Kindsith

I replaced the heater core on my 01 xj and when I got everything back together the gauges work as normal but the cluster does not light up (the cel/airbag/ect all still work correctly). In addition to this the radio is dead and the lights on the center console (to include the radio, prndl, hvac, and rear wiper/defrost) are dead.

I HAVE CHECKED FUSES AND THEY ARE FINE

I was looking at the wiring schematics in a haynes manual and noticed that they all seem to go through the headlight switch in one way or another. I went to a local parts store and got a new switch and when i installed it the radio came back for ~10 minutes but the gauge lights didn't change. The radio died again after cycling the key a couple times and hasn't come back.

I have double checked the grounds behind the dash on both sides of the dash by the doors. The JB and the connectors going into the cluster are corrosion free.

My google fu is failing me pretty hard. Any and all serious opinions or thoughts are appreciated.

nujeepguy

obviously wiring got disrupted during your major job,gotta recheck everything i guess. did you take pix of dissassembly for the core? must be a real job. like to hear more about it when you get wires fixed. were there many connectors to unplug?

Kindsith

I did not take pictures unfortunately.

It isn't fun and I'd rather not do it again if I don't have to. Obviously.

That said it was pretty straight forward, just time consuming. I did some research before hand and found that you don't hve to completely remove the dash to get the evap box out. This saves having to remove the steering wheel, you just need to lower it and slide the dash assembly towards the rear of the car and then lift up on the pass side. The evap box fits out under the dash that way. I can dig up a link to another forum that has a pretty thorough write up tomorrow if you're planning on doing the job soon. I wouldn't recommend it unless you need to, and when you do dive in replace everything so you only have to do it once.

As far as missed connectors go... there aren't that many to begin with imo (I usually work on older bmw's) but that doesn't mean I didn't miss one. I'm just curious as to what connector would only knock out the dash lights and radio. The dome light and footwell lights all work as they should.

Kindsith

Bump as I need some help with this one

Fsher21

The dash lights and radio are on the same fuse irrc, so your best bet is using a wiring diagram to follow the wires from the fuse box with a voltmeter until you find where the power or ground is lost. Also check to see if the headlight switch and radio are getting power. If you don't have power at the fuse, it should draw from the power distribution box under the hood so you can follow those wires if needed.