instrument lights out... help?

[Chaotic1]

i was working on trying to get the illumination on my head unit working and blew out the instrument panel and glove box lights... i checked the fuses and they look ok. i replaced the glove box bulb to see if it had blown, and it didn't help... i guess that leaves a short... i'm praying that if it's a short that it is around the head unit's wires and not some hard to reach place...

anyhow, i was wondering if anyone might have any ideas on this... anyone have the same problem? just couldn't leave well enough alone...

[1991240xs]

does anyone know if there is a fuse that works just the gauge lights and hvac?

[Chaotic1]

yeah, the fuse box is on the left side of the driver-side footwell. lift off the panel and it'll have a diagram. the gauge (meter) fuse is the 2nd one from the bottom in the left-side column. can't remember which was HVAC.

now if you're asking this with regards to my situation, my fuses are fine. although i did blow $3 on fuses anyways.

[1991240xs]

you find a solution to gauge lights being out then?

[Chaotic1]

nope... taking it to the dealer tomorrow to have them trace it... it's gonna cost me $90 just for them to trace the problem and give me an estimate on how much it's gonna cost to fix it... ridiculous... couldn't leave well enough alone... and paying for it now... gah...

[1991240xs]

well let me know what you find out...hopefully mine will be a similar problem..if it is then i'll worship you for paying the 90 dollars that i don't have!

[Chaotic1]

so you have the same problem? what triggered your problem, fiddled with your radio too? is your HVAC lights out too or just your gauges? what about the glove box?

if your HVAC lights went out too, then it's either the fuse or a short... if it's a short, and you're not an eletrician, you'll want someone to trace it, e.g. check if power is still going to the lights, if not, find up to what point there is power and fix where the power is getting stopped... that's what costs $$$.

my case is bizarre because only my gauges and glove box went out... everything else is fine. sounded like the light bulbs blew out but i swapped the glove box bulb and it didn't come back.

[crypt2k]

if you hooked ur radio up wrong then that might cause the problem... disconnect it and see if the lights come on again.. if they do... rewire the radio again... just make sure you match the right wires.

one time my wipers turned on when i turned on the lights when i messed up in radio wiring.

[Chaotic1]

nope. the radio was wired correctly. everything worked except illumination, my radio has 1 wire, and the car has 2 wires... for some reason i thought it smart to use the ground wire as the 2nd wire... doh... that blew things out. so most likely it's a short... i'm just surprised the fuse didn't stop it from happening... *#%$#(!

[mewt240]

check that your TCU is not damaged. it's located under the fuse box on the S13. mine was fried when (short )circuit city installed my headunit. it kills all your interior illumintation (except for ashtray and dome light). Nissan wanted hundreds of dollars from me to trace the problem. good luck

[Chaotic1]

$#%$# dammit!!!!

guess what the problem was? a blown 15W fuse, which means it was neither of the 10W meter nor electronics fuses. i had visually inspected the fuses and was certain it wasn't a fuse, but i guess i should just bought myself a damn fuse tester... $90 later, i learned my lesson... and it hit me right where it hurts... the wallet.

[Syntax360]

damn man....i would prolly replaced all the fuses in the box for $7 bucks or whatever before hittin up the dealship. that sucks

[Chaotic1]

yep... i wasn't thinking straight... i panicked when the lights went out and didn't think clearly... heck i even bought a box of various fuses from 5W to 20W, but did not use them... it was most likely the radio fuse, which i believe is 15W, but a visual inspection didn't show any problems and i only had the 10W fuses tested by the guys at Kragen (they have a tester and will test it for you, but i only tested the ones for meter and electronics... didn't want to ask the guy to test 20 something fuses for me)... you really need to run it by a fuse tester, which is included with $20 packs of fuses... i'm an idiot. all you folks avoid commiting the same stupidity that i did. keep your head clear and think calmly when something goes wrong and you'll save yourself a lot of pain.

[BabyboyDeLa240]

hey that was some good info and ****... i kind of had the same problem but it was with my radio speakers and $hht cause i had some wire touch some metal with power still on (dumb@$$ me) but it like shorted the wiring on my receiver so i had no sound what so ever... the way i had to do it now was to buy a 4 channel amp and wire it that way.. it kind of was a good thing cause it puts less strain on the reciever now... but i still don't have sound from the reciever when i hook up the wires... not sure if its the fuses cause i looked at some of them not all of them but now i will look at it when i get to it... thanks

[JDM_180SX]

i had same problem, but i knew it was a fuse, but if your instrument panel was out, then your back taillights were out also. thank goodness i diddnt get pulled over for that.

[1991240xs]

check that your TCU is not damaged. it's located under the fuse box on the S13. mine was fried when (short )circuit city installed my headunit. it kills all your interior illumintation (except for ashtray and dome light). Nissan wanted hundreds of dollars from me to trace the problem. good luck

I got a question..where is the TCU??? I took a pic of the drivers side kick on the s13 so you can just circle it to let me know ro something ^Isn't wasting bandwidth because it's hosted somewhere else~

[1991240xs]

and is it the white box?..i took the circuit board out and it looks to have no shorts on it~

[1991240xs]

any help?

[Chaotic1]

no idea about the TCU, but did you go buy a fuse tester and test all your fuses? and if the interior ones check out, check the ones under the hood too.

[1991240xs]

i visually checked all of them..i need to go buy a fuse tester..but all of mine looked perfect~

[mewt240]

yes, the white box is the TCU. the switch from the stalk and your ill. control sw(on the dash to the lower left) is tied to this which in turn controls your lights. (timing control unit)

[Chaotic1]

i visually inspected mine too, but $90 says that visual inspection isn't always good enough... get a tester. before you even mess with the TCU (unless you know what you're doing), make sure all your fuses are good.

[1991240xs]

ok..i'm about to go get a fuse tester. If that doesn't work, what to do next? Should I try the dimmer switch on the dash(is that even a dimmer switch, it's just a little button with a light that can be adjusted up or down(not the headlamp up or down button))....Or should i replace the tcu(know where a perfectly good 240sx is in a junkyard that is now only missing it's windows and the gauge pod~

[mewt240]

try your dimmer switch first. check your fuses with the tester too as chaotic said. you definitely want to eliminate the obvious first. if that doesn't work it's probably your TCU. ask the junkyard if you can return it if it doesn't help.

[slipnfall]

I myself have a cluster to get working on my 92 coupe... I would suggest to the folks here still having problems to invest in a decent multi-meter.(DMM) You can get by with a cheap $10 one from Rat Shack. Anyways most spade-style fuses have their terminals exposed at the top... this is for testing in-circuit. Just connect you meter to a good ground, and probe the tops.. _both_ terminals must have +Battery voltage to be good. Or if you feel like pulling them out 1 at a time, test for resistance across each.

Anyways for the cluster... an open in the power wiring to the cluster _may_ be open(ie cut). Thus no fuses blown. I would check the wiring starting from the fuse panel, all the way to the rear of the cluster harness. If this is good, check the cluster is getting a good ground. A FSM really helps for wire colors.

If anyone wants me to explain further, feel free to email. -Jamie

[jameson is dope]

03 nissan maxima everything woks fine the only problem is when the head lights are on the instrument panel does not luminate! any body got any suggestions?

[rousie13]

Did you try turning the dimmer switch? It might be very low or off, so when you turn on your lights, it won't light up. Just an idea. I had the same problem with my 240 and it was the TCU.