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Posted by: tomh May 29 2017, 11:11 PM

Driving home tonite my interior dash lights were not working, both the dash and counsel gauge lights were out. All exterior lights were working fine including the fogs.
The fog light pull switch dose light up when pulled.
The center cabin light also did not work.
Any thoughts, if its a ground wire whats the most likely place i would find it.
I did just recently change all the fuses with new ones.
Thanks

Posted by: oakdalecurtis May 30 2017, 01:50 AM

Not sure what year car you have, but the best thing you can do is to familiarize yourself with these PP electrical diagrams. The more you look at them, the better you get at understanding them and how to use them. I use a small test light alone or in conjunction with a small AA battery power pack with alligator clip leads to test wires, grounds and wire lead continuity all the time.
http://www.pelicanparts.com/914/914_electrical_diagrams.htm

Posted by: porschetub May 30 2017, 03:10 PM

My headlight switch dimmer went to ground and popped the instrument lamp fuse,I just bypassed it so lamps were on full brightness,why you need to dim these weak lights in beyond me anyway.

Posted by: oakdalecurtis May 30 2017, 03:26 PM

Replace your dash bulbs with LED plug and play bulbs, can find them on the net.

Posted by: SirAndy May 30 2017, 03:36 PM

Check your fuses first before you spent any time or money.
Rotate them by hand, sometimes they look OK but will fall apart if you rotate them.

If it is a fuse and it keeps blowing, check the defroster light on top of the center tunnel, just before the shifter, the power to that light can easily short out since the back isn't insulated, which causes the fuse to blow.

Posted by: tomh May 30 2017, 10:11 PM

Great info, I figured there would be a good place to start looking,

Posted by: GregAmy Jul 3 2017, 06:00 AM

Bump!

Any others to look for while I've "assumed the position"? I'm popping this fuse now, too. Or any other "yeah, they do that here too" places to check?

Porsche Jesus, please let this be something easy...

Edit: actually, in re-reading the original post, I may have a different issue. I'm losing the entire gauge console: no indicators, no gauges, fuel, oil, and tach goes dead. That's a different circuit, as I recall. Any easy looks for that one?

Edit 2: Oh, Porsche Jesus, this is looking nasty. That fuse serves us a TON of wiring, including rear stop lamps...if that's a bum wire someplace it will be a bee-otch to isolate...

Posted by: Dave_Darling Jul 3 2017, 09:19 AM

License plate lights. If they're hooked up backwards, you will pop the instrument lights fuse when you turn the lights on. Same power source for both in a 74+ car.

--DD

Posted by: GregAmy Jul 3 2017, 09:58 AM

This was a sudden problem, starting last week. Nothing has changed on the car in quite a bit, car has been running fine...

Edit: disregard, this was in response to the OP.

Posted by: Mikey914 Jul 3 2017, 10:40 AM

chaffing wire? should be simple enough to find, just a pain in the dash to get up under there.

Clean the grounds to get better voltage, however the LEDs work on much less current so they are nice and bright. Also the incandescent bulbs are actually "burning" causing a yellow orange color when not fully powered. The LEDs are a pure white light so when you replace them the gage will look much cleaner and more "new". The difference is very noticeable. The only caution is not to install one on the GEN light as it is a diode and will inhibit current on that circuit. That circuit provides a small charge to excite the field in your alternator. It will inhibit it from charging if you do.

I do have them here if you need them.

http://shop.914rubber.com/Instrument-lights-direct-replacement-set-of-8-bulbs-LED-914LED8.htm?categoryId=-1

Posted by: tomh Jul 3 2017, 11:08 AM

Both of my licenses plate lights are disconnected and taped off.
Could this be my problem?

Posted by: Dave_Darling Jul 3 2017, 03:29 PM

If the tape comes off and one of the hot wires touches a ground, then it could be your problem.

--DD