dewcrazzy

I just picked up an 81 and the dash lights where the tach and speedo are working and the light in the shifter area is working, but the lights in the gauge area are not working. I put new bulbs in today and still not working. The seatbelt and other side bulbs work just not the ones you need during night driving. Can't see a thing at night. All gauges even the clock works and keeps great time. Please help!

toobroketoretire

The center gauge cluster needs to be grounded for the lights to work. But I don't remember how they're grounded so maybe another forum member can chime in.

dewcrazzy

it's weird how the 4 side lights work like fasten seatbelts and check engine but nothing in the gauge area.

Easy Mike

Check the IP fuse. Turn the headlight **** up. Interior lights are on a dimmer as part of the headlight switch. Your owner's manual explains it.

dewcrazzy

I've turned the dimmer switch and it dims the dash lights and nothing on the gauge side.

righthanddrive

Perhaps the circuit board has damage .

MotorHead

Probably needs a new circuit board as they tend to deteriorate after 30-40 years

0Willcox Corvette

If the speedo and tach lights are working then the fuse is good. The speedo and tach housing lamps are served by the same power circuit. My guess is there is an issue at the pcb connector.

The power to the lights is the top wire on the right in the picture below. Pull the connector from the pcb and see if that wire has power on it when the lamps are on. Then verify the ground for the circuit

It's always a good idea to test the bulb after it is installed in the socket. You do this by touching power and ground to the terminal on the side of the housing before installation. Verifying the bulb will eliminate it as a source of the issue and it is common for the tiny wires on the side of the bulbs to not make contact with the inner terminals. Sometimes you have to pull the bulb out and bend that wire slightly outward.