Questions and Answers
Camero Lost Dash Lights
Q. Vincent, My 1989 Chevy Camaro IROC Z has no dash lights. Every time I put a new fuse in and pull the light switch, the fuse blows. Sometimes it'll take another fuse instead of just the dash light fuse such as my brake light fuse. What happened? Do you have any suggestions as to what it is or how to cure this problem?
I'm thinking its a mechanics worst nightmare... a short. I've had it all apart and I didn't see anything abnormal.
Thank you for your time.
BrettA. Locating a short circuit can be a headache, but following a set procedure should allow you to locate it fairly easily.
Now this car is prone to burning out Instrument Cluster (IC) circuit boards. Since it is easy to remove the IC, I would remove it, put in a new fuse and turn on the lights. If the fuse doesn't blow, then it's the IC PC board and you'll have to replace the IC.
If it still blows, then you have to break the circuit into sections and test each section for a short. My article Electrical Troubleshooting will tell you what you need and how to troubleshoot an electrical system.
You haven't been swapping radios have you? The light circuit that lights the cluster has a wire that goes to the radio for night time illumination. If a radio has been swapped, it's possible that wire has been hooked to a ground instead of the lite, or most newer radios have a constant light inside and don't need this wire.
Additional Information provided courtesy of ALLDATA
