were malfunctioning because i put a single prong brake light bulb in when i needed a two prong turn signal bulb. Yet another mistake i made trying to rush myself before I had to go to work :P

Don't make my mistakes

 

Yes yes yes I have walked in your shoes before, will we ever learn? At least we find out neat stuff about our cars.