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so that little red/black wire that provides back lights for the cluster, radio, the switches, ac control ect ect ect. I know it comes from the tail light relay but where does it spider out for all the accessories? like does it spider in the harness behind the radio, under the dash im just curious where so I can fix a damaged wire

 
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I'll guess.......You installed an aftermarket radio, now the dash lights don't work?

You connected the "illumination" wires on the radio adapter harness?

Can't do that, most aftermarket radios aren't compatible for this part and it causes a direct short circuit
This usually burns circuit traces off of the gauge cluster circuit board.

 
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I didn't the crack head I bought it off did and to add icing on the cake he replaced the interior light fuse with a piece of wire so it kept burning the red/black wire at radio harness. That's why I need to know where it spiders out

 
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Oh hell. Hang on a few I guess I should hit the pipe a few times so I can think about it on a crackheads level LOL


ok pull the radio out and disconnect all of its wiring from the OE dashboard harness connector.....
See if that at least gets it to stop blowing fuses or melting wires (assuming wires have not become melted together anywhere causing multiple short circuit and bridged circuit problems)
If that works, then the problem is the radio and its wiring, sooooo


cut all wires connected to 'illumination' off of the wiring adapter, make sure the red-black was one of them, tape all the cut ends so they can't short out


I'm looking at a wiring diagram.....
red-black looks like it is power for the dash lights and park lights...and comes from fuse #2 (15A) in the engine compartment fuse box, yes?
there aren't any splice packs with branches of multiple wires for this on a harmness........ all the dash light circuit common junctions are done inside the dash fusebox then go out to individual wire harnesses (the fusebox is a very busy area)

 
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so I only want my gauges to have back lights so basically I could just go to the fuse box, cut the red/black wire and run a new wire to my cluster and splice into that red/black wire?

 
Rep Power: 518

I can't answer the question because I don't know for sure if that's what your car is missing and I can't test it for myself to find out
I was figuring unplug the radio then make the rest of the lights work correctly then you can deal with correcting the probs with the radio wiring

the red-black is only half of what's needed to operate the dash light bulbs. (the positive half)
But what about the grounds? (the electronic dimmer system controls or varies the ground for varying the brightness of the dash lights, it does not control the positive)

also, most of the individual switches and hvac controls and shifter letters are supposed to be illuminated with the dash lights too. If you start chopping random wires without knowing exactly what you are doing, they may not work

 
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When I turn the dimmer **** my mileage back light is the only thing that dims. I also have no back lights on any switches or ac control witch I don't care about I only want my gauge cluster to have back lights. I also have a new cluster

 
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I already fixed the radio that's how I noticed the red and black wire in the radio harness was completely melted so bad that the only way I knew what color it was was a inch of insulation around the color at the radio connector. The rest untill it went into main dash harness was exposed coper

 
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Hello all. I didnt see the final resolution here. I have the same problem, speedometer, odometer, upper 1/2 of gauge cluster goes out when I turn the light on. The previous owner had an aftermarket stereo and the orange wire was connected. Is the switch point on the cluster board or controlled elsewhere under the dash (multiplexor)?

 
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What was the orange wire connected to in the car's harness?

 
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Thanks for helping. It was connected to the solid orange wire in the orm harness.

 
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I meant OEM harness. I repaired two traces that came off the blue connector but, could not see anything on the traces from the green harness which electrically connected with the some of the wires in the radio harness.