Instrument panel

[akhuntr]

First I would like to thank everyone for helping with my tire issue. I picked up a set of 155/80 12s and they work fine. I'm trying to make sure the car is road worthy enough for a trip from Wa to Tx then on the NC. I had 3 distinct squealing noises coming from the belt area and I changed out both AC belt and alternator belt and the idler pulley and that fix my noise problem. The last time I drove the car two years ago the AC would charge up and take almost 3 months before It would leak down. Now it won't even charge. Also the gas gauge will not work anymore along with the lights in the instruments. The only ones that work are the blinkers. Any suggestions as to where to start looking?

[firebush357]

I would check Fuses first then the plugs in the back of your Speedo Cluster to make sure everything is plugged in tight and clean. Make sure that you unscrew the speedo cable from the Trans using a 19mm Wrench before you pull the Cluster out of the dash.

[ryanprins13]

Check fuses for the cluster like firebrush said, with the a/c is it leaking out immediatly or is the compresser not kicking in so it wont tske a charge?
you have 2 options. One is to buy the dye kit, charge it and see where its leaking, then fix that leak and charge.
Option 2 is a full rebuild. Replace all o-rings, dryer, expansion valve, high and low fitting valves (shrader valves?) and recharge.
I guess an option 3 would be to do option 2 but skip the expansion valve. Its a lot more work.

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[akhuntr]

The ac compressor will not kick in. Could the ignition switch effect all these electrical systems at once?

[WmWatt]

In the cases I've experienced and read of here the ignition switch seems to effect the headlights and wipers rather than the instrument panel. If the fuses by the driver's door are okay I'd reach up behind the instrument panel and wiggle wires. Good luck.

[ryanprins13]

Yea, there is a fuse that does all the instrument cluster lights. Ive had it blow before. Cant remember what one though but its quick enough to stick a test light on all of em

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[ryanprins13]

The ac compressor will not kick in. Could the ignition switch effect all these electrical systems at once?

Probably not, but whatever is causing the instrument cluster lights to not come on could be. Also there is an inline fuse by the a/c switch that could be blown, relay could be bad, high/low pressure switch could be bad, bad ground in the a/c wiring harness, clutch is done on the compressor... a hundred things.
I guess first would be to fix the lights, then make sure the ac fluid is actually getting into the lines when your trying to charge, then see if there is power going to the a/c clutch when your trying to charge it and go from there.

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[bravekozak]

Yea, there is a fuse that does all the instrument cluster lights. Ive had it blow before. Cant remember what one though but its quick enough to stick a test light on all of em

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Determine if you have a bad dimmer switch first.
All of the instrument cluster lights go through the dimmer switch.
Pull off the connector, test for power and then jump it to see if all the lights work.

[ryanprins13]

Determine if you have a bad dimmer switch first.
All of the instrument cluster lights go through the dimmer switch.
Pull off the connector, test for power and then jump it to see if all the lights work.

Except for the high beam indicator which is dumb. You dim your dash lights and you still have that stupid blue light blinding you. I used to cover it with tape on long night drives.

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[akhuntr]

Update to my instrument panel lights and AC problem. I removed the instrument cluster and cleaned all the contacts on the connectors and plugged them back in...Walla the lights and gas gauge worked like a charm. The AC however was a little more difficult. We ran a jumper wire from the battery to the AC Compressor and it kicked on and started taking refrigerant like its supposed to. Once the system was charged we reconnected the Compressor and it stopped working. Let me back up here for a second. The day before when I changed the belts and idler pulley I removed the hose from the air box to the throttle body to get at the area I needed to work on. Back to the present! We started chasing the wires back to see if there was an issue with the wiring. Lo and behold there it was!!! When I removed and reinstalled the hose from the air box to the throttle body I inadvertently disconnected a plug. Plugged it back in and the AC worked like a charm.

My son and I drove the car from Spokane WA to Abilene TX, almost 1900 miles. My son will be driving on to NC by way of Houston, Hattiesburg MS, then on to Asheville NC.

I'll see what I can do to post a pic of the little car later. I'm only the 3rd owner of the car. The first owner used it as a RV car and the second owner took very good care of it as well. It had 74K miles on it when I picked it up in 2013 and when we got to Abilene

[akhuntr]

Son and 1992 Festiva.jpgMy Son and I.jpg

[WmWatt]

Some Festivas really get around. I've driven mine from Ottawa to Raleigh NC and to Yarmouth NS, with a dog, sleeping in the car overnight.

[akhuntr]

I love mine, its the 3rd one I've owned. It's unmolested at the moment. However, I plan on upgrading the front and back suspension to the Aspire's next year. I like the idea of a larger brake, larger tire, and the fact that you don't have to press the front hub apart to change the roters. The only problems with the interior is the front seat covers have rips in the bottom panels and the door panels have about a 1" tear on both around the door handles. My brother has a friend that does upholstery work and I'm going to have him replace front and back seat covers to as close to factory as he can get them and the carpet upgraded to a better quality carpet.

[akhuntr]

Just a quick update...

My son made it to Asheville NC yesterday, ending a 4280 mile trip that started on 30 Jul in Spokane WA. The little Festiva drove like a champ with no issues
.

[ryanprins13]

Just a quick update...

My son made it to Asheville NC yesterday, ending a 4280 mile trip that started on 30 Jul in Spokane WA. The little Festiva drove like a champ with no issues
.

Very nice! Glad to see you got all your issues fixed. The car looks great from those 2 photos.

I love mine, its the 3rd one I've owned. It's unmolested at the moment. However, I plan on upgrading the front and back suspension to the Aspire's next year. I like the idea of a larger brake, larger tire, and the fact that you don't have to press the front hub apart to change the roters. The only problems with the interior is the front seat covers have rips in the bottom panels and the door panels have about a 1" tear on both around the door handles. My brother has a friend that does upholstery work and I'm going to have him replace front and back seat covers to as close to factory as he can get them and the carpet upgraded to a better quality carpet.

Nice, upgrading the front brakes and booster helps, you can do the back but its not really needed.
You can buy new carpets still but you want a thicker pile carpet or what part is higher quality?



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