zanna90

Hi there , as per title, I have the dash lights not working on my 95 xj I mean almost ALL of them, even the fan and heater **** and shift selector ones, the only ones that work are the ones for the blinkers and beams, and the 4wd indicators.... I have found an old thread on the forum that said to look at a 5 and 20 amp fuse,... Even if the layout of my fuse is a bit different from the one of the post I have checked all my fuses and seem ok... May they still be burnt but not giving it away?
Any clue? I am a total noob and don't know where to start !

outersketcher

Did the lights used to work? Can you remember anything you did that may have caused the failure?

If the lights have never worked since you got the xj. Do you know if the PO ever removed the dash? (He/she may have pinched some wires upon reassembly, or simply forgotten to reconnect some connections.)

I would get a shop manual and find that fuse.

Check the fuse.. maybe even replace with a brand new one (they're cheap after all )
if still no luck. I'd use an electric tester and poke at the metal fuse connectors to see if their is power to the fuse.

If there is. Then i'd follow the wire from that fuse to the ignition switch.. test the wire just before it enters the ignition switch. Power? Okay, then I'd consult the wiring diagram in my shop manual, and find the wire that powers the interior running lights leading AWAY from the ignition switch. Test it. No power?.. your switch is bad. Replace it.

Power coming from the switch? Okay, then keep following the path, using your electrical tester till you find the break or short or unplugged connector.


Edit: It occurred to me that you may not know how to use an electrical tester. There are several kinds. But the simplest and easiest to use are basically a wand with a sharp metal point on one end.. with a light bulb inside its body... and a wire coming out its back-end with an alligator clip on the end. You clip the alligator clip to a solid, metal surface on the dash. (Ground) and then touch the needle end to an exposed part of the positive wire that should be providing power to your lights. Doing this will complete the circuit between your battery power and the ground of the car.. making the little light bulb glow in your tester.. Unless there is a break somewhere. In that case.. your tester light bulb will remain off.. and you'll know.. "uh oh.. gotta find that break." and you work back along the wire till you FIND where there is either a broken wire, a male connector not fully seated into the female connector, a burnt out fuse, a wire missing some insulation so that the bare wires are making contact to metal. (thus grounding the circuit.. closing the circuit before the power can even get to your lights)..etc..

some people use the sharp end of the tester to poke through the rubber insulation of the wire. I don't like to do that.. and don't recommend the practice. I prefer to use the exposed ends of the wire instead. And if its apparent there is a break in the wire.. just replace that length of wire. No holes in MY wires thank you very much.

PatHenry

My 95 has almost the same problem (control lights all out but not gauges) and the non-working lights have never worked in the 5 months I've had it. I haven't gotten around to looking at it since a PO put an aftermarket radio in and the gauge lights work, so it's mostly just an annoyance.
Maybe I'll take a look at mine this weekend and will share any revelations.

zanna90

Hey man thanks a lot this is really good stuff to me... I didn't even think of this, actually I have never used a tester and hey... (I assume is a cheap device as well..??) I will buy one this week and try to get zapped

zanna90

And... No .. know nothing about what the previous owner did... but I guess he did some mock around .... there is an aftermarket radio and hey only the right speakers work !!!! ( more stuff to look into)

outersketcher

you want something like this. Any automotive store will have something like it. Clip the aligator clip to clean bare metal on the body.. and touch the tip to the connection end of hot wire you want to test. if there is power.. the light inside the tester will light up. If the little light bulb does NOT light up.. you know you have a problem with that hot wire.