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winter project time! Gauges first..

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Old Jan 5, 2009 | 11:00 AM
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From: minnesota
Default winter project time! Gauges first..

It's the magic time of year again in Minnesota where it's too cold to take the vette out. So I'm going to work my way through the list of things that have gone wrong since I got it.......
1) Find and fix the dash electrical gremlin.

When the lights go on the electronically controlled gauges, tachometer, battery, oil pressure etc all go out. Turn the lights off, and they all come back. I'm guessing it's not a fuse....

This wasn't a problem when I got it, and my instinct is that I need a new printed circuit for the back of the centre console. This problem started after pissing around back there and removing it. Any way of testing a circuit? Any other likely sources?

Where should I start?

Thanks in advance, and Happy New Year to you all!!!
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Old Jan 5, 2009 | 11:15 AM
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From: Millersville, MD
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Since it is related to turning on the lights I would pull the center cluster and double check those bulbs and it's sockets/connections to the printed circuit card. Also check all of your grounds. I had my center guage cluster out during the fall and I know what a P.I.T.A it can be. If you do have it out, now would be the time to replace or address anything else...
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Old Jan 5, 2009 | 12:36 PM
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St. Jude Donor '09
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I agree it probably is your printed circuit "board" film. You can use a multi-meter to test continuity. I replaced both boards when doing some behind the dash work last spring. Got them from Willcox.
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Old Jan 5, 2009 | 12:42 PM
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I just had my center cluster out last week to do a quartz upgrade on the clock. When I put it back in, the clock would only work when the lights were off. It turned out to be loose ground connection. See my thread titled 79 clock rebuild for more info specifically about the center cluster.
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Old Jan 5, 2009 | 02:10 PM
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From: minnesota
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thanks for all the quick responses, I'll be taking it apart again this week sometime.

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