Anyone else just love wiring? Lost pretty much all of my lights, tach stopped working, fuel gauge stopped working, actually pretty much every gauge has stopped working in the last year or so! Started digging into it today, took me awhile to get the console off. Next up is the long process of tracing wires and seeing what is messed up and where. Might end up creating my own wiring harness and using aftermarket gauges yet as I know these stock case ones could be crappy at the best of times! No question or anything, just sharing my pain!
Hey, at least you have a roof over your head, lol.
Actually that is my favorite thing to work on. A few simple tests and you know exactly what your problem is.
@Preppypyro - can you please share how you got the console apart without breaking the plastic. Did you disassemble the linkage for the t-shifter handle and/or speed control valve. I’d really appreciate some insights as I’m also working on electrical issues in the instrument panel
I never minded working on the wiring in the console. It was pretty simple. The first thing I'd go after is the main cab relay on the floor, they were always a problem. You know it makes sense to put a main relay on the floor where all the water and dirt is LOL. I included an old diagram I had for the electrical components. I have been able to source locally but if you want OEM this will give you part numbers and wire size. The relay blocks changed for the L series when they started using the white plastic lock. The connectors changed and had tabs on the side that the lock grabbed to prevent them from being pushed down and out. Hope this is of some help.
It was actually fairly simple. Took out the cluster and key and all of the light switch's and everything. Then I pryed up on the throttle knob to get it off. for the t shifter handle, the button was kind of a pain. i unplugged it from the connection down below, then fed a little slack up to the handle where the button is. After that I actually kind of lazied my way along and fed the shifter handle through the rubber grommet. Its tight but does fit, kinda! I took off the trim that covers the heater lines that go towards the roof, and then simply pulled up on the console. I didn't over pry though as I didn't want to crack anything, and haven't... yet!
Your replies always help so much, I have learned a TON from you, just from reading what you write to others. Is there a good way of checking that relay? I was actually just in the process of making a new wiring harness for all of the lights, was going to fuse them, hook them up through a relay, and bypass all of the factory wiring just for the lights to get them going.
I'd just replace the main relay, not a lot of money and a lot less work.