No dash lights

Gladiator · Postby **Gladiator** » Mon Mar 05, 2018 4:26 pm

Wolfgang wrote:After some googling...

Could be a faulty TNS relay (located in the engine bay on the fire wall). Apparently your tail lights won't work as well if it's knackered.

Photo

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/imag ... DgXOEswgAU

This thread may help

https://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=571429

Thanks mate. There are a few good tips in there for me to try on Thursday.

My tail lights work, by the way.

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KevGoat · Postby **KevGoat** » Mon Mar 05, 2018 4:57 pm

The horn might be a seperate issue - faulty/dirty contact between the lug on the wheel and the hub ring, or that single horn wire from the steering wheel maybe has a bad connection or is broken inside from being crushed/crimped at some time. Not sure why a dash light would come on with this intermittently though, that's weird.

For the dash lights, just a thought but have you checked for power at that bridge? Also power out from there and then at the instrument panel?

Sounds too simple - but try changing the dash lights fuse for a new one. I had an intermittent electrical fault years ago, spent weeks trying to find it tracing wires, connections, even fitting new cables and eventually found by accident that the stupid fuse had a loose lug connection and was causing it!! ....

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Gladiator · Postby **Gladiator** » Mon Mar 05, 2018 6:18 pm

KevGoat wrote:
For the dash lights, just a thought but have you checked for power at that bridge? Also power out from there and then at the instrument panel?

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Sorry but this is above my knowledge base, Kev.
I don’t know what you mean.

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Gladiator · Postby **Gladiator** » Mon Mar 05, 2018 6:53 pm

On Thursday I’m going to pull apart the earth block that’s in behind the cluster, & give it a good clean. I’ll also pull the steering wheel off & give the back contacts a good clean & then give everything a light coat of Denso contact grease.

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KevGoat · Postby **KevGoat** » Tue Mar 06, 2018 12:57 pm

Gladiator wrote:
KevGoat wrote:
For the dash lights, just a thought but have you checked for power at that bridge? Also power out from there and then at the instrument panel?

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Sorry but this is above my knowledge base, Kev.
I don’t know what you mean.

Not too hard ... you just need one of these very useful (and cheap) circuit testers:

Very easy to use - connect the crocodile clip to earth, then touch the tip of the tester to a contact point or insert the point into a cable. If it lights up there's power. (eg if you place the croc clip on a battery negative terminal and the tip of the tester on the positive terminal it will light up). Where the bridge is concerned, could use it to test the power cable running into the bridge, then if the power is there test the cable out from the bridge. If power is reaching that point, the problem is up the line somewhere.

I'm not the best at explaining things :roll:

so hope some of that kinda makes sense :lol:

Gladiator · Postby **Gladiator** » Thu Mar 08, 2018 2:34 pm

Thanks Kev
However, the issue is solved, SORT OF. I cleaned the earth block even though it didn’t need it. I plugged the cluster back in to test & noticed that the previous flicker didn’t happen. So, I un plugged again & noticed this....

So I pushed it back in & said in a very deep voice,“Let there be light”, & behold, there was light!!

BUT, the right hand side is in darkness, and that wire is still loose, but I’m getting there.

I have a spare dash loom from the original dash. Is it worth me chopping the plug & splicing the other one in? Or is there an easier way to fix that loose wire.

HORN
I pulled the steering wheel off then the hub or whatever it’s called. I noticed when I jiggled the horn wire I could here the relay clicking. So I think there is a bad connection in the hub. As I can’t see how to where that wire connects to the hub, I cleaned everything up & gave the surfaces a light coat of Denso electrical jointing compound & reassembled. It still doesn’t work.

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Gladiator · Postby **Gladiator** » Thu Mar 08, 2018 3:11 pm

Update.
In the last ten minutes
I worked out that the terminal block was faulty. It wasn’t holding the connectors in place. So I removed all the wires from the spare, and then one wire at a time swapped it into the cars loom.

I plugged it in, & WE HAVE LIGHT!!!

Still no horn.

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93_Clubman · Postby **93_Clubman** » Thu Mar 08, 2018 4:35 pm

Gladiator wrote:HORN I pulled the steering wheel off then the hub or whatever it’s called. I noticed when I jiggled the horn wire I could here the relay clicking. So I think there is a bad connection in the hub. As I can’t see how to where that wire connects to the hub...

Some horn button boss/hub centres have one wire to power with earth provided by a metal outer ring in contact with boss/hub, which when horn centre is pressed completes the circuit. Alternatively, there can be two wires one to power & one to earth, which again when horn centre is pressed completes the circuit.
Also, on current non-MX5 project found had to adjust the screw adjuster on the horn itself to get it to work, & it had to be just right - very slightly either way & no go.

Wolfgang · Postby **Wolfgang** » Thu Mar 08, 2018 4:46 pm

Result! Great to see.

lucmor444 · Postby **lucmor444** » Thu Mar 08, 2018 5:06 pm

Woohoo - that must be a relief.

I am about to finish my own dash re-install - I hope it goes to plan with the electrics because I too am a dunce in that area (like nearly any other area that makes a car function as intended).

Gladiator · Postby **Gladiator** » Thu Mar 08, 2018 5:47 pm

93_Clubman wrote:
Gladiator wrote:HORN I pulled the steering wheel off then the hub or whatever it’s called. I noticed when I jiggled the horn wire I could here the relay clicking. So I think there is a bad connection in the hub. As I can’t see how to where that wire connects to the hub...

Some horn button boss/hub centres have one wire to power with earth provided by a metal outer ring in contact with boss/hub, which when horn centre is pressed completes the circuit. Alternatively, there can be two wires one to power & one to earth, which again when horn centre is pressed completes the circuit.
Also, on current non-MX5 project found had to adjust the screw adjuster on the horn itself to get it to work, & it had to be just right - very slightly either way & no go.

Mine is the first type you mentioned. I’m trying to work out how to get to where the one wire connects to that metal ring.

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Gladiator · Postby **Gladiator** » Thu Mar 08, 2018 5:49 pm

lucmor444 wrote:Woohoo - that must be a relief.

I am about to finish my own dash re-install - I hope it goes to plan with the electrics because I too am a dunce in that area (like nearly any other area that makes a car function as intended).

Good luck. It is satisfying to have found the fault & fixed it myself, I must say.

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Gladiator · Postby **Gladiator** » Fri Mar 09, 2018 4:19 pm

I have a horn!! I mean my car has a horn!!

You guys with some electrical knowledge will probably laugh at this. I have no idea what was wrong. I removed the steering wheel & the horn was intermittently working. I pulled the hub thingy off & wiped the jointing compound off then poked & prodded a few things. Then I put it back together except I rotated the hub one tooth to the right as the steering wheel was just a tad off centre. I pushed the button & Beep Beep!! Turn the wheel both directions it still works. Central it still works. I’ve dríven 200ks today & it only beeps when I hit the button.

Close this work order off boss.

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