79 RS2000 Escort instrument cluster will not light up

[retroracers]

Hello fellow Esky's,

Trying to troubleshoot why the instrument cluster on my 79 Escort RS2000 no longer lights up / has no power. Symptoms I'm seeing:

- indicator flasher no longer signals
- alternator charge light no longer lights up when key is in reds position.
- High beam indicator does not light up, but lights do come on.
- wipers do not work

Shortly after I purchased the car, everything appeared to be working fine.
But one afternoon while the car was running, i was cycling through the instruments and was operating the indicators when all of a sudden the indicators just stopped flashing.

I turned the ignition off and then switched back to reds and noticed the alternator light was not coming on now either. Car still started fine though.

I immediately checked the fuse compartment in the engine bay and all fuses tested fine with the meter.

My gut feeling is that the flasher relay may have shorted and is probably buggered, but this doesn't explain why the alternator light no longer comes on?

I have been tracing wires behind the cluster and into the engine bay and have noticed some very loose terminal connections to the Starter, the distributor and the alternator. I've fixed those in question.

I've now disconnected and removed the indicator, wiper, horn and light switches. The heater controls have also been disconnected.

So here are my questions.

1. With all these components removed, can someone tell me whether or not the alternator light on the instrument cluster should still light up, if I only have the two plugs connected into the back of the cluster?

2. Is there another fuse somewhere behind the dash that may have blown and resulting in no power to the cluster?

3. With the two plugs connected (pics attached) to the back of the cluster and ignition in the Reds position, can someone advise which wires on both plugs I should expect to see my test light, light up?

Any advise here would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks everyone

[V1nn1e72]

Hi Retroracers,
I have never heard of such a thing happening before, maybe your best bet is to take it to a professional auto electrician and see what they say.

[XB GS 351 Coupe]

Main thing I notice is bare wires, which to me indicates a massive fire risk and possible short circuits.

First thing you need is a wiring diagram indicating what coloured wire does what, then you can test with a test light to see if you are getting power.

Without that you are working blind and probably just wasting your time.

[dirty hands]

my thoughts

thats quite a list
you may have to pull the cluster out again

I would start again but one fault at a time

after confirming each circuit and device is sound ..... mark it done
bare wires to fix
sure all bulbs work
you may have lost earths (a guess)
the brass contacts there don,t show burning or heat ..need to be shiny

[WindsorXR]

I would agree with getting a McGregorys manual (I think that's what they are) Check the wiring diagram and go from there. Check all of the dash circuits and make sure they haven't been tampered with. It sounds like it would be a fuse, as it stopped working when you turned on the indicators, but it could be other things as well. Check the back of the cluster for any hidden fuses, backed out pins, loose connections and earths and any burn marks from overloading a wire or circuit, etc. Try a new flasher relay (They are cheap). It's a little hard to diagnose over a forum, but give a few thing a go. Failing that, get an auto elec or mechanic to check it out. A previous owner could have possibly wired in something else or fiddled around. I have seen it before.

[allanv6gt]

If enough/many of the wires are bare (shorted out, then burns back up the loom...), it might be time for a replacement loom. Mk2 Esky shouldn't be too hard to find. It is a real pain fixing the one you have after this sort of thing happens.