Has anyone ever linked up a set of driving/fog lights with the extra light warning on the cluster? (talking low series i..e GLi, Futura cluster btw).
In case you dont know what I'm talking about, there is an extra logo in the cluster, which is at the very top of the middle part. It is a green emblem similar to the highbeam one, and it is used to remind you if you have lights other than the headlights still turned on.
I had the cluster out today to change the odo display to blue, and thats when I found it. It doesnt have a bulb in it, but that will be fixed tomorrow (all I gotta do is just get a bulb from Ford and screw it in), but in order to actually make it light up when the driving lights are on, I need to know which of the pins on the 2 plugs that plug into the cluster controls this light?
Just to add to this, is it possible to stop the odometer from dimming itself when the headlights are turned on? Now that it's blue it's hard to read at the best of times, so I don't want it to keep going dimmer on me.
The lights are mounted and ready to go, the wires are in the dash and the switch is too, but as yet I havent completed it because when we pulled the dash apart we found this extra light, so I thought I'd wait and see how hard it is to incorporate it into the wiring. As far as I can tell, if I want it to light up when the lights are on, I just need to run a wire from the new globe holder (that will go behind the green light in the dash) to the switch.
I know thats probably not the best explanation, but its the best I can do!
Need a few more bits of info too now (and its only going to get worse!):
* Can the instrument cluster circuitry handle a 12v direct feed from my driving lights?
* How do you make the LEDs to fit in the bulb holders? I know fordmods has the info but the site never works for me. If someone can copy + paste the info from it, that'd be great.
The LED's are simple and tricky at the same time. Basically you need the bulb holder, whip out the bulb, and then solder in a LED, which is in series with a resistor. I've attached a super crap picture of roughly what it would look like (square box is bulb holder). Its a simple arrangement, but can be very tricky to actually organise and fit it all in (I was swearing and cursing for a while - its kinda fiddly).
You will want to be *very* careful with running power from the lights to the instrument cluster - with the high rated fuses they'll have, they could push a fair amount of power through the cluster before any fuses blow. Also, LED's use/need SFA in the way of current. I'd really avoid anything direct between lights and cluster.
Okies, I've had a look through the workshop manual, and there is some real weirdness there !
First up, there does seem to be a "fog light" light available - there *is* a slot for the globe as you would have found, and the cluster loom does have 2 wires available for this light. BUT, from there on, the "fog light" light is never mentioned again - its not shown in any circuit diagrams, or listed *anywhere*. Afaik, there wasn't a factory option of fog lights anyway . . . Very odd.
So, in short, there are some wires there, but I have NFI exactly what they do *inside* the cluster itself. They might simply be some circuit tracks to the globe holder, or there might be some microprocessor involvement somewhere (I would hope it was the former given the lack of information on the thing). Either way, you want to be *very* careful wiring this up, since it is largely an unknown, and would suck to blow the cluster (might be able to try some simple continuity tests that might give an idea of if it is simple wiring or something else).
I scanned up 3 pages of the manual, a cluster wiring diagram, the cluster pinouts, and the back layout of the cluster (showing the fog light globe holder).
They can be found HERE, HERE and HERE. (didn't post them here due to size and possible copyright dilemmas).
thanks again, your help is really appreciated cos noone round here seems to have a clue about how to do this. Those pages came in really handy. Thanks!
The guys at spare parts told me today that the cluster should be able to handle 12v fine, but we'll play it safe just to make sure.
I'll let you know how it goes, I'm hopefully finishing it all up on Sunday.
The AutoGuide.com network consists of the largest network of enthusiast-owned enthusiast-operated automotive communities.
AutoGuide.com provides the latest car reviews, auto show coverage, new car prices, and automotive news. The AutoGuide network operates more than 100 automotive forums where our users consult peers for shopping information and advice, and share opinions as a community.
(might be able to try some simple continuity tests that might give an idea of if it is simple wiring or something else).
Linear Mode
