So i bought a 2000 v6 super cheap in the middle of the day and it never crossd my mind that the gauges wouldnt light up at night. Now whats confusing me is the gauges work fine all the warning lights t/c abs and odometer all light up and function properly (assuming the odometer is supposed to intermentently come on and off) the fuel oil psi tach speedo and coolent gauges all seam to be in working order but when nightfall happens and i turn on my headlights my instrument cluster stays dark my first thought was bad bulbs right? Nah every bulb in the cluster is internally intact which leads me to believe there is something a miss in the wiring behind it all. Now upon discovering this issue i also learnd my wiper blades wont cycle and more recently my radio has went out after hearing a lot of RFI interference went to wrap the (what i discovered as cut open and mutalated) shilded wire in some metal speed tape to try and shield it placed the radio back in the hole and now just wont turn on....im am by far ignorant to fixing cars but am also by even further fluent. My thanks and praise any and all information i might recive on the matter it is hella nerve racking to not know whats going on with my Stank as im driving it down the road

last but not least please excuse my spelling i am aware it is atrocious at times but hey im from Texas what can you do hahaha

 

Probably should have proof read your message.... That's a totally different problem...

IF the dash cluster does not illuminate at night, when the headlights are
on, what about the HVAC control area and stereo? It's all the same circuit.

You can't use METAL speed tape with mutilated wires, the tape will short
any wires with exposed wiring. The only shielded wire is the antenna, and
if sat radio antenna, another shielded wire. There are no other shielded
wires. They can be tapped together to each harness, but that is not a
shield.

 

Don't forget to rotate the dimmer dial back and forth too.

If it does turn out that the rest of the dash illumination is out as well, check for voltage at the back of the headlamp switch. IIRC, the illumination circuit should be a light blue w/ red stripe wire.

 

There is a gray cable with random strands ran threw it behind the radio which stopped working but the HVAC is just fine

 

Tauro
Turing the dial didnt do anything for it and i haven found any bare or bad wiring i think my test light is broke ill have to get another one and try this

 

Hope you find the answer. Ive had mine 8 years now and my gauge glow only works off and on when it wants to. My radio, HVAC, and gauge needles all light up fine and the dimmer works but the back glow only works 1 out of 10 times.

 

Thank you so much to those who commented I FOUND THE ISSUE the genius who wired in the head unit sent the power in the wrong direction and i found in the fuse box under the dash (fuse #37 10A) was completely blown and my wanna be mechanic self completely forgot there was a panel under the dash all my guages and lights function properly now

MustangDude i was wrong the HVAC wasnt working properly i hadent noticed its illumination was inoperable

Again thank yall very much im sure ill need help again here soon when i pull the tranny for a rebuild