Need quick help, after a new HU and battery, no dash lights?

[Supergumby5000 5,000+ posts]

Long story short, i put in an aftermarket HU and a new battery in my girlfriends jetta

Got everything back together, and now the dash lights/climate control lights wont come on.

If i turn the car on auxilary mode, the warning lights all light up (battery, overheat, check engine, etc etc), but as soon as i start the car, all the lights in the cluster and in the climate control unit arent working....

Any idea what might be the case? Im hoping just a fuse, but i cant seem to find a fuse guide anywhere.

The car is a 99.5 jetta, and had the basic stereo in it as well as a 6 CD changer (that isnt hooked up now)

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[GreenBook 10+ year member]

It sounds like a short somewhere to me; but I know that stock vw radio's have built in anti theft codes. Hope that somehow isn't tied into the gauge cluster as well and causeing problems.

Try asking these guys here: http://forums.vwvortex.com/

vdub's have a pretty strong fanbase, someone there should know what's up.

 

[Supergumby5000 5,000+ posts]

It sounds like a short somewhere to me; but I know that stock vw radio's have built in anti theft codes. Hope that somehow isn't tied into the gauge cluster as well and causeing problems.
Try asking these guys here: http://forums.vwvortex.com/

vdub's have a pretty strong fanbase, someone there should know what's up.

well, the CD player works fine. the whole system is functioning 100%

so, it wouldnt be a theft code i dont think.... would it?

The only things that dont work are the speedometer, tachometer, and climate control lights. The speedo and tach function, the climate controls work, they just do not illuminate.

 

[Supergumby5000 5,000+ posts]

just went back to check for a few things

everything works fine EXCEPT the illumination lights, such as the tachometer, speedometer, fuel, and climate controls. Everything else works (headlights, taillights, blinkers, emergency lights, interior and exterior)

any ideas?

I checked the fuses, and all of them are good.

 

[Supergumby5000 5,000+ posts]

well, i just posted on vwvortex, hopefully they will give me some input.

Its weird that everything functions just fine, except that the tach, speedo, climate control, etc (anything that would be illuminated while driving) dont light up, even though they function (speedo and tach read off rpms and speed, climate control blows air, heat warmers work but buttons wont light up)

 

[Supergumby5000 5,000+ posts]

ttt

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

illumination fuse may of accidentally blew....

 

[Supergumby5000 5,000+ posts]

illumination fuse may of accidentally blew....

would that fuse maybe be in some special location?

The fuse box in the dash has all good fuses, i checked those

I also checked the fuse box on top of the battery (had three 30 amp fuses in it), and those were all good (im not sure what they are for though, nothing is labeled there)

The only thing i can think of is a fuse that i cannot find, or maybe the dimmer switch is toast (this is a common problem in jetta's, but i dont see how what i was doing would effect it)

 

[GreenBook 10+ year member]

When you installed the stereo; did you splice wires, or did you buy an adapter kit to plug into the stock harness? The illumination for the radio might be tied into the same wiring for the dash, somehow shorting it.

 

[Supergumby5000 5,000+ posts]

When you installed the stereo; did you splice wires, or did you buy an adapter kit to plug into the stock harness? The illumination for the radio might be tied into the same wiring for the dash, somehow shorting it.

used a harness.

I'll pull it out and check it today after class.

 

[redfred18t 10+ year member]

depends on how you wired it.These vw's are a little tricky with illumination. Thats why I didnt even hook up the illumination or dimmer wire when I did my install, its more a headache than its worth (01 jetta). You could have the illumation or dimmer wire shorted to something so I would definitely check that. Also check the K-wire to make sure its good. It shouldn't be affecting the illumination but it could eventually effect your ability to run diagnostics on the vehicle.

cliffnotes: Volkswagens ****

 

[southwest713 10+ year member]

you sure you plugged everything back that you disconnected? and when you check the fuses did you use a test light or did you just look at them? a lot of times you cant tell by just looking. dont quite remember on the mk4 jetta but i know on my mk5 it didnt have an illumination wire so i just hooked it up to a switch.

ps. vw's rule! (and they're not that difficult if you know what you're doing)

 

[SPL Blazer 10+ year member]

It's possible you could have pinched a wire causing a short when you were doing the radio install. The radio codes would have only effected the radio, not the lights or anything else.

 

[Supergumby5000 5,000+ posts]

figured out the problem

The pin on the power antenna plug was bent and wasnt making a good connection.

All fixed up now //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif thanks everyone