C3 Tech/Performance V8 Technical Info, Internal Engine, External Engine, Basic Tech and Maintenance for the C3 Corvette
Sponsored by:
Sponsored by:

Dash lights out!

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Sep 2, 2014 | 09:00 AM
  #1  
jbaron's Avatar
jbaron
Thread Starter
Racer
10 Year Member
 
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 370
Likes: 5
From: Bradley Il.
2017 C3 of the Year Finalist
Default Dash lights out!

The fuse keeps blowing out on the dash lights! It was suggested it may be a ground problem. How do I trace this down? Wilcox?
Reply
Old Sep 2, 2014 | 11:30 AM
  #2  
MelWff's Avatar
MelWff
Race Director
20 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 18,710
Likes: 2,574
Default

have you tried tracing the circuit to see what else other than the bulbs are in it? I didnt print the diagram below but it looks like the flasher may be part of it. Fuses blow when a hot wire touches ground when it shouldnt. A ground wire does not cause a fuse to blow.

http://www.keystonestatecorvetteclub...tte%201974.pdf
Reply
Old Sep 2, 2014 | 06:53 PM
  #3  
DUB's Avatar
DUB
Race Director
10 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 19,294
Likes: 2,753
From: Charlotte NC
Default

Dark green wire from the headlight switch supplies 12 volts to the 1/2 size fuse in your fuse panel. Then...this 12 volts goes into a gray wire that goes to all your gauge lights, radio and cigarette lighter light.

YOU CAN NOT pull the fuse and then check the terminal that goes to your dash lights and check for a ground BECAUSE it will show a ground...because you have ALL of your lights installed....thus it is 'finding a ground' through the filament in the bulb.

IF it were me...I would pull the side cover on the drivers side of your console by the radio and see if that gray wire is touching something...then I would check and see if the light assembly for your cigarette lighter has fallen out and the terminal is touching something metal.

To determine which side of the fuse terminals is getting power form the headlight switch and which one is going to your light bulbs...unless you can read the diagram. PULL the fuse. Then using a test light or volt meter....pull the headlight switch and touch the test light or volt meter to the terminals one at a time. The one that goes to 12 volts is the one from the headlight switch....thus...the other one is the one going to your light bulbs.

DUB
Reply
Old Sep 2, 2014 | 09:12 PM
  #4  
jbaron's Avatar
jbaron
Thread Starter
Racer
10 Year Member
 
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 370
Likes: 5
From: Bradley Il.
2017 C3 of the Year Finalist
Default

Thanks DUB, I'll check it out!
Reply
Old Sep 3, 2014 | 07:17 PM
  #5  
John A F's Avatar
John A F
Racer
15 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 363
Likes: 72
From: Somers New York
Default

I had this problem with my 79. It turned out one of the copper pathways on the flex printed circuit board behind the speedo/ tach came loose and would occasionally ground out. Replacing the circuit board solved the problem. It even made the parking brake warning light operational, which never worked since I bought the car 5 years ago.
Reply
Old Sep 3, 2014 | 07:21 PM
  #6  
DUB's Avatar
DUB
Race Director
10 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 19,294
Likes: 2,753
From: Charlotte NC
Default

Originally Posted by John A F
I had this problem with my 79. It turned out one of the copper pathways on the flex printed circuit board behind the speedo/ tach came loose and would occasionally ground out. Replacing the circuit board solved the problem. It even made the parking brake warning light operational, which never worked since I bought the car 5 years ago.
Glad that you got your repaired and working...but...a 1974 is completely different so the printed circuit board was not used in this year model.

DUB
Reply
Old Sep 3, 2014 | 08:13 PM
  #7  
69Vett's Avatar
69Vett
Safety Car
15 Year Member
 
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 3,729
Likes: 267
From: Austin Texas
Corvette of the Year Winner 2017
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
Default

the steering column support is a cast item, and almost all off them have very sharp edges, easy to cut into wire harness, check for cut wires in this area.
Reply
Old Sep 4, 2014 | 11:47 PM
  #8  
jbaron's Avatar
jbaron
Thread Starter
Racer
10 Year Member
 
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 370
Likes: 5
From: Bradley Il.
2017 C3 of the Year Finalist
Default

Thanks DUB, it was the gray wire in the console that was grounding out.
Reply
Corvette Stories

The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts

story-0

10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years

 Joe Kucinski
story-1

How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972

 Joe Kucinski
story-2

Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!

 Michael S. Palmer
story-3

Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!

 Joe Kucinski
story-4

150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter

 Joe Kucinski
story-5

8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time

 Verdad Gallardo
story-6

Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)

 Joe Kucinski
story-7

Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!

 Verdad Gallardo
story-8

Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!

 Brett Foote
story-9

Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!

 Michael S. Palmer
Old Sep 5, 2014 | 06:49 PM
  #9  
DUB's Avatar
DUB
Race Director
10 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 19,294
Likes: 2,753
From: Charlotte NC
Default

Originally Posted by jbaron
Thanks DUB, it was the gray wire in the console that was grounding out.
WINNER...WINNER...CHICKEN DINNER!!!:

Heck...even a broke clock tells time correctly twice a day.

I figured mentioning the obvious first...or at least what I have encountered the most.

DUB
Reply

Get notified of new replies

To Dash lights out!





All times are GMT -4. The time now is 12:18 AM.

story-0
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years

Slideshow: 10 reasons why the C6 Z06 is still a performance benchmark after 20 years.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-27 17:20:09


VIEW MORE
story-1
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972

Slideshow: How much horsepower every Corvette engine lost in 1972.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-27 16:54:53


VIEW MORE
story-2
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!

Slideshow: How to Protect A Convertible Top: 10 DOs & DON'Ts

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-04-03 00:00:00


VIEW MORE
story-3
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!

Slideshow: The 10 most explosive Corvettes ever built based on power-to-weight ratio.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-20 07:23:03


VIEW MORE
story-4
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter

Slideshow: From C1 to C8 we compare every Corvette generation by the numbers.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-12 16:54:12


VIEW MORE
story-5
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time

Slideshow: Some Corvette pace cars became collectible legends, while others perfectly captured the look and attitude of their era.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-11 09:50:51


VIEW MORE
story-6
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)

Slideshow: Ranking the top 10 Corvette engines by torque output.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-05 11:58:09


VIEW MORE
story-7
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!

Slideshow: A Corvette pace car nearly matching IndyCar speeds sounds exaggerated, until you look at the numbers.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-04 20:03:36


VIEW MORE
story-8
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!

Among a rather large group of them.

By Brett Foote | 2026-05-04 13:56:44


VIEW MORE
story-9
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!

Slideshow: the top 10 things Corvette owners want in the C9 Corvette

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-04-30 12:41:15


VIEW MORE