Electrical problems after dash LED upgrade

[Dhennick99]

I upgraded the top 5 bulbs to LED and am having electrical problems. High beam (blue dash light) does not work and there's no power going to it when I check with a volt meter. I get power to the low beam, as pictured. The high beam fuse was blown and when I replaced the fuse, it still wasn't working. The relay wiring looks good and the relay makes noise.


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[Chris 16409]

Make sure your two connectors are seated properly. The printed circuit board is fragile at the plug sockets. The little copper tabs usually get bent and do not lie flat. Check those to see if any adjustment is needed. It might be a good idea to replace the circuit board.

[Jonathan]

Do your actual high beam headlights work? Did they work before the LED instrument cluster bulb change? When did the fuse blow?

[Bitsyncmaster]

Looks like you have a lambda relay in a blower socket.

[Dhennick99]

Do your actual high beam headlights work? Did they work before the LED instrument cluster bulb change? When did the fuse blow?

They work, but not on the stick. If i bypass the wire they'll turn on. You can hear the high beam relay click, when I turn them on with the stick. Like it's sending power it just won't turn the high beams on. They did work fine before I did the LED swap. Maybe the connectors on the flex board were damaged?

[dn010]

If you do find damage, this thread may help you.

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?11042-How-to-Fix-a-Damaged-Printed-Circuit

[Dhennick99]

I did use sandpaper to clean the contacts before I installed the LED bulbs. Maybe I damaged the flex board. The high beam light stopped working after that. Would the dash light not working have any effect on the high beams themselves not working, even when turned on with the steering column stick? I have attached photos of before and after contact cleaning. I can't tell if there is any damage.

[Bitsyncmaster]

That flex board is really oxidized. You would also need to clean where the connectors insert. Most people find the connector copper lifts off the Mylar and then they get messed up when you push the connectors in.

Mine was bad when I pulled it but there were not any new ones available. I now have this one yet to install the next time I pull the binnacle.

https://www.deloreango.com/us/instrument-cluster-printed-circuit-pcb.html

[AugustneverEnds]

I can vouch for the new instrument circuit board, it's awesome. I was having all sorts of issues with my gauges and indicator lights 3 or 4 years ago. I tried glueing the tabs down but every time I plugged the main connector in they would peel off the Mylar again. Finally just spent the 60 or 80 dollars and I'm glad I did. No issues since. For added conductivity i replaced the washers and nuts with brass from home depot, size #6-32 IIRC

[Dhennick99]

I found the problem. The bolt going into the main ground, under the car, was loose and the bracket had some rust. I filed everything down and put it all back securely. High beams and dash lights work great!

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[Elvis]

You loosened the Ground bolt to replace some bulbs in the dash with LEDs ?

How could the low beams work and the high beams not ?

[Dhennick99]

I tightened it. The bolt was loose. Must have been causing intermittent electrical problems.