67 Eldorado Trouble Lights

[67 Cadillac]

Hi,

I just finished rebuilding the dash in my 67 Eldorado. Everything sems to be great except one thing. When I turn the ignition key to accessory the trouble lights just flicker and go out. I know they should stay on until the car is started. Does anyone have any idea what could be causing this? I could use the help!!

Jeff

[Julien Abrahams]

I would check if it is properly grounded.

[67_Eldo]

When I turn the ignition key to accessory the trouble lights just flicker and go out.

Checking all the grounds is your best bet. That "printed circuit" wiring the instrument cluster together seems sturdy, but at 50+ years old, it has endured a lot.

Since you are going to (probably) take it out of the dash again (yuk), I would clean all the copper contact areas on the printed circuit sheet with a corrosion remover. Also clean the contacts of the plug that connects the Eldo's wiring harness with the instrument cluster. I use Wright's Copper Cream on all of my copper contacts and so far it has done a great job. Just don't get it on your skin: It is potent stuff!

Also, when reassembling all of the pieces -- particularly the gauges -- make sure you place the washers and the gauge contacts in proper order (e.g. the order in which you removed them).

Once you've got the instrument cluster reassembled but before you jam it back into the dashboard bezel, check all the traces with an ohmmeter to make sure there are no crappy connections between the pins on the printed-circuit sheet and the plug that connects the printed circuit to the rest of the electrical system.

Good luck! That's a painful job!

[67 Cadillac]

Thanks a lot guys. I did check everything. Probably not as well as I could have. Yuk is right though!! After I got everything back together I thought that there is no way I want to do that again.....oh well. Before I go back into the dash, do you think there could be a poor connection in the ignition switch?
J

[67_Eldo]

do you think there could be a poor connection in the ignition switch?

To put it bluntly, no. But checking the switch (and the connections at the fuse box) is easier than pulling the instrument panel so why not? :-)

The larger pink wire is the key to electrical life when the switch is on. You might take a peek (and perhaps wiggle) every connection that the pink wire makes.

But if you had a problem with the switch connection, *everything* would flicker and go crazy for a bit, not just the trouble lights.

Good luck!

[67_Eldo]

One more long shot: I assume the dash pad is still off. If so, reach down behind the instrument cluster and wiggle the big connector that hooks the instruments to the wiring harness. If, after a bit of wiggling, your indicator lights work properly, perhaps the corroded contact is confined to that connector. Try to squirt some electrical contact cleaner into the plug and push it into place.

Even if the wiggle works, it probably won't work for long. So do what you can to clean the contacts off while you're in the neighborhood.

[67 Cadillac]

Okay great. Thanks again for all of your advice.
J