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What happened to my Reverse Glow Guages???

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    What happened to my Reverse Glow Guages???

    So I finished installing my glow guages today, and they worked beautifully this afternoon. It didn't get dark till after I had other things to do, so I went for a drive with them on around 4:45, even though it was still light, and had no trouble.

    I went out to take pictures of them at 9:30, and they lit up fine...until I tried to switch to the blue (they were on green-that's the picture below). As soon as I flicked the switch, they just died. There wasn't any sound (that I heard) but they just stopped working. I tried flipping them back to green and it didn't work either.

    So now i'm a little freaked out and kinda pissed off cause my console is all the way put back together and I have to take it apart again. Does anyone have any idea what might have happened, and what I can do to fix it?

    The only things I've been able to come up with are that 1) the DC-AC power inverter broke for some reason or 2) my power source that I tapped from the harness died for some reason (maybe I blew a fuse???) I don't really have time to deal with this cause I was expecting that once I did it I wouldn't have to worry about it anymore...so much for that idea. any guesses as to which one is more likely? any help would be appreciated. thx!
    Attached Files
    95 2gen LX 5-speed
    Sony 52X4 HU
    Alpine 6x9's on the rear deck, Sony Xplod 6.5's in front
    NGK Spark Plug wires and Iridium IX Plugs
    Euro Reverse Glow Guages and Carbon Fiber Bezel
    ( My guages work now!)

    #2
    Yeah, The man Is right about the needles (I broke My temp guage needle, I glued it back in and it works semi fine, has trouble going back down when the car turns off, but normally she is down when I get in her the later on.) The first thing that comes to mind is a blown fuse. other then that, cheap ass e-bay guages might of just been ****ed up.


    Signed:

    Comment


      #3
      You're right about the needles. I was scared out of my mind putting those things over my needles. It worked out tho- the Spedometer was the hardest one because the guage cover had to go over the trip meter reset button and over the thing that keeps the needle at 0. I had to think about that one for a while.

      well the good thing is I bought them right off of www.procarparts.com. So if it's not a fuse (which I am going to check ASAP- but I don't think it is cause all of my lights come on- I checked that last night too) I can call them up and complain, and hopefully they'll send me a new power inverter. Thanks for the help.
      95 2gen LX 5-speed
      Sony 52X4 HU
      Alpine 6x9's on the rear deck, Sony Xplod 6.5's in front
      NGK Spark Plug wires and Iridium IX Plugs
      Euro Reverse Glow Guages and Carbon Fiber Bezel
      ( My guages work now!)

      Comment


        #4
        Check the switch. Charles broke the solder joints in the back of mine just by flicking the switch. :p: Then again, test for power going to the DC-AC inverter. You have to know if it has power before you can return it as damaged.

        BTW, I've noticed that the gauge draws more current when it's switched to blue.

        Comment


          #5
          THanks intruder! It seems to me that if the switch was broken, I would still hear the inverter humming? What was your experience with that? Did the broken solder joint make it stop working completely?

          I'm going to run through the list ASAP. I really hope it's just a fuse....
          95 2gen LX 5-speed
          Sony 52X4 HU
          Alpine 6x9's on the rear deck, Sony Xplod 6.5's in front
          NGK Spark Plug wires and Iridium IX Plugs
          Euro Reverse Glow Guages and Carbon Fiber Bezel
          ( My guages work now!)

          Comment


            #6
            Good luck with that.


            Signed:

            Comment


              #7
              The solder joint was for the blue light, and it stopped working. I couldn't hear the hum when the switch was set to "blue". When switched to green it worked, but that's probably because only the "blue" wire broke off. In your case you may have a broken power wire. Good luck and let us know if you fix it or find what's broken.

              Comment


                #8
                yeah i would check the fuse and all your connections first.

                1996 1.5L Mazda Protege DX MTX
                Mods:
                DX converted to an LX (F & R seats and All Power), 2" Exhaust from the Catback, EuroReverse Glow Gauges, JDM Clear Side Markers, 17" MB Motoring Rims, K&N air filter 33-2134, All Clear Lenses, Front Strut Bar, MS Sideskirts, JDM Taillights, JDM Turbo Diesel Hood Scoop, OEM Door Visors, and Ducktail.
                http://www.cardomain.com/id/beetle_orange

                Comment


                  #9
                  Alright- I figured it out; and it took me two more tear downs of the guage cluster to get it right.

