Gauge Problem

[Shatzen]

Hey, I was driving the other day and all my gauges, Tach, Speedo, and Water temp dropped to zero in my 96 s14. The mile counter is frozen at 98k and so is the trip reader at 231 miles. The back lights come on and I'm not sure what fuse is used with the Gauges. Please, any help is greatly appreciated and yes i did search

[Agamemnon]

Its 7.5a fuse in the fuse box under the dash. Its in the right row, second one down.

[Shatzen]

Thank you so much!

[Shatzen]

ok, so i replaced the fuse, turned the key to the on position and the fuse blew before i even started the car. is this a wiring issue or does this have to do with the circuit board on the back of the gauge cluster?

[91ka24]

Check for any loose wires. Sounds like somethin may be grounding out.

[Shatzen]

i had a power inverter plugged into the lighter when this happened. I didn't realize how bad power inverters are until now. could it be the lighter socket that has a loose ground?
ill try unplugging that, putting in a new fuse and giving it a go

[Andres_G]

Sounds like something is shorting out to ground. That inverter sounds suspicious... does this happen when it's not plugged in?

Unplug the connector that plugs into the lighter from the back and check it with a multimeter. Check that the power wire isn't shorting to ground.

[Agamemnon]

Originally Posted by Shatzen

i had a power inverter plugged into the lighter when this happened. I didn't realize how bad power inverters are until now. could it be the lighter socket that has a loose ground?
ill try unplugging that, putting in a new fuse and giving it a go

Originally Posted by Andres_G

Sounds like something is shorting out to ground. That inverter sounds suspicious... does this happen when it's not plugged in?

Unplug the connector that plugs into the lighter from the back and check it with a multimeter. Check that the power wire isn't shorting to ground.

The cig lighter is connected to a 15A fuse labeled #17 in the fuse panel. If the inverter was causing an issue, it would've popped this fuse rather than the meter fuse.

[Shatzen]

so where do you think this problem is coming from? because i have absolutely no idea now that the cig lighter is ruled out

[fliprayzin240sx]

My first S14 had this issue...something is grounding out between the fuse to the back of the cluster. Check the FSM/wiring diagram. There is a single red wire back there that supplies the 12V to the whole cluster. That wire is basically grounding out somewhere behind the dash. Didnt wanna pull my dash out so I snipped the wire and run another 12v power to the cluster.

[Shatzen]

Fixed! I had a short in wire 21 in m70 the green power wire. I just ran a new wire and now it works perfect! Thanks for the help guys, much appreciated

[Andres_G]

Originally Posted by Shatzen

Fixed! I had a short in wire 21 in m70 the green power wire. I just ran a new wire and now it works perfect! Thanks for the help guys, much appreciated

So wire 21 is still shorting out? Try to find out where it is shorting out, so you don't have any problems in the future...

[fliprayzin240sx]

Originally Posted by Andres_G

So wire 21 is still shorting out? Try to find out where it is shorting out, so you don't have any problems in the future...

If the fuse is blown and now he's not using that wire, shouldnt be an issue. I'd be more worried about what else is running in that loom. If one wire is grounding, others are probably not too far behind. Again, problem is pulling the damn dash to follow it.