Celica Forums General Discussion Exterior problem with AC EL gauges

I installed my AC gauges over the weekend and everything went ok but I'm havin problems. They don't always turn on. I turn the lights on the gauges light up, I do it again they don't light up, so on and so on. What did I do wrong, how do I fix it so they light up every time I turn the lights on.

All i can suggest is double-checking all your connections

Yea i agree

Ya, mine can be kinda picky about lighting up too. I'd suggest double checking all the connections, making sure you've got a good power supply and ground cause mine is tapped into some random power source and that's the cause of my problems...now I'm just too lazy to fix up

check your connections - make sure that everything is plugged-in to a good power supplier such as your driving lights and not your cig lighter

I have had my gauges installed for close to 2 years now... about 12 months ago they started flickering and changing colors for all of 2 weeks - i then switched my connector from the cig lighter to the headlight like it details in the directions that came with the gauges - and also like our online install guide located at...
https://celicahobby.com/ubbthreads/thread.f_57137_0_collapsed_2__1.html

Then about 4 months ago, right before I replaced the battery in my Celica, the gauges went completely out... after switching the battery to something that wouldnt die within 10 minutes (engine OFF and radio ON), the gauges worked just like new again...
https://celicahobby.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Number=4821

I'd suggest testing that the connections you have your gauges plugged into is always getting 12v of power and not connected to any sort of dimmer (such as the one in your cig lighter)

...

UPDATE: the following evening, my gauges went out on me again for a while - I pulled up to a drive-thru window and reached for my wallet, accidentally kicking the enclosure for where the inverter was located at - this cause the gauges to regain power and turn back on.

all the night, I thought it was rather strange, so I kicked that location again and the gauges went out... I had to test this theory a few more times, so On with the "kicking" and it became obvious that it was a short in the connection.

This afternoon, I took a look at my wiring and knowing that it truly was a short... after all this time, a whole years and several months, the problem could have just been solved by a more secure connection.

BTW - If you are not using the correct gauge wire, your electricity wont be able to get to the gauges as it should be. (this is also true for hooking up your sound system - thats why the WATTAGE of power that goes through your battery, to your Subs requires at least "X" GAUGE WIRE)

Did that, power and ground look good. All the other conections are EZ plugs, don't see how I could screw them up.

and what gauge wire are you using? how about your connectors... are they just taped together or are they actualy plugged together?

my power is connected to my parking lights, ground is in grounding block behind driver kick panel, and I used 18 gauge wire. The 12v inverter/EL transformer is mounted behind the gauge panel.

there pluged Isaac

you say that they don't always turn on - this obviously says that they sometimes get power and sometimes they don't... what this tells is that there truly is a short in the way they are hooked up - just go through your connections again and find out what makes them turn on sometimes but not other times.

like I had posted above - in most cases, the problem can easily be solved by just rattling/moving the connectors until they turn off again (in my case, it was kicking the box that i had stored everything in)... and then doing the installation over again - but correctly this time

yeah, your right. I guess I just do it agin this weekend.

hey dude...
I can help you out...
i HAD mine connected to the parking lamps and I am surprised I was able to connect the wire of the gauges to such a tiny wire for the parking lamps, and to top it off, that wire had no extra slack so If i messed up, then it would be really messed up...

but anyway, you shouldn't of installed them and asked what the best locations were to power and ground them...

I currently have mine under the dash, there is no need to go all the way to the parking lamp.

but yes, you do have a bad connection if they go on and off. While the mechanics were reconnecting mine, he had trouble getting them to come on, he hooked them up to a fuse and had to find the right wires to make it work and the problem was the connection, it wasn't good enough to the fuse and such...


but if you are redoing them, put everything under your dash, it makes things so much easier.
Let me know and I could take a pic where all of mine is connected.

http://plaza.umin.ac.jp/~satoshi/mod05Ren.html

i did my last night and did eveything under the dash. so far so good. i didnt even bother to put the dimmer switch out b/c i'm never gonna use it.

I asked you about the connections before I installed them, but with no reply as to a better location (parking lights) I just went ahead and did it. They do not go on and off, sometimes they don't turn on. I have to turn the lights on and off to get them to come on. I does not happen all the time maybe once every 10 times I turn them on.

I'm going to go over it one more time and check all my connections, its not a huge problem just a little tweeked. Thanks for all the tips guys!