Dash Light Rewire

[Drawl21]

Hi all,i have a 1987 LHD 1.6dcs Doka,had it a couple of months,dash lights didnt work,upshot is ive just tried to replace with the white LED's,while the engine was running,don't know if thats wrong to begin with?,all went well untill i put the last one in and then watched the 2 connecting tracks on the PCB burn out,i've looked on the Wiki and all the info seems to be about hardwiring the complete dash,is it possible just to rewire the dash illumination lights and leave the PCB in?,please treat me like an electrical idiot(i am) with any solutions or ideas,thanks Dave

[CovKid]

Yes, mine are wired independently and to be honest its a wise move. Mine is taken from headlight switch. You could also feed from fusebox. No idea why it should burn PCB track though

[Drawl21]

thanks Covkid,wired from the headlight switch,that sounds a lot easier than messing with PCB,but i honestly wouldnt know where to start,could you write a bit of 'how to' please?,how do i wire the bulbs?,willi need to get bulb holders? Thanks Dave

[CovKid]

I cheated. Bought 10mm leds and suitable resistors. You do have to mod bulb holes slightly but thats no hardship. Just made the hole slightly larger so LEDs pushed straight in. Would need to look at van to see which wire on light switch I tapped into but will look when I get home.

Heres the thread: https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.p ... m#p8085204" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - explains most of it. The other way is to use a multimeter and see which terminal on headlight switch gives you 12v when you switch sidelights on - tap into that. If I remember rightly its a small one.

[Drawl21]

Thanks CovKid,appreciate that,just put the clocks back in,now ive got no power??,nothing at all?,no ign lights wont turn over,is there a main fuse anywhere?,everything seems to have gone back how it came out,anybody any ideas? Thanks Dave

[dogbreath100]

Check that the 14 pin connecter is pushed
back in .

[marlinowner]

Not sure about diesel but my DG van would start and drive fine with the 14 way connector disconnected. I would try with it disconnected in case the short is pulling 12v down. Do lights, heater, hazards etc work?

[Drawl21]

Hi all,Thanks for replies,just got back out,and checked my multimeter across a mates battery, to make sure it worked ok,yeah fine 12.46v,put it across mine and 0.04v,it has been fine since ive had the van,it looks to me like ive blown the battery?,does anybody know any different?,seems odd that me ruining the dash lighting tracks on the PCB would do this?,Thanks Dave