Fishwerks
New member
You guys are heroes. I wish you lived by me I'd buy you guys a beer.
Parting question, my two options to make this fix permanent are to solder a jumper between terminals 1 and 5, or get a new cluster, correct?
Headlights won't turn on…where are my electrical people?
- Thread starter Fishwerks
- Start date
You guys are heroes. I wish you lived by me I'd buy you guys a beer.
Parting question, my two options to make this fix permanent are to solder a jumper between terminals 1 and 5, or get a new cluster, correct?
TheDurk
Elite Member
Yes, plus:
The butcher fix is to just cut the green and red/yellow wires off the cluster and solder or wire-nut them together. I wouldn't do that if you think you might get a new cluster in the future.
The elite fix is to figure out what's wrong with the cluster, or at least do the bridge within the cluster so the truck itself is unsullied. (Yes, I watch GOT.)
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IBallEngineer
New member
I feel just as I do when I help someone on the trails, it comes back to me 10 fold. But we can have a cyber beer!
:beer:
I'll defer to [MENTION=10169]TheDurk[/MENTION] on repairing your existing cluster
TheDurk
Elite Member
Not a high probability, but I'd take a look if it were mine.
Fishwerks
New member
:cheers:
I'll probably lean towards a new cluster. I don't want to cut up the factory wiring if I can avoid it.
Thanks gents. I'll post up when I figure out my permanent fix to give this thread closure.
IBallEngineer
New member
I sure hope someone else has an electrical problem we can solve!
:couch2:
:couch2:
rideexileex
Senior Member
Congrats on the find... I had a hunch, ha!
The auto off circuitry they used is a mess of brilliance... I fried mine back when I was in college for EE, and had little time to devote to it, but I lifted, measured, and replaced a few components and had no luck. I had a wire soldered in and called it good for a year or so. I kind of wish I had kept my old cluster so that I could have fixed it now just for fun.
Anyway, my best advice is just to find a new cluster, I got your PM, but here is my answer:
The clusters are different by the following criteria. I believe the below is correct, but I'm going on memory and posted on this long ago. You must find one from a donor truck that matches the following for you:
MPH vs KPH
AT vs MT
96-98 vs 99-02 - analog odometers vs digital
99-00 non limited vs 99-00 Limited / AWD & 01-02 (center indicator)
The mileage is programmed into the cluster itself. Yes, you can pay to have them changed, but its a tad spendy and there is paperwork to go along with it. If not, I simply found a donor cluster on mine with the same mileage and swapped the day they matched up. Nothing special needed other than just plugging the new cluster in.
Best of luck!
The auto off circuitry they used is a mess of brilliance... I fried mine back when I was in college for EE, and had little time to devote to it, but I lifted, measured, and replaced a few components and had no luck. I had a wire soldered in and called it good for a year or so. I kind of wish I had kept my old cluster so that I could have fixed it now just for fun.
Anyway, my best advice is just to find a new cluster, I got your PM, but here is my answer:
The clusters are different by the following criteria. I believe the below is correct, but I'm going on memory and posted on this long ago. You must find one from a donor truck that matches the following for you:
MPH vs KPH
AT vs MT
96-98 vs 99-02 - analog odometers vs digital
99-00 non limited vs 99-00 Limited / AWD & 01-02 (center indicator)
The mileage is programmed into the cluster itself. Yes, you can pay to have them changed, but its a tad spendy and there is paperwork to go along with it. If not, I simply found a donor cluster on mine with the same mileage and swapped the day they matched up. Nothing special needed other than just plugging the new cluster in.
Best of luck!
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IBallEngineer
New member
You know, I bet I could find a diagram for a latching relay circuit that would perform the task, of course it would take $50 worth of relays and be a pain in the butt to wire. Or you could buy a latching relay, it would probably cost$80. Better just get a cluster.
rideexileex
Senior Member
That is an unmentioned possible alternative... you could build an equivalent circuit. It's actually rather tricky to mimic the factory function and I've not thought of a simple way to do it yet.
The functions are as follows (hopefully just states the obvious, but its good to write down):
- With headlight switch column off, off (obviously)
- With headlight switch on, if the IGN wire is +12 V, headlights auto activate (if they were auto-turned off)
- With headlight switch on, if the IGN wire is 0 V and a door trigger is grounded, headlights auto-turn off
- If headlights auto-turn off from above, if the headlight switch is cycled from on - off - on, the lights re-. Auto off function will not work until +12V appears on the IGN wire again (I think... need to double check)
Circuit inputs will be
+12V (likely)
IGN
Door Trigger
Headlights
Ground
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IBallEngineer
New member
I don't think there IS a simple way. Of course, let's define simple. I could do it, might take 3 or 4 or 5 relays to accomplish it all. Simple for me, but complex to look at and find a place for. Don't know if your familiar with this website, but as I'm fond of saying" whatever you think you want to do, someone else has already done it". Or at least tried!
Relay Diagrams - Quick Reference
rideexileex
Senior Member
Exactly... I was going the way of steering away from relays and trying to use some diodes and switch-like functioning BJT's, just to keep it small and simple
