hi
i have a restored 70 roadrunner. i recently found that my dash lights don't work. its no fun driving home at night when you can't see the speedometer. the first thing i checked was the fuse. it was blown. so i replaced it. but it still didnt work. there was no juice to it. the next thing i checked (due to a family member who is a mechanic but lives 800 miles away) was the dash panel dimmer switch. that seemed to be shot. i then found the hot wire coming to the harness for that switch and bypassed it with a jumper wire and two male connectors. then i got juice to the fuse. however, as soon as i turned on the lights, the fuse blew again. my mechanic thinks there is a short in the wire going from the fuse to the instrument panel. either that or a circuit board in the dash. does this sound likely or could it be something else? any help or ideas would be appreciated. thank you

 

The first question is, "do you have a factory shop manual?"

I don't mean Clymer, Haynes, etc, but either an original, reprint or "on CD" version of the Chrysler Corp. factory manual

Basically, ALL outputs from the inst. fuse are orange and go to ALL dash dimmer controlled lamps. Depending on the options in the car, this could be several places

All cluster lamps, the radio indicator, and depending if this is an original auto car, the shift quadrant in the column or console, and a few other places

So one feeds the cluster lamps

One goes to the column connector (ignition switch)

Radio

Ashtray and A/C bezel

Console if equipped,

and etc.

So you need to find where all this goes and disconnect them one at a time. If the car has been re-wired there may be a mistake in the wiring, IE that fuse may be feeding off into a wrong load.

 

thanks, 440. actually, the wiring is original for the most part. the radio is an add on and it works. there are no console lights that i know of. but not being a mechanic and not wanting to risk an electrical fire, ive decided to look for a local mechanic and let them do the work. i remember when i restored this car. i spent 12 hours one day trying to get my front right blinker to work. it ended up being a bad switch in the steering column. that was over 15 years ago and i dont have enough hair left to pull out lol. thanks for your input.