                  I went out this morning, and took the guage cluster apart again and checked all of my connections, and realized that it was strange- all of the terminals of the blue/green switch and dimmer (8 terminals in all) were at the same voltage with respect to ground. So I went to plug the ground of my voltmeter in to something else (removing it from the quick splicer that I used to connect the ground) and my guages started working again. After a lot of fiddling around, I found that my problem was a bad connection to ground. I thought I fixed the problem, but when I went to switch from green to blue a couple hours later, it did the same thing.

                  I took everything apart one more time, and this time used electrical tape to keep the ground wire in a position that gave me solid contact, so that even if the car bumped around (or I switched from green to blue???) the contact would remain constant.

                  I got a daytime pic with my carbon fiber bezel - I'll get a blue pic up tomorrow!

                  I drove with the green/blue all night tonight and didnt' have any problems. Safe to say, I'll never use quick splicers again.
                  Attached Files
                  95 2gen LX 5-speed
                  Sony 52X4 HU
                  Alpine 6x9's on the rear deck, Sony Xplod 6.5's in front
                  NGK Spark Plug wires and Iridium IX Plugs
                  Euro Reverse Glow Guages and Carbon Fiber Bezel
                  ( My guages work now!)

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Good, I'm glad you figured out how to fix your gauges.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Alright!

                      Glad to see it all worked out for yah..


                      Signed:

                      Comment


                        #12
                        i just got in my own gauges today, i was just curious as to where to get power from for the gauges? are you supposed to have constant power to them and have them lit all the time, or splice into the power wire for the headlight switch? if it is the latter, where did you go into it, and what color/where should i be looking for.

                        Mods:
                        JDM Headlights + Corners
                        JDM Tailights
                        1st Gen LX Black Wheels
                        Shaved Side Mouldings
                        Second hand 'High-Flow' Muffler
                        Cone Filter
                        KYB GR-2's + Perf Lowering Springs
                        E-Bay front strut bar
                        Gauge cluster swap w/ Tach + Indiglo gauges
                        40% Tint on side windows, 20% on rear
                        and the best custom 3rd brake light overlay...'ZOOM'

                        Comment


                          #13
                          this would be very beneficial to you.


                          1996 1.5L Mazda Protege DX MTX
                          Mods:
                          DX converted to an LX (F & R seats and All Power), 2" Exhaust from the Catback, EuroReverse Glow Gauges, JDM Clear Side Markers, 17" MB Motoring Rims, K&N air filter 33-2134, All Clear Lenses, Front Strut Bar, MS Sideskirts, JDM Taillights, JDM Turbo Diesel Hood Scoop, OEM Door Visors, and Ducktail.
                          http://www.cardomain.com/id/beetle_orange

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Yeah since you have a 98, you can do the wiring just like intruder did on page three of the link beetle posted. 95-96 models are different, and so that picture wouldn't work, but you should be able to do exactly what he did and have it work with your headlights!
                            95 2gen LX 5-speed
                            Sony 52X4 HU
                            Alpine 6x9's on the rear deck, Sony Xplod 6.5's in front
                            NGK Spark Plug wires and Iridium IX Plugs
                            Euro Reverse Glow Guages and Carbon Fiber Bezel
                            ( My guages work now!)

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Thanks for that, it'll help when i install them in about an hour or so, after i cool down. Any sites for anger management for breakage of needles? You know, i knew they were brittle, and i was as careful as i could be, but for some reason i just put too much pressure on the temp/gas ones and they both went...luckly i know my car doesnt overheat and i have half a tank of gas which will last me about 125 miles. Anyone have the little cluster thing they'd be willing to sell to me? at least i know im not the only one to do this...so it helps...im going to try to get it installed now, see if i break anything there!
                              Last edited by JZProwler; 03-29-2005, 06:58 PM.

                              Mods:
                              JDM Headlights + Corners
                              JDM Tailights
                              1st Gen LX Black Wheels
                              Shaved Side Mouldings
                              Second hand 'High-Flow' Muffler
                              Cone Filter
                              KYB GR-2's + Perf Lowering Springs
                              E-Bay front strut bar
                              Gauge cluster swap w/ Tach + Indiglo gauges
                              40% Tint on side windows, 20% on rear
                              and the best custom 3rd brake light overlay...'ZOOM'

                              Comment

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