When i bought my 76 pinto 3.5 years ago, the dash lights didnt work. I drove it that way for a long time then one day decided to take it apart and was going to replacee the light bulbs. Well in the process i broke the white mounting bracket in the back. The whole thing just crumbled. I replaced it with an instrument cluster out of a 73. That one i ran for a while, but the connector would not plug in (i didnt know this until i found out the hard way, but 71-74 models use a connector in the back of the cluster that is 6 pins wide, whilt 75-80 use a connector that is 7 pins wide.) Now then i have another very nice cluster from a 78 wagon (thanks, earthquake!!) and it plugs in and all the lights work again, except for the backlights AGAIN! Just like the original cluster. The alternator, engine, and brake lights work, and the turn signal indicator light, but not the illuminator lights for the gas guage and speedometer. I replaced ALL the bulbs before i installed the cluster. Is there a seperate fuse for JUST the dashlights or something? Nothing else (that i know of) doesnt work, so if it were a fuse it would have to be for just the dash lights. It sounds like a wiring problem to me but i hope to god that isnt the case because if it is, i'll just have to drive it like it is.
You haven't mentioned if the other instrument ILLUMINATING bulbs are working, (like on the radio?) only that the INDICATOR and WARNING lights (turn signals/4 way flasher indicators/red idiot lights) are working OK.
There is usually a different fuse that controls the illuminating lights. Odds are strong that a blown fuse is the problem.
Pull each fuse one at a time if you don't have an owners' manual and visually check them first, replacing any where the wires aren't clearly visible, or appear to be blown and you can't see the wires. If you DO have a continuity or 12V tester, check them all electrically, loose for the continuity tester, in place with the 12V tester.
I just flipped through the older Pinto book I have here and on the 1975 model, for example there are several, covering things that are related to the interior lighting.
#1 fuse- for the turn signals and back up lamps;
#4 " for the ILLUMINATION LAMPS for the instrument panel cluster,heater a/c control, radio, ashtray, winshield wiper switch;
#6 for the WARNING LAMPS for engine, brakes, fasten seat belts,liftgate open,power to the seat belt buzzer, and the emission controm solenoids;
#10 for the stop lamps, hazard flashers;
#11 for the dome, map, cargo, key and headlight on buzzer, seat belt module
If the fuse doesn't fix the problem:
If you have a continuity tester, check for a complete electrical path from the local ground back to the bulb sockets. And then from the power supply side to the sockets. This will narrow down where to look for the problem.
If you don't have one, and haven't done so already, try very carefully lifting the side wires on the bulbs slightly before inserting them into the sockets and also burnishing the contacts where the instrument bulbs and sockets go. If yours has the large printed circuit where the bulb sockets have the flat style exterior spring type contacts, be especially careful burnishing the printed circuit material. Oftentimes these low wattage contacts oxidize or just plain get dirty enough over time to cause a problem, as even a very thin film of oxide or crud will prevent a good electrical contact.
Also check and clean/burnish the connectors going backwards from those bulbs, to see if one of those is adding to the problem.
Next, find the local ground wire/s and clean it/them up. Sometimes there will be ONLY one ground wire and sometimes there will be MORE than one ground serving several different circuits that are physically located in a relatively small area, and if one particular ground is ONLY serving those particular bulbs, that (or a broken/cracked wire in the section of the harness that serves those 2? bulbs) may well be the problem here if the other dash lights are still working.
I seem to remember having a similar problem myself with one Ford where a part of the mostly plastic instrument panel was electrically isolated from the rest of the panel, and in that case there was a separate connector and ground for it, but it may not have been on a Pinto.
The headlight switch has a dimmer circuit that controls those lights. My bet is it is bad. Sometimes, when a car sets for a long time, these will just get a little corroded. Usually, by twisting the switch back and forth for a little while, it will wear off the corrosion and they'll work.
The alternator and engine and brake lights work and the turn signal indicators work too. The windshield wipers work too, so if my 76 is like the 75 is and has the dash lights on the same circuit as the windshield wipers, then that isnt the problem. Ill have to take it back apart and see what i can find.
That fuse listed is not for the wipers. The fuse is for the LIGHTS for the wiper switch, and the LIGHTS for the other listed items.
fast34,
good idea!!
You may have hit it on the head. A lot of people don't know about the dash light dimmer function. Another good reason to track down an owners' manual.
I have an owners manual for it. I discovered the fuse WAS blown but there is still another problem. There is no power to either side of the fuse terminal, i guess before it blew it took the wire with it. I thought the fuse was supposed to prevent that. lol. Anyways. Is it possible to replaced JUST the one wire? Like... surely the fuse box comes apart.... and the wire comes loose from both ends.. both from the fuse box and the connector that pushes in the back of the instrument cluseter....am i right? Its dark now i cant work on it anymore tonite or id just go look and see for myself. Also i noticed the fuse box on my 74 has alot less fuses... is the wiring on the 76 unique for JUST that car? I dont really want to go that far into it to fix it, but should i get the urge to... i need to know if i have to be on the lookout for wiring from a 76...
I too would think it's the dimmer on the headlight switch,a very common problem.