Do you have your key on when testing? ACC is switched power thru the ignition switch The guages would get power from there, but your dash lights would be connected to the LAMPS fuse which is hot all the time.

 

i guess i should start at the begining,instead of mid-way through my problem.I have no power at the instrument cluster,no dash light,no idiot light no gas gauge.The only thing that does work are my turn signals and they blink sooooo slow its sad.It was with this problem(s) that i started to explore solutions and hunt around a bit.I have very limited electrical skills but have a feeling i will be learning more about the topic.Mark thanks for your reply.If you could give me some suggestions as to where to start looking for a fix.I already have looked at a few things like i said, but that would probably just make this more confusing? I have tried the middle gauge cluster screw ground thing and it appears to be connected okay.The acc thing maybe i called it by the wrong name? The short in lenghth fuse does not have any power at the fuse block with key on or off.I thought that this fuse was on the bat side of the fuse box and had power 24/7?.The lamps fuse is located where? I have ctsy.tail and brake that i can see.But like i said i know just enough to screw this up.

 

68 Fuse box has the following circuits:
Right Side - top to Bottom:

Wiper - 20 amp
Heater A/C - 20 amp
Radio - 10 Amp
Dir Signal/Backup Lamps - 20 amp
Gauges - 10 Amp

All of these above are fed thru the ignition switch and are hot in RUN and ACC positions.

Left Side - Top to Bottom:
Cigar Lighter/Courtesy Lamps - 20 Amp
Tail Lamps - 20 Amp
Stop/Hazard - 20 Amp
Inst Lamps - 4 Amp (little fuse)

All of these except the inst lamps are hot all the time. The Inst Lamp circuit is fed from the light switch.


Middle Row Male Terminals - Top to Bottom:
Unknown - might be spare
Bat - hot all the time
ACC - Hot in Run and Accessory
IGN - Hot in Start only

Small Male Terminal - lower left corner
LPS - hot with light switch in Parking or On.

The headlights are fed thru the lightswitch from the main power terminal on the horn relay in the engine compartment, and the lamps fuse and the LPS terminal in the bottom left corner of the fuse panel is fed from the headlight switch when the switch is pulled halfway or all the way out.

 

mark thanks for the run-down on the fuse box.I,am going into the garage right now with the info on the fuse box in hand and see what i can find.Does the fuel gauge run off the guage 10 amp fuse circuit? I already discovered that the lamps fuse does have power,when i turn on the light switch.but still no dash lights or idiot lights or gas gauge.like i said hopefully more will be discovered.thanks.....

 

The fuel gauge, the idiot lights, both oil press and water temp are fed from the gauges fuse, the generator light is connected between the ignition switch (terminal acc) and the voltage regulator and is lit up when the battery voltage is higher than the alternator voltage so it really isn't fused.

 

Mark i replaced the voltage regulater and the horn relay.i now get the gen light coming on dimly when i turn the key to either acc or ign.and the oil idiot light too.I also have no horn that i used to have before i started and still no dash lights!?!? I will replace the headlight switch tommorow.Also i do have a gas gauge again.I noticed that there was a wire,possibly an extra ground coming from the voltage reg when i unplugged it even prior to putting in the new voltage reg is when my idiot lights and gas gauge showed signs of life.goofy stuff? also when i put on the parking brake the gen light gets brighter.I'am totally confused once again if you can point me in the right direction.your help so far has assisted me in tying to chase this down,Thanks Madcow Mike...

 

What about the ground? Isnt there one behind the center of the instrument panel in back?? Seems I recall folks talking about that bugger being loose at times.

 

Click been there done that.I wish that that was it.I even took the gauge cluster out and had a look.

 

The Generator light will get brighter, the more loads you turn on in the car, so that is working correctly.

Is the instrument lamp fuse any good? sometimes they look good but are blown. Can you measure 12V to ground on both sides of the fuse?

 

Mark the fuse is okay,i measure 12 volts only on one side of the fuse clamp nothing on the other side.this is with the fuse out,with the fuse in both sides.I'am new to this i'am assuming that that would be correct? I took the light switch out tonight and will install the new one tommorrow (kids homework etc etc}.Glad to hear that my gen light is functioning right,but why would it get brighter when i apply the parking brake? and i mean it really lights up!! Once again thankyou,your help with this is great.also again why would the idiot lights not work with an extra ground fron the volt reg? Any ideas?...Madcow Mike.......

[ 01-24-2005, 10:04 PM: Message edited by: madcow ]

 

For those interested i fixed the parking brake- gen light portion of the saga.the green wire had been rubbing on the parking brake assembly when i moved it that problem went away.i now have all the idiot lights working.not that idiot lights are great but it eliminates one more potential problem.I still do not have dash lights.Any ideas would be helpfull.I did plug in a new headlight switch but did not re-install it into the dash.i checked it first by plugging it into the harness connector.do i have to have it mounted first for it to be fully operational?or is my problem with dash lights still lurking elswhere? Thanks T.C member's....

 

Mark,
Quick question on your fuse box outline. I thought the IGN terminal had power when the car is running. I am finishing my car off and have run a number of things like aftermarket guages from this as a power source. Thanks.

Noel

 

Noel, anything labelled "ignition" will have power only if the key is in the "run" position. anytihng labelled "acc" will have power in both the run and the accessory position. Anything labelled "bat" will have powqer regardless of the position of the ignition key.

 

Jim,

Thanks again for the input. Then I am correct to have the guages run to the IGN terminal. Mark's post above says that IGN has power only in the start. My understanding was it is hot in start/run. One more question that will save me a few minutes. Which horn relay terminal should I use for the power supply for the torque convertor, choke etc? I have a window open with the pic you have of the horn relay for reference. Thanks Jim.

Noel

 

Either of the two screw on terminals will work fine, where the red wires are, they are the same point electrically, direct to the battery, 12 volts ALL the time. This would be an ideal place to connect the load side of relay operated accessories such as driving lights or electric cooling fans. It would NOT be a good place to connect guages. THIS IS DIRECT TO THE BATERY< AND IS NOT FUSED.

The guages should connect to the spare "ign" terminal on the fusebox, torque convereter too.

The electric choke can connect here as well, or, if you've put on electronic ignition and taken out your resister wire, you can connect the choke direct to the + side of the coil.

 

That's what I thought. I was looking for a switched source in the engine compartment for the input to the relay. I'll run the load side from the junction block by the battery. The electric fan should have constant 12v even key off, controlled by the sender, shouldn't it?
Noel
ps. appreciate your help!

 

yes

 

don't forget to put a properly sized fuse in, tho

Wire it "from horn relay screw terminal" to "fuse" then from "fuse" to "load side of relay" Then from "other load relay contact" to "fan"

 

Thanks! That's what I was planning to do. Fan draws 17AMPS so I'll fuse accordingly. Appreciate the info on this site.

Noel