So tonight was the night – time to tackle the dash wiring and dash reinstall. I’ve got to say that I really wasn’t looking forward to this. Despite the helpful advice received from the MG Experience forum on the “best approach” there’s something about this part that just bothered me. Somehow it would be easier, I thought, if I had some help or at least someone to bounce stuff off as I went. Still no options for that tonight, so knowing I was probably going to get frustrated I went for it – slowly.
I have tried the grommets on the top dash posts and think that will work. I also managed to get some more of the 2825 part number bulbs form AutoZone the other night as these are 5W and I decided with would be best to have the same bulbs in all 5 main gauges (MG Experience post about it).
So I start with getting the wires onto the dimmer switch and tackle that piece from above. The wires were already on the heater blower from my first attempt at this. Having done that I remembered to actually switch the bulbs over before I got too far and forgot to change them! I then took the gauges out as suggested and got the dash pushed back into place. It came off once or twice (various things I forgot) but seems to fit OK. Not sure that the grommets are all fully engaged but that’ll keep – back to the gauges.
I work my way through the temp, fuel and speedo gauges. Not too bad but I started testing bulbs and functions as I went. I didn’t keep track of which color wire was on which side of each respective gauge and the wiring diagram didn’t seem to be specific. There is an arrow on the wiring diagram which may be trying to tell you the orientation of the gauge but I’m not sure. Anyway, I started testing as I went and the blower fan worked, temp gauge gave me a reading but nothing from the fuel gauge. Tried putting in some gas, changed wires around on the gauge and then finally moved the wire on the side of the tank. I didn’t get a reading but putting the wire on the side of the tank on the other connector must have been a ground and made the gauge move all the way over to full so I am guess that the gauge is OK and the problem is at the tank sending unit end (or whatever it’s called). See this article about changing the sending unit that I subsequently wrote up.
Lesson 1 Don’t forget to connect the oil gauge back up before you run the engine to get the temp gauge to work. If you do oil comes out the pipe that should be connected to the oil gauge! Doh! Don’t forget this point – ask me how I know this!
I also found the oil pressure gauge pretty tough to connect up through the gauge holes. Not sure why but you have to get a precise angle to get the nut on straight and tighten it fully. Don’t force it early though – if it won’t start threading easily by hand it’s not on right and you’ll cross the treads – caution here advised.
I then moved on to the speedo and this was the hardest so far. Had to get my left hand up on the one side with no room and that temp control mechanism really gets in the way! Also managed to get the trip reset cord stuck in the steering column housing and had to pull and redo the putting in of the speedo.
Last came the tach. That really wasn’t too bad as it was pretty easily accessed from underneath. Since I have no seats or interior in the car is quite easy to lay on your back and work up under the dash. Another test and the tach is working as well.
Final tests were all the bulbs. All the lights were working (light switch wired correctly) and all the gauges’ bulbs work. The dimmer also works although when it’s full in one direction the gauge lights are off – move it a fraction and they are full brightness and twisting further dims them. This seems to be the opposite of my 77 but for now I don’t care – they work and on full bright they seem pretty reasonable.
I also tested the high beam indicator and the turn signals/indicators as well and everything seems to be working fine! Yeah, really feeling quite chuffed now – by Jove I think I’ve done it!
Still some work to do. Must get the fresh air vent hoses lined up/hooked into the dash vents and then get some lower bolts and maybe the 2 end upper bolts on the dash. Still, big step forward tonight and although I’m going to the KC All British Show this weekend – maybe Monday I can get some more done and even start on the sound deadening and carpet install stuff.
