Car: 93 EX Coupe
Okay, I've been working on putting in some gauges (volt, oil pressure, etc). I was an idiot and connected the wrong wire to the dimmer switch and I fried the dimmer switch. So, my question is, is that why ONLY my gauges lights won't turn on? The clock works, and parking lights and such. I'm already on the hunt for another dimmer switch.

Thanks!

SOLVED
Okay, I figured it out...

If anyone else's dimmer switch frys, you can jump the red wire and the black wire to allow the stock instrument gauge lights to illuminate.

 

You pretty much answered your own question there! The park lights and the guages themselves are on a different circuit. The cluster lights are actually all ranby the dimmer switch. You will have to take the instument cluster out and disassemble the gauge cluster. I had that happen on aremotestart thatI didso the dimmerswitch should fix it.

 

Why would I have to remove the gauge cluster?!?

The dimmer switch is in the dash. Well, actually my dimmer switch is on my work desk to see if it was as simple as a resistor, but it was not.

So, are you thinking that once I put in a working dimmer switch my instrument lights will work again?!

 

More info:
The fuse that has instrument lights, license lights, and parking lights is okay. The license lights and parking lights ARE ON! They work fine. Headlights work as well.

There are 3 wires coming from the dimmer switch.
Red (the variable or dimmer voltage),
Black (ground),
and Red/Black (12V constant).

The gauges that I am hooking up require a
Red (12v constant),
Black (ground),
and Orange (another 12v connected to a switch to dim the gauges for night driving).

I wasn't thinking and connected Red/Black to Orange, Black to Black, and Red to Red. That fried the dimmer switch. The reason I did that was because I was too lazy to go back and check my notes. I thought that Red was the constant 12v, errr, wrong. And then I forgot that the orange wire was a 12V dimmer, and that connecting it to a variable dimmer switch would not work.

This is what I should have done is Connect Black to Black, Red to Red/Black, and Orange to a switch.

I soldered all of the 3 gauges' Orange, Black, and Red wires respectfully. Since there is little room where I connected the wires to the dimmer switch I had to use a different method. This where I strip a section of the wire I'm splicing into WITHOUT cutting it in half. I then split the wire of the stripped section from this: |||| to (( )). I insert the wire to be connected through the opening and wrap it around one side then the other. To further ensure that it will hold, I use liquid electrical tape and then once the liquid tape drys I wrap it in quality electrical tape too. I go a little overboard.

 

When you have your new dimmer switch don't hook up the gauges at first and make sure it works with the car stock. Then realize in some models the dimmer switch is in the ground circuit of the panel lights. This means in order to have your aftermarket gauges dimmable you need access to both sides of the light bulb. If you have only the 3 wires you describe it won't work.

You can test that by measuring what the voltage between the red wire and ground does. If it goes up when you turn the dimmer brighter, that's a normal circuit and you can just connect the orange from your gauge to it. If it goes down when you turn the dimmer brighter that means the dimmer is driving the light ground and it's not going to simply connect.

 

The only cluster that I have taken out was mine and another car a year older than mine. I have a 2001 so yours is a little older that could be the difference. All the same the dimmer switch should take care of the problem.

 

Okay, I figured it out...

If anyone else's dimmer switch frys, you can jump the red wire and the black wire to allow the stock instrument gauge lights to illuminate.

 

so no more dimming for you? lol

 

well, not until Saturday when I hit up a pick-n-pull yard in Neenah, WI. The 1.5 hour drive is worth it!

 

I always have mine on the brightest setting, i dont really like dimming them