Hey all,

new to the forums.. just want to say hi first.

Secondly, I am a new owner of a used 95' Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie with the V8.. Now to my question. Im having a problem with the dashboard lights that light up the acutal gauges... I first noticed the problem after a new stereo install but it MAY be related to something else. When wiring the new stereo, the harness FROM the vehicle that attaches to the stereo harness did have an orange wire that says 'illumination/dashboard lights' that did not have an equivelent on the stereos harness. So my question is what are some common and not-so common causes for the dashboard lights to go out? Ive checked all fuses.. relays.. all other lights are working BESIDES the gauge illumination lights.. any ideas? any help is much appriciated!

Also, when i hook the factory stereo back up, i still have no dashboard lights... PLEASE help im at my wits end.. ive checked everything i can think of checking. Including tearing down the entire dash looking for a loose or disconnected wires/harnesses etc..

 

Thats wierd. A little while ago I got in and turned on my headlights and noticed my gauge lights weren't working like yours. It was right after I took my head unit out to hook up the factory amp. I was blowing the fuse because something was grounding out but it was an easy fix.

Heres a question for you. Do your parking lights turn on when you pull the ****? Cause when I blew the fuse my guage lights, and parking lights both didn't work. Turn signals and such did.


Oh yeah, WELCOME TO DF!!! [sm=Awwww.gif]

 

Thanks for the fast reply. Yes i just checked and the parking lights DO indeed come on still.. im really out of ideas here :\



Also, does anyone have fuse locations for the 95 Dodge Ram's dashboard lights? I looked in the fuse panel and the only thing i could see closely related was Fuse 13 if i remember correctly. Does the dashboard illumination have its own fuse somewhere? Also does anyone have the wiring schematics for the dashboard illumination lights?

 

I'm thinking it must be something with the wiring behind the gauges.

I'm pretty sure that the orange illum wire is for headunits that can dim. Like factory ones, you can turn the brightness down and the headunit also dims.

I'm not trying to be a moron or jerk face, but have you checked the **** and made sure its turned the right direction and the lights aren't all the way down? It could be worth a try

Also for wiring and how to get the dash out of the top of the forum in the "merry christmas" thread theres a Factory Service Manual that will help alot if you take it apart!

 

lol yea.. ive checked it SEVERAL times.. ive checked everything i can think of.. i took the dashboard apart and checked all plugins behind the dash.. removed gauges etc whole 9..

everything is peachy keen back there.. its something small that im not thinking of Im sure..

 

Do you have a DMM? (Digital Multi Meter) If you do did you check to see of the lights are getting power?

There might be a problem with the **** itself where some wires got knockec loose or something [&:] I dunno what else it could be other then a bad **** or broken connecters or a short

 

yea i do have access to lots of meters.. im a phone guy so im used to measuring current, voltage etc... where would be a good point to meter it at? I was looking at the Service Manual and it says it recieves power from the rheostat?(spelling?) and needs to be grounded at all times.. Should i measure it from the ****?

 

I would measure it fron the **** and if thats getting power you know theres a break in the line somewhere thats not causing the dash to get it. You'd also have to measure it at the dash too by the lights.

 

Check it at the orange wire that used to illuminate the radio, if it is still easy to get to. If it has power, turn the **** and see if test light gets brighter, just to verify that it is for illumination. Easy way to see if circuit has power.