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Subject:Re: Electrical Help nEEDED - 90' Carat
From:Matt Roberds
Date:Fri, 18 May 2007 12:30:36 -0500

> From:    Mark Drillock <drillock@EARTHLINK.NET>
> Date:    Fri, 18 May 2007 08:08:16 -0700
>
> Jeff Lincoln wrote:
>
>> [Blew S3] Changed that everything seems fine except I have no dash
>> lights - none.  Dome light works, radio works, I think the Lighter
>> works - no dash lights - any ideas?
>
> Check fuse S20 as if it was blown you would not have dash lights,
> if by dash lights you mean the lights for the speedo, tach, etc.

Agreed.  You probably blew S3 by shorting the red wire at the stereo to
ground.  S20 provides the power for the license plate lights and the
dash lights.

>> Also, I have a red wire and a blue gray wire that were not connected
>> to anything coming towards the radio opening from the drivers side.
>> Bentley says blue grey is ground and the red is power - but for what?
>
> The gray/blue is NOT ground! It is panel lighting and comes from fuse
> S20 in 1990 models.

Agreed.  The direct ground wires (no switch) in VWs are almost always
solid brown.

>> I have the same color wires on the passenger side that weren't
>> connected but go to the cig lighter glow ring. Should these connect -
>> they are the same color and gauge.

Originally, there should have been a gray-blue stripe wire coming from
a splice just downstream of the light switch to terminal 6 of the 8-way
connector near the radio.  A second gray-blue stripe wire left terminal
6 and went to the cig lighter light.  If fuse S20 is OK and all the dash
lights _except_ the cig lighter light are working, then yes, you probably
need to connect the two gray-blue stripe wires you have.

I would hold off on connecting the two red wires to anything until you
figure out what else isn't working.

>> Also, the glove box light was disconnected - where should those go
>> to ground and power?

I'm not sure.  Probably the elusive page 9 (97.212) of the scanned
'90 wiring diagram shows it.

Matt Roberds