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Electrical 1988 mustang instrument cluster.

  • Thread starter Thread starter palacios289
  • Start date Start date Mar 11, 2020
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palacios289

New Member
Sep 6, 2004
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Mar 11, 2020
#1
  • Mar 11, 2020
  • #1
hello. New to me 88 notchback. Slowly going thru everything. Having and issue with cluster lights not turning on and insruments going crazy with headlights on. Head to firewall ground is attached properly. I do notice the tachometer needle will rise and fall based on me moving the dimmer wheel. where should I start to troubleshoot. Thanks in advance.
 

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair
20+ Year Stangneter
Aug 25, 2016
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polk county florida
Mar 11, 2020
#2
  • Mar 11, 2020
  • #2
What do you know about the car?
Was it a V8 swap?
You may need to start with the cluster to see if it is the right one. Show a pic of the cluster?
 
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palacios289

New Member
Sep 6, 2004
21
0
1
Mar 11, 2020
#3
  • Mar 11, 2020
  • #3
Hello. Original V-8 car. Its the correct cluster for a 88 Mustang. The headlight switch socket looks good too. Will a bad dimmer switch cause the tach needle moving around? Failure of cluster backlights to work? Thanks.
 

LILCBRA

I wish I didn't have all of these balls in the air
Mod Dude
Dec 6, 2005
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Corn County USA
Mar 11, 2020
#4
  • Mar 11, 2020
  • #4
Sounds familiar. Here is a short thread on the issue I had with the lights in my 87. I ended up replacing the dimmer switch and the problem disappeared.

Dash Lights Only Light With Dome Light

I have started some of this in my thread labeled Convertible Top Help, but figure this is a different issue altogether so I started a separate thread. When I changed the headlight switch and pigtail harness in our 87 GT, the dash lights now only light when you turn the dimmer switch all the way...
www.stangnet.com
 
Reactions: General karthief
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palacios289

New Member
Sep 6, 2004
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Mar 11, 2020
#5
  • Mar 11, 2020
  • #5
Thanks LILCBRA. Is it safe to feed 12V positive via a jumper cable to the Ilumination positive to test out if the cluster will light up?
 

Blown88GT

Founding Member
Nov 13, 1999
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Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Mar 11, 2020
#6
  • Mar 11, 2020
  • #6
palacios289 said:
Thanks LILCBRA. Is it safe to feed 12V positive via a jumper cable to the Ilumination positive to test out if the cluster will light up?
Click to expand...
Yes.
You will need to consult this.

1988 Mustang Electrical & Vacuum Troubleshooting Guide (EVTM)

File is too large to upload. Here is link to it on my Google Drive. View: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1on5czXKmpETzxUggWTGtoUuVkJT2UUxN
www.stangnet.com
 
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