Gauge Cluster Wiring… Help?

[HmmwvTim]

Hello,

I have an 06 m1165.
The dash lights are both LEDs.
Speedo has built in light.

When I have the switch on, I only see the speedo on even when the garage is pitch black. When I pop of the 2 caps, I can see the LED glowing green but not bright. I understand the bulbs can be going out but but odds are not in the same way at the same time. I have the labeled 40 wires connected to the lights and one of them is Y’d into the speedo harness with factory connectors. Any ideas?

If it matters, the batteries are both strong and tested good under load but the vehicle is not started. Everything else electrically seems to be working fine.

 

[HmmwvTim]

 

[Coug]

the gauges all have little transparent windows on the side/top/bottom for the light to enter them. A lot of the time they can get covered in dust, not allowing light through.

 

[Mullaney]

Hello,

I have an 06 m1165.
The dash lights are both LEDs.
Speedo has built in light.

When I have the switch on, I only see the speedo on even when the garage is pitch black. When I pop of the 2 caps, I can see the LED glowing green but not bright. I understand the bulbs can be going out but but odds are not in the same way at the same time. I have the labeled 40 wires connected to the lights and one of them is Y’d into the speedo harness with factory connectors. Any ideas?

If it matters, the batteries are both strong and tested good under load but the vehicle is not started. Everything else electrically seems to be working fine.

.
And if you have the push button light switch, by default it is dim.
There is a low and high setting even for the 3-Lever

 

[ToddJK]

Hello,

I have an 06 m1165.
The dash lights are both LEDs.
Speedo has built in light.

When I have the switch on, I only see the speedo on even when the garage is pitch black. When I pop of the 2 caps, I can see the LED glowing green but not bright. I understand the bulbs can be going out but but odds are not in the same way at the same time. I have the labeled 40 wires connected to the lights and one of them is Y’d into the speedo harness with factory connectors. Any ideas?

If it matters, the batteries are both strong and tested good under load but the vehicle is not started. Everything else electrically seems to be working fine.

If the gauges are clean and the switch is on the brightest setting, I saw a YT video where a guy filed a small slit into the plastic housing that goes around the light bulb, allowing some white light to come through and it was significantly brighter. Maybe an option for you? I'm not sure if those gauges are similar to those on a deuce or not but I figured it was worth a mention.

 

[HmmwvTim]

the gauges all have little transparent windows on the side/top/bottom for the light to enter them. A lot of the time they can get covered in dust, not allowing light through.

They have all be completely cleaned and were not that dirty beforehand.

 

[HmmwvTim]

.
And if you have the push button light switch, by default it is dim.
There is a low and high setting even for the 3-Lever

I went through all settings with with the lever switch.

 

[HmmwvTim]

If the gauges are clean and the switch is on the brightest setting, I saw a YT video where a guy filed a small slit into the plastic housing that goes around the light bulb, allowing some white light to come through and it was significantly brighter. Maybe an option for you? I'm not sure if those gauges are similar to those on a deuce or not but I figured it was worth a mention.

As you can see in the photo, virtually no light gets to the other gauges. The only reason why you can see the lights with the caps off is because my phone did a time exposure, otherwise those leds are very dim and not noticable. I order lights from fed mil parts do see if it is bulb issues or is it wiring.

 

[Mullaney]

I went through all settings with with the lever switch.

.
Could be a bad ground on the speedy meter.
Bad ground will make the light not work or be really weak.

Quick hack is to clamp a length of wire to the ground post on your battery and touch it to the back of the speedometer. If it brightens the lights, you will need to run yourself a new ground or follow the one you have - and clean it then add spot of dielectric to it.

 

[HmmwvTim]

.
Could be a bad ground on the speedy meter.
Bad ground will make the light not work or be really weak.

Quick hack is to clamp a length of wire to the ground post on your battery and touch it to the back of the speedometer. If it brightens the lights, you will need to run yourself a new ground or follow the one you have - and clean it then add spot of dielectric to it.

The speedo is nice and bright. Also the harness and speedo is new. 800$ new -_- why so expensive. Lol

 

[Action]

Those LEDs don't have a very noticeable difference between DIM and BRIGHT. You could try regular 24v bulbs in there. Regular bulbs shine more to the side. My dash seems to have the same LEDs, but they are not green.

I didn't know the 80mph speedos have there own light. I have noticed in the last 9 years.

 

[HmmwvTim]

Those LEDs don't have a very noticeable difference between DIM and BRIGHT. You could try regular 24v bulbs in there. Regular bulbs shine more to the side. My dash seems to have the same LEDs, but they are not green.

I didn't know the 80mph speedos have there own light. I have noticed in the last 9 years.

It might just be the newer 80mph speedos. I noticed that the common ones I have seen has a dark bronze look which I believe was the one taken out of my truck. The color of my tac is bronze. My speedo has a black bezel though. When my bulbs come in, they should give me a better idea. I know they are bright. If not, there is a different issue at play.

 

[Maxjeep1]

As you can see in the photo, virtually no light gets to the other gauges. The only reason why you can see the lights with the caps off is because my phone did a time exposure, otherwise those leds are very dim and not noticable. I order lights from fed mil parts do see if it is bulb issues or is it wiring.

I got the fed bulbs and I’m really happy with them. Blue is nice and I got green also but I like the blue. Only rust I found anywhere on my truck was inside those sockets and I don’t understand why. They look blue but pic makes it look more purple for some reason

 

[HmmwvTim]

I got the fed bulbs and I’m really happy with them. Blue is nice and I got green also but I like the blue. Only rust I found anywhere on my truck was inside those sockets and I don’t understand why. They look blue but pic makes it look more purple for some reason View attachment 845035View attachment 845036

Looks nice, i wanted orange like old toyota trucks because it is easy on the eyes but since the speedo is green, i got the green bulbs.

 

[Action]

Looks nice, i wanted orange like old toyota trucks because it is easy on the eyes but since the speedo is green, i got the green bulbs.

That could be the reason. You replaced the original lamps. Maybe those green leds dont shine to the side....

 

[Mullaney]

That could be the reason. You replaced the original lamps. Maybe those green leds dont shine to the side....

.
Very true! Most LEDs only point forward from the socket - not around the socket.

 

[HmmwvTim]

That could be the reason. You replaced the original lamps. Maybe those green leds dont shine to the side....

havent replaced them yet. Those are how they come from amgeneral. I saw a video on youtube with this lightbulb in while comparing with the fedmilparts bulb. Though it wasn’t as bright as the fed bulbs, it was much brighter than what mine produces and it lit through the translucent back of the gauges.

keep in mind, what you see in this photo is a night exposure which make it seem brighter.
here is what it really looks like. Doesn't even look on with ambient light.. So something is not right.

 

[Maxjeep1]

.
Very true! Most LEDs only point forward from the socket - not around the socket.

Fed bulbs shine 5 directions. They seem like nice bulbs and 12.00 for 3 bulbs with shipping didn’t seem too bad.

 

[Mullaney]

Fed bulbs shine 5 directions. They seem like nice bulbs and 12.00 for 3 bulbs with shipping didn’t seem too bad.View attachment 845041

.
New and Improved!
It's very cool that Fed Mil bulbs thought about the problem then developed a solution.

 

[HmmwvTim]

Jokes on me. The contacts look pretty corroded. Also it states that they are 28v lights. I assume that they dont draw enough from a 24v setup through the 40x wires to fully eluminate. Instead of cleaning these, I will just clean the sockets and wait for the fed lights that I ordered.