Dash problems in a 1988
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Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 92
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Dash problems in a 1988
The center section of my instrument cluster has gone dark on the tempreture side of the panel. It works and in the daylight it can be read. Is there a light bulb that has gone out or do I need to get it rebuilt?
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 164
Likes: 1
From: Modesto California
Most likely a bad connection. Time for a cleaning. There are alot of threads here on how to clean the connections and grounds. If that doesn't work maybe it needs a rebuild...mine does. Good luck!
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 54,124
Likes: 30
From: Cincinnati, Oh USA
There are 4 lamps that backlight your cluster and one or more lamps have burned out. These are #882 lamps. You can get to them by removing the dash panel in front of the cluster. You will see 4 silver reflectors over the lamps, remove them. Turn the ign on so you can see which lamps don't work. Put a loop of masking tape around the defective lamp and use a needle nose pliers on the overlap and pull straight out. The lamps have two parallel pins. DON'T turn the lamps because they are in a socket that turns and locks in the rear circuit board and if you turn them, the socket will drop and you will have to remove the cluster and disassemble the cluster to put the sockets back in. Check the old bulbs with an ohmeter because sometimes the flat springs on the socket stop making contact with the circuit board causing the lamps to go off. The cluster must be taken apart to clean the socket (or replace the socket) and the circuit board conductor has to be cleaned. If the lamp is open circuit, hold the new lamp with a piece of tubing and press the lamp STRAIGHT (no turning) into the socket. Turn on the ign to see if the new lamp lights then replace reflectors. Replace the dash panel and go on your merry old way.
Drifting
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 1,428
Likes: 7
From: Chewelah Wa
I just completely went through my cluster, resoldered all the board pins and replaced the bulbs. My turn signal indicators and tach were non functional, and it occasionally blacked out, only to be brought back to life with a sharp smack on top of the dash. They wanted 11 bucks apiece for the 882 bulbs which I refused to pay, and found some similar 5 watt halogen bi-pin bulbs at an electrical supply house for 5 bucks each. The bulbs were a bit taller and did not fit all the way in the base, and were touching the metal caps. I put it in and my turn lights we working, but no tach. I traced the wire, and found where someone had spliced in a new tack filter, and underneath the shrink tube the connection had broken. 3 hours of trying to strip the ends and reconnecting the wires with one hand, (not much room behind the block), all was working, until the center cluster cracked! ARGGGH! I am getting a new center LCD on ebay and some cooler Xenon bulbs, and one of those fancy blue and white panels. I now know more about early C4 clusters than I really ever wanted to know. Seems like these projects are always quite the learning experience.
