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#1
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no dash lights, flaky tach, temp and fuel gauge not working...what gives?
on an 82 300TD (wagon)....no dash lights, flaky tach, temp and fuel gauge not working...what gives?
anyone have a pic of a "jumped" reostat (spelling?)? |
#2
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You most likely have a loose electrical plug on the back of the dash. Fashion a stiff wire with a small hook in the end, and use the hook to wiggle the dash cluster out enough to disconnect the wires on the back of it (to entirely remove the dash). The large electrical plug is most likely loose.
Regarding no dash lights, naturally check the two dash bulbs first. They are at the top of the dash cluster. If they are fine, your dimmer is probably bad. The dimmer has only two soldered connections to the circuit board...it is pretty obvious which two they are. If you solder a short insulated wire across the two connections, you will have dash lights at the brightest level, which is about a normal setting for me
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'84 300D ~90k '82 300SD ~171k '82 240D ~175k '96 Ram 2500 with 12V Cummins & 5 speed ~130k |
#3
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I never use the wire hook on the cluster thing anymore. I just take 2 screws out of the lower knee panel and stick my hand up to the back of the cluster and push it out.
Works much better. Check your ground connections.
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1981 300D 147k 1998 VW Jetta Tdi 320k 2001 Dodge Ram 2500 141k 1979 300D 234k (sold) 1984 300D "Astor" 262k(sold) Mercedes How-To and Repair Pictorials I love the smell of diesel smoke in my hair |
#4
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I snapped a picture when I did mine a while back, but believe me, you don't need it. I'd recommend doing it though, wish I did it 9 years earlier!
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'82 300SD - 361K mi - "Blue" "Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement." listen, look, .........and duck. |
#5
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Why jump it when the rebuild is so simple...
http://web.archive.org/web/20040603004113/instrument.articles.mbz.org/dimmer/
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1999 E300DT (131,800) 154,000 Black on Black SOLD 2006 CLK 500 coupe Capri Blue on Grey (zoom,zoom) 47,000mi 04 VW TDI Passat 80,000mi (Techno) How to eliminate oil dependency through market-driven approaches. “We could cut oil use in half by 2025, and by 2040, oil use could be zero,” The Sound of Diesel Speed Ode to MB |
#6
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Do your other electrics work, ie windows, sunroof?
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#7
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Quote:
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'82 300SD - 361K mi - "Blue" "Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement." listen, look, .........and duck. |
#8
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Quote:
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#9
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Quote:
__________________
'82 300SD - 361K mi - "Blue" "Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement." listen, look, .........and duck. |
#10
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Most definately check your main grounds, like the body to the chasis. I bought my brother's '84 a week or two ago and a couple of days later it quit starting. The temp and fuel gauges would go crazy before it quit and I just thought it was a shorted out instrument cluster. I swapped clusters from my wrecked '85 and still no dice. The weird thing is that the gauges would peg and every light in the cluster would come on when the speedo cable touched the back of the cluster. I took a jumper cable, hooked it from my EGR to my negative battery post and it started. I didn't have time to look for my main chasis-engine ground because I was leaving on vacation but when I get back I expect to find it in pretty bad shape. Also my other electrical items worked fine up until and during the period when it wouldn't start.
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Seth 1984 300D 225K 1985 300D Donor body 1985 300D Turbo 165K. Totaled. Donor Engine. It runs!!! 1980 300SD 311K My New Baby. 1979 BMW 633csi 62K+++? Dead odo |
#11
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"check your main grounds"
First take a peak under the car at your main ground strap, about abeam the bellhousing, driver side. 13mm I think There are two you will see if you take out the instrument cluster, look with the flashlight, you cant miss them. Lose grounds will do all kinka strange things
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1985 Euro 240D 5 spd 140K 1979 240D 5 spd, 40K on engine rebuild 1994 Dodge/Cummins, 5 spd, 121K 1964 Allice Chalmers D15 tractor 2014 Kubota L3800 tractor 1964 VW bug "Lifes too short to drive a boring car" |
#12
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Now that you mention it I do remember it being on the bell housing. I also remember I couldn't get the bolt loose. If I do need to replace the strap will it hurt anything to just loosen and re-tighen just one bolt on the bell housing? It won't mess up any kind of alignment?
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Seth 1984 300D 225K 1985 300D Donor body 1985 300D Turbo 165K. Totaled. Donor Engine. It runs!!! 1980 300SD 311K My New Baby. 1979 BMW 633csi 62K+++? Dead odo |
#13
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Quote:
I agree, either a loose connection, or messed up ground. |
#14
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I'm not with it tonight.
Here's a pic of what a jumpered rheostat could look like.
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#15
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You could also have a burned out wiring behind those instruments. When you take out the instrument cluster remove the metal covers at the back. The thin copper strips under the white paint would sometimes pop like a blown fuse.
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'85 300D Cal 280,000 miles '14 GLK 350 60000 miles |
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