Wiring woes....
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 12,065
Likes: 2
From: Smalltownville Michigan
Cruise-In 5, 6 & 10 Veteran
St. Jude Donor '09
Wiring woes....
The other day while driving, i had an issue where the radio died suddenly and then I realized that I had no dash lights either. When I got home, I also realized that I also had no tail lights. Everything I have read tells me that the only thing the lights and the radio share in common is the fuse panel. Using this logic, I unscrewed the fuse panel and looked back there expecting to see a pile of corrosion. Yes, there was some slight corrosion, but nothing to raise any concern. After spraying a serious electrical component cleaner and letting it dry, I put everything back together and started it up... no dash lights, no radio still and to top it off, no hazards now. So I took a digital picture of where all the connections on the front go and took every thing including fuses off the panel and resprayed it. If this doesnt work, I'm at wits end. I don't wanna pull the entire harness but, if I have to, I will. i know that some of you have encountered this issue, so what did you do to fix it??? Please help me before my neighbors see this icon and think of me.... 
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 12,065
Likes: 2
From: Smalltownville Michigan
Cruise-In 5, 6 & 10 Veteran
St. Jude Donor '09
I took a volt meter and went across the connections for both the radio and the dash lights.. no volts...i'm sure that it's a corrosion issue but whats the best way to remove it???
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 12,706
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From: Scottsdale Arizona
Try starting with the Volt meter at the fuse box and working the other direction. If the problem is wiring, this will be the most methodical way to find it. You'll have to go to a wiring diagram or, heaven forbid, a manual to find out which are the appropriate fuses. You might even luck out and find a blown fuse.
Always try the simplest solution first! That's my motto in any case.
Always try the simplest solution first! That's my motto in any case.
Last edited by CA-Legal-Vette; Jul 25, 2004 at 03:17 PM.
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 12,065
Likes: 2
From: Smalltownville Michigan
Cruise-In 5, 6 & 10 Veteran
St. Jude Donor '09
Well I finally got it fixed. After spraying tha back side of the panel really good with contact cleaner and scrubbing any corrosion on it off, i put it back together and then tried it. Still no luck. I finally got sick of it and decided to take a digital picture of all the terminal connections on the front and then took all of them off as well as taking out all the fuses , the turn signal flasher and a circuit breaker. I sprayed down the front and let it sit. I then cleaned all the fuses, flasher and circuit breaker. I then put everything back together and lo and behold, It all works again! And to top it off, all the dash lights and even the tail lights are brighter!! I didn't think it was a switch, but was semi leary of the wiring itself due to age and the bubba that owned my car before my dad did...I do appreciate the help you all gave me. I did shoot for voltage across the connections of the fuse contact areas and there was nothing. I'm just thankful that I didnt have to pull the entire panel and harness... that would have been really high on the suckage scale!
