98 t&c lx 3.8

QuestionEdit

hi roland its michelle aain. ok so now we dont have the dash working again the alarm set lihts lit and nothing else. my husband has soldered all the joints and checked the plug to connect for spark it has it he said that if he messes with the dimmer wheel that eventually the lights come on but not the tach ect. he wanted o know if they are connected. also the fans are not working he changed the relay wanted your info on this as well. the car drives starts no problem oh the dash went out after we bought and installed the new battery he had used his battery from his truck the other day bought a brand new one and dash dont come on. any info you would have is greatly appreciated. thanks

AnswerEdit

Hi Michelle, As to the cluster, check fuse 2 under the dash. Then check for the presence of a ground connection on pin 7 of the instrument cluster plug. That black/light green ground wire goes to a 14-pin multiple ground bus plug that is under the dash at the midline and attached to the fire wall. If either the power from the fuse on pin 11 (which should be there in the 'run' position of the key, or that ground wire wasn't firmly connected between the cluster pin 7 and ground, then that might explain the non-function. The other possibility I told you about earlier was having to do with the twisted pair of 'bus' wires that are part of the data distribution system and I gave you the connections to check for assurance that the data to run the cluster is getting to it. (Let me know if you need that info again.) The power for the dash lights are also fuse 2 and the ground for that circuit is a similar 14-pin ground bus plug near the left side kick panel under the dash. The radiator fans run off fuse 24 in the under hood box, and also depend upon a ground connection on the left side frame rail in the engine compartment where the - post of the battery cable is also connected. Because the problems began again when the battery was changed I would inspect carefully the wires on the - post battery clamp and the + post battery clamp. And also notice that there are three wires on the - post clamp and it would be good to go to the far end of each of those wires and make sure they have a clean/tight connection to the body/frame. One of those wires at a battery clamp may be corroded/flakey due to battery acid corrosion. Please 'rate' my answer, as you have been so kind to do earlier. Roland