helgioiisac
New member
Issues with the Instrument Panel
Yesterday, I encountered an issue with the instrument panel.
!!! The speedometer, odometer, tachometer stopped working. The indicator lights on the right side were incorrect, the engine temperature gauge was stuck in the upper position, and the backlighting was off. !!!
I have a hardtop installed, and the power cable for the rear window defroster was connected. The defroster button was on, but the defroster wasn’t working.
Event Timeline:
I took a trip, and the instrument panel worked correctly.
I returned, turned off the ignition, slightly adjusted a bundle of wires sticking out from under the front passenger-side dashboard (below the airbag), and went home
An hour and a half later, I came back, turned the ignition on with no issues, but the instrument panel was not working (as described at the beginning of the post). Everything else worked fine. I turned the car off and restarted it several times, but it didn’t help. I had to drive as-is for 20 minutes.
After arriving, I checked everything again and noticed that the indicator light on the hardtop defroster button was blinking. I turned the defroster off, started the engine, and the instrument panel started working perfectly (the hardtop’s power cable remained connected). Thinking the problem was resolved, I turned off the engine and went on with my business.
When I returned and started the engine again, the panel worked fine. I drove home, turned the engine off.
An hour later, I started the engine again, and the panel worked fine. I drove to my next destination, parked, and everything was normal.
After 4 hours, I returned, turned on the ignition, and the instrument panel came on as expected. However, when I tried to start the engine, it failed on the first attempt but started on the second, and the instrument panel shut off.
I drove home with the panel off, parked, and disconnected the hardtop power cable. When I turned the ignition on, the instrument panel didn’t turn on. Multiple attempts were made, but to no avail.
Root Causes of the Problem:
1. The power supply to the rear window defroster was not working until I adjusted the wire bundle behind the dashboard.
2. After this, a short circuit occurred in the defroster switch when it was in the “on” position. Turning the switch off removed the short circuit.
So, my question is: What should I look at when trying to fix the problem, and what is the recommended diagnostic procedure?
Thank you.
Yesterday, I encountered an issue with the instrument panel.
!!! The speedometer, odometer, tachometer stopped working. The indicator lights on the right side were incorrect, the engine temperature gauge was stuck in the upper position, and the backlighting was off. !!!
I have a hardtop installed, and the power cable for the rear window defroster was connected. The defroster button was on, but the defroster wasn’t working.
Event Timeline:
I took a trip, and the instrument panel worked correctly.
I returned, turned off the ignition, slightly adjusted a bundle of wires sticking out from under the front passenger-side dashboard (below the airbag), and went home
An hour and a half later, I came back, turned the ignition on with no issues, but the instrument panel was not working (as described at the beginning of the post). Everything else worked fine. I turned the car off and restarted it several times, but it didn’t help. I had to drive as-is for 20 minutes.
After arriving, I checked everything again and noticed that the indicator light on the hardtop defroster button was blinking. I turned the defroster off, started the engine, and the instrument panel started working perfectly (the hardtop’s power cable remained connected). Thinking the problem was resolved, I turned off the engine and went on with my business.
When I returned and started the engine again, the panel worked fine. I drove home, turned the engine off.
An hour later, I started the engine again, and the panel worked fine. I drove to my next destination, parked, and everything was normal.
After 4 hours, I returned, turned on the ignition, and the instrument panel came on as expected. However, when I tried to start the engine, it failed on the first attempt but started on the second, and the instrument panel shut off.
I drove home with the panel off, parked, and disconnected the hardtop power cable. When I turned the ignition on, the instrument panel didn’t turn on. Multiple attempts were made, but to no avail.
Root Causes of the Problem:
1. The power supply to the rear window defroster was not working until I adjusted the wire bundle behind the dashboard.
2. After this, a short circuit occurred in the defroster switch when it was in the “on” position. Turning the switch off removed the short circuit.
So, my question is: What should I look at when trying to fix the problem, and what is the recommended diagnostic procedure?
Thank you.
- Year
- 1997
- Mileage
- 111000
