Oval dash instrument faults

[BenGV3]

Grateful for any help with these faults, and on how to remove the oval dash instruments if that is needed.

First problem is, after several months of only occassional use, the instrument lights that illuminate the dials do not come on.

Second problem is that sometimes all instruments drop to either zero or nearly zero. This can happen at any time, and correct itself at any time. At first, it was clearly triggered by application of the brake pedal, and most worryingly, when these instruments are at zero, the brake lights do not come on.

So... probably a loose connection somewhere? Or could a voltage regulator have an intermittent fault? Any ideas on the most likely problem areas? I suspect that to remedy the lack of instrument lighting will require removal of the instrument panel. Does this require removal of the steering wheel and column cowl or can it be wriggled free after removing the visible 5 screws?

Frustrating to be spending this sunny weekend getting this sorted rather than out enjoying the car, but lack of brake lights at times would be silly.

Many thanks,

Ben

 

[DavidL]

Ben,
Getting the instruments out is fairly easy - look at clarksgarage.com it is a fountain of very useful knowledge!

 

[BenGV3]

Thanks. Had a look and saw there is a good piece on removing the instrument cluster. Will explore further tomorrow.

Ben

 

[DavidL]

Quite straightforward, just a few screws for the binnacle and 2 bigger ones for the gauges themselves.
If you haven't had the steering wheel off for a while it may be very stuck - there are stories of damaged noses trying to get it off. You have been warned.
If you start reading about "football" connectors then remember it is an American site and their "footballs" are actually rugby ball shaped!! So they mean the oval connectors, one for each individual gauge. It took me ages to work that out!
Pelican.com is another site with useful tech instructions.

 

[zcacogp]

Instruments dropping to zero was a common fault with Mk1 Golfs - it meant there was a bad earth in the dashboard loom somewhere. You could either spend hours tracing it, or splice another wire into the earth wire and create a new earth point somewhere. This may or may not help with your situation, but it's somewhere to start looking ...


Oli.