GlossersZ28

I recently picked up a 97 z28 with 98k miles. It needs a little bit of TLC, but the car runs great still. One of the problems is the interior lights, including the guage lights and odometer will not light up. When I take a flashlight and shine it on the odometer, you can see the mileage, but it's not visible without the light.

I checked the fuse for the IP Dimmer circuit, and it was burnt. I put a new one in and as soon as I turn the key over, it burns the new fuse. Since the car didn't come with a radio, it appears the previous owner removed his aftermarket radio before selling it, the wire harness is just setting there. I replaced the dimmer switch itself, hoping it was just fried because I did not want to have to deal with a shorted circuit. The new switch did not fix the problem so I assumed the circuit is shorted somewhere and began to chase the wires to find this underneath my dash. I assumed my dimmer problems come from this since it is the wiring for the radio, but I would rather try to fix it myself than to drop a couple hundred on a shop to chase my short down.







It looks like there is supposed to be a ground wire running to this nut, but the wire was snipped and I cannot find which circuit would ground at that particular nut. I also found the yellow wire, which I believe is the power(?) to the radio has been cut and spliced for some reason. The glare from the sun makes wire left of the splice look white too, but its the same yellow that is spliced into the red. I pulled the electrical tape back on the pink wire to check if it was coupled with another wire, that is why the tape looks frayed in the photo.



This is the wire harness coming out where the radio is to be mounted, does this look right?





This is my first Camaro and I have not dealt with wiring issues in the past to begin with. Does anyone have any photos of what this should look like, or where I could look to find a decent fix? Any help is greatly appreciated!

14k

Looks like my car lol. I have 4 splices within 3 inches in the yellow ign wire. Who knows why. Abd the ign wire gets no power lol. Previous is stupid

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

It looks like the previous owner may have had some other accessory other than an aftermarket radio installed. I suspect an aftermarket alarm system based on the wires involved and the location. I doubt it was a remote starter because the VATS wires appear untouched.

Those spliced wires under the dash have nothing to do with an aftermarket stereo unless the PO was completely brain dead. The factory stereo harness looks normal and pretty much untouched. It's normal to have the uninsulated drain wire on the CD changer connector. BTW, that indicates that the car probably had a Monsoon system originally.

A disconnected or missing ground will never cause a fuse to blow so you can ignore that bit of black wire. Nothing on the ground side of a circuit will blow a fuse. That stud is not used for factory grounds so that must be part of the wiring for whatever accessory the PO installed.

What is curious is that you say the fuse blows when you turn on the ignition. The IP DIMMER fuse is not on an ignition switched circuit. It is powered from the TAIL LPS fuse through the headlight switch and dimmer dial on an always hot circuit. Does the fuse blow if you don't turn on the ignition but just turn on the headlights?

In any case, you're looking for a short in a gray wire. All the wires in the IP DIMMER circuit after the fuse are gray and 18-gauge or smaller. Those hacked wires under the dash are not part of this problem - they're a problem but not this problem.

BOXCHEV

iTrader: (3)

The wire nut is a sure way to start some serious damage, scary. Those DO NOT belong in a car.

Any soldering experience?

If not pickup a GOOD crimp tool, one made specifically for heat shrink connectors and get some heat shrink splice terminals from Waytek or something. Crimp and shrink them and they will not be coming off ever.

Another way would be to replace the run of wire. Especially those that have way too many splices in them.

Not familiar with Fbodies so not sure how difficult it is to pull the dash. No telling what else is waiting behind it.

GlossersZ28

The fuse would not blow without the key turned over to power the electronics. It also would not blow when I turned the headlights on without the key turned on. I unplugged the headlight switch and turned the key over, and my lights now work and no fuse blows. Am I safe to assume a new headlight switch should fix the lighting issue?

I have a little experience with soldering, but its been years. I have used a crimp tool before and there is not much to that, I will probably pick one of those up and get rid of the wire nut. After I looked at how much was involved with taking the dash apart, I really was hoping I would not have to do that lol. I am a bit scared to see what else I would find underneath it.

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

No, you have a bigger problem than you think. Once you unplug the headlight switch, none of the dash illumination should work under any circumstances. Yet you say the lights work. As mentioned before, the dash lights are not connected to the ignition switch in any way. Properly wired, any use of the ignition switch will have absolutely no effect on the dash lights. On the other hand, the headlight switch has everything to do with the dash illumination. No headlight switch, no dash lights.

So you have some screwy wiring modifications or a short someplace that has the illumination circuit cross connected to an ignition switched power wire.

GlossersZ28

I should have been more specific, the odometer was lighting up to be visible without a flashlight again. Went back out to take another look at it and the fuse blew once again and the odometer no longer lights up.

Would your next step be to take the dash apart and start checking wires?

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

Actually no. It is probably safe to assume that the problem is related to something the previous owner has done to the wiring. Judging by things like wire nuts and loose splices wrapped in electrical tape, the previous owner wasn't one to go to any great lengths when doing wiring. So it's doubtful anything was done beyond the reach of accessible panels under the dash. I would start checking connections that you can see under the dash on the driver's side, under the dash on the passenger's side (near the BCM) and behind the stereo opening.

GlossersZ28

I will start with that. Thanks!

GlossersZ28

After pulling all the access panels off to check everything, I moved to the center console. I guess there is a light bulb which is suppossed to illuminate the ash tray just behind the shifter. Well, the light fell out and the lead to the bulb had melted and was just sitting on metal. Taped the wire up, put the console all back together, and now I have interior and dash lighting. Hope it was the short I was looking for, I couldn't find anything else. Time to fix the rest of the previous owners laziness under the steering column.

I appreciate your help!