weird wiring problem

[burny36]

I have a 86 Comanche 2wd v6 5 speed that i bought yesterday and as i was driving it last night the left half of the gauge lights went out, the fuel gauge went to empty, the bright lights light came on and the blinker lights turned on and stayed solid. the marker lights outside were not on and they blinked when i turned the signal on. when i turn the brights on the brights turn on and the indicator light goes off. also when i turn the light switch dial all the way to the right the lights turn off and the gas gauge goes back to normal.

 

my question is that is it a ground somewhere, the light switch itself or the blinker switch that is the issue? i haven't looked into anything further with it except brows through the forum.

 

also i was wondering where i could find a wiring diagram for it?

 

thank you

Mark

[Akula69]

There is a ground under the dash (directly under the headlight switch) that is important for the dash lights. You might also want to check the front light (headlight, marker and turn lights) in the front end for corrosion and connectivity. Finally, you need to check the ground behind the driver's side taillight for corrosion.

 

Failing that it could be the headlight switch, but I've not had one go bad.

 

Search the forum for 'Electrical manual' - a guy posted one here in PDF form.

 

Good Luck

[burny36]

Thanks for the info that will help a lot!

 

question though. even though i have the 2.8 instead of the 4.0 are the engine grounds the same? or at least in the same area?

[Akula69]

I do not know about the engine grounds - someone with a 2.8 will have to chime in on that. The dash and body ground locations and the front harness should be the same however.