vivalavolvo Posted August 4, 2011 Report Share Posted August 4, 2011 Hey, My dash/cluster lights started to become intermittent, to flickery, to dead. I poked around with a VM and found no shorts, but what i did find was the signal from the head light switch the dimmer measured between 3-4 volts. Is that normal? I forgot to test that output with the dimmer disconnected tho. I did add 3 gauges with lights but this issue was before that, i cant say if these contributed to the final death. So with my info above can any one help me out? If need be i would think it would be safe to disconnect the dimmer and run 12v into the pink wire (dimmer output to the lights) so i can at least drive at night, please let me know if you would advise against this. 1995 855 T5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serge Posted August 4, 2011 Report Share Posted August 4, 2011 The rheostat uses lower voltages to control when it is on or off, so do not be worried about that. The rheostat has short-circuit protection which prevents damage to the wiring and lighting system. Next time your lights go out, pull out the rheostat and disconnect it. Try connecting it again and see if the lights come back on. If they do, chances are there is a short somewhere on the illumination circuit (pink wire). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vivalavolvo Posted August 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2011 They are dead now, and have been for a while. I took apart my dimmer and its more then just a rheostat in there. It's a pretty complex setup, it would seem to be overkill to me. I can't test any individual components while im at work so it will have to wait when i get home where i have proper tools for disassembling and testing this thing. While i was testing it in the car i did feel it throwing off some heat so the output transistor is getting power, and just not putting any out so chances are that may be it and a new transistor is all i need, or just take a trip to the junk yard lol (but what's the fun in that?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serge Posted August 5, 2011 Report Share Posted August 5, 2011 The rheostat is actually PWM controller. Unless you are good with electronics, I would suggest just getting a cheap replacement to see if a replacement fixes it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vivalavolvo Posted August 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2011 The rheostat is actually PWM controller. Unless you are good with electronics, I would suggest just getting a cheap replacement to see if a replacement fixes it. One of my favorite hobbies :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vivalavolvo Posted August 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2011 Fixed it. I took it all apart to test the mosfet, to turn out it was good. Put it all back together and it worked lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastwagonhawaii Posted August 6, 2011 Report Share Posted August 6, 2011 If you have an aftermarket alarm system I would check out the relay they added for the running light function of the system that was ultimately the problem when it happened to me. also you can get a bypass kit from radio shack and try to by pass the dimmer all together to see if its the problem. and do the same with the light switch. But another thing you can do since you said that it went from periodically to flickering to dead. check the wires in the back of the switch if they get loose it won't work, make sure the connections are good and solid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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