Instrument lighting

[rossins]

Hi
Thought someone might have come across this problem before & save me some time sorting it please. Driving along in the GTR last night & all of a sudden the lights illuminating the instruments all went out together. Std instr cluster. When I got home checked connections & fuses but all seem ok. Will have to spend some more time @ weekend.
Any help gratefully recd.
Cheers
simon

[steve_D]

Check to see if you have lost LH side lights as it comes from the same source i.e. Fuse 7.

Steve

[craig-ultima]

Ah, the joy of tracking the thin black/red wires back through the harness...

If the fuses are okay, you should check the integrity of the main lamp switch since it has three positions, and the instrument backlights rely on the switch mechanism working to connect on both the second and third position. In other applications, I've (rarely) had this type of switch fail because of the way a three position switch mechanism works, and how it bends and flexes the contact plates.

Also, the fuse as supplied with my Ultima fuse box was way under-rated for the back-lights. I blew it the first time I tested just a portion of the instruments as I was installing the center body section and dash. I think it was a 3 amp fuse - this is way too small a fuse.

Fast-blow automotive fuses can burn out if a current is drawn for just a quarter of a second that goes over the fuse limit. Cold incandescent lamps, regardless of size, actually create a very high current spike when initially swithed on. A set of instrument back-light lamps wired in parallel may have created enough of a current spike to have blown the fuse, as it did mine.

I hope that helps. If not - post the additional symptoms as you diagnose the problem and hopefully we can be helpfull.

[rossins]

Thanks for the help-problem sorted. The fuse had blown, so i've replaced it with a 5 amp & all seems well now.

Cheers
Simon