I finally got to the interior of our 82 GT restoration and removed the dash and wiring harness, so I can remove the stereo, speakers, amp, control switch, and re-wrap the harness. I completed the harness re-wrap and decided to modify the stereo enclosure to accommodate a double din stereo. I'm also going to alter the center console so it butts up to the stereo extension, but that's for another day. I installed the harness into the dash and installed the dash into the car, and connected all the connections. I tried to start the car after connecting the battery but nothing happened. I verified the headlights came on but the dash lights didn't come on. I decided to remove the harness from the dash and just install the harness into the car, so I can make sure the connections are tight. I get the exact same response as before, and am now looking at the schematic to try and troubleshoot. I also threw a charger on the pretty new battery to make sure that's not the issue. Does anyone know where I should focus my attention?
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Re-installed Wiring Harness and Nothing Happens When I Try to Start the Car
- Thread starter desarey
- Start date
After I placed the harness on a table to start the inspection process, I realized I did not connect the 4 pin manual transmission connector. I immediately thought that was the culprit behind the engine not turning over so I connected the harness back up, and bam - the engine now turns over. Now that that problem is solved, I'm on to why none of the dash lights come on when I turn the parking or headlights on. Fuse 13 is good and I'm getting 12v when the lights are turned on. I'll see what pins of the two dash connectors should provide 12v and go from there.
broncojunkie
Well-Known Member
I believe you should have a ground lug under the dash and also, the twist-in bulb sockets are notorious for having a weak connection. You can twist them out and pull/bend out the brass contacts slightly so they make a better connection. You can also buy replacements pretty cheap, last I checked.
You were right bronkjunkie about the twist-in bulb sockets, because once I cleaned them with lemon juice they all started working. I bought new blue LED's from DDM tuning for the dash and I'm surprise at how "not" bright they are. I bought other bulbs from hipoparts that are 30% brighter so I'll see if those are what I'm expecting.
broncojunkie
Well-Known Member
Glad it was an essay fix! I bought some cheap green led's for my 79 and they're almost too bright. Did you bend the contacts out so they make a solid connection with the board? I know that made a difference with the old incandescent bulbs, but I think led's are either working or not. I think I've also heard of folks having issues with dirt getting built up on the lens over the years. A good cleaning from the inside might help. Just tread lightly on these parts. They're delicate and brittle with age!
I discovered there are blue covers inside the dash that gives the white bulbs a blue hue. I took those off since I'm using blue LED's and the display is a bit brighter, but I notice the headlight dimmer if moved slightly causes the LED's to flicker. I'm giving serious thought to bypassing the stock dimmer and wiring in a small DWM dimmer. Has anyone tried doing this since changing their bulbs to LED's?
broncojunkie
Well-Known Member
I haven't tried that, although, I did have to replace my headlight/dimmer switch so it was new before the led upgrade.