No gauges, some help would be appreciated 1976 FJ40

[Jonny Tsunami]

None of my gauges in the cluster are working, with the exception of the amp meter and the background lighting, they come back intermittently and then stop working, I took the cluster out and inspected it, all connection seen ok, could it be a ground issue? where do I look, the fuses seem ok too. later that night the left turn signal indicator light decided to stop working, the signal lights work on the outside of the car just not in the cluster, it started working again 20 minutes later. Any suggestion would help?
Thanks!

 

[camcruiser13]

ah yes, electrical gremlins.

get yourself a good testerand start testing, got a short somewhere

 

[Jonny Tsunami]

Anybody else have this issue?

 

[justbecause]

i had all the issues you described and then some. all came from bad fuses/bad connections in the fuse box eventually ill be taking that out and installing a modern fuse box somewhere
my bandaid so far has been new fuses and when something goes out i can normally rotate the fuses and or pop the fuse box on the sides/front just enough to give it a little wiggle normally works everything back into place

careful though that fuse box can get pretty hot when something isnt working correctly

and it probably has fire hazard written all over it but ya know thats just something im living with right now

 

[bufitfn]

definate short at the fuse block or at the multi pin connector. Prob fuse block. I had same issue.
Good luck[STRIKE][/[STRIKE][/STRIKE]STRIKE][STRIKE][/STRIKE]

 

[Jonny Tsunami]

what should I look for when I disconnect the fuse block?

 

[40's rock]

I have problems with the block on my 79. you want all the connections to be bright and shiny. The better the contact, the less likely a problem will develop. Clean all the contacts, connection screws and toss the old fuses, buy new ones. Make sure all the connections are tight and the wires are cleaned and shiny also. A brass toothbrush works well.

 

[Jonny Tsunami]

Ill pick up some new fuses and cleaning it up, I guess this is a common problem. Thanks for the info guys.

 

[JohnnyC]

I had to go thru most every connector on my truck...15+ years ago...i think i may need to do it again some time

cleaned up and dielectric greased most connectors...not at the fuses ...but definatly the back connector of the fuse block

 

[CruisetheLand]

Check your body to frame ground and engine to frame ground. Could be something as simple as that too. Good Luck.

 

[Jonny Tsunami]

I took the fuse block out last night cleaned all the connections and connectors, replaced all the fuses with new I still have the same problem, but now I have a bright and shiny fuse panel. Where is the body/ frame ground connection located???