Celica Forums General Discussion Exterior Reverse Indiglos - dead?

Well crap. I bought the $65 reverse indiglos for my wife's GT around x-mas. Last night she had no light on the gauges, only on the dimmer switch thing that came with them. All the connections I could reach seemed fine. I hope the inverter isn't toast.

I had the same problem. Hit a pothole and the gauges lit up again.

She had to drive it home from work last night w/out lit gauges, so I'm afraid it won't be that easy. I will, however, break out the ol' multimeter tonight

check your connections - make sure that everything is plugged-in correctly and not backwards - this may cause a "short" and blow out the inverter (this is why we recommend having all work done by a professional)

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 detailes in the directions that came with the gauges - and also like our online install guide located at...
https://celicahobby.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=16;t=000009

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/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=001880

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

...

UPDATE: Just monday evening, my gauges went out on me again for a while - I pulled up to a drive-thru window and reached for my wallet, accedently 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 wireing and foinf that it truely 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 atleast "X" GAUGE WIRE)

[ 05-23-2003, 03:00 PM: Message edited by: isaac ]

Thanks for the info, Isaac. I do have the power connected to the lights per the install guide. When I mentioned the dimmer, I meant that little rectangular piece that came w/ the gauges where you cycle the colors and their intensity. Since it's still lit up, I fear the worst.

Ahh, NOW I get what you mean... A simple way to fix this problem would be to just plug your gauge faces into a different socket attachement (I think there is a total of 4 comming off the inverter - or dimmer switch)

[ 05-23-2003, 03:11 PM: Message edited by: isaac ]

Reaaaallllly...

I saw those and wondered about them. Came to the conclusion that they were wired in series and if one was out, the rest would be.

That might be the tip of the day, Isaac. Thanks a ton

Hey Isaac, I did some investigating last night and sure enough - the worst possible thing is what happened. One of those ultra-thin leads that runs into the gauge and provides power is burning up. When I powered it up, you could see it smoking

So now I have to figure out what the warranty is. I incorrectly thought I bought them around x-mas, but that's wrong because the car wasn't even purchased until mid-Jan. I now remember I purchased them early March. If the warranty is 90 days, I should still be covered. There's no paperwork in the box that says - can you tell me?

BTW, I'll post some pics of the burn later so others may know what to look for.

if you purchased them from EverythingCelica - just email a photo directly to me at isaac@everythingcelica.com - I'll pull up your order, and call you with RMA numbers for return of these and replacement with a brand new set

its up to you. I've never heard of this happening before, so it might just be a defective set - in which case, an exchange would work out very easily

NOOOOO dont kick the celica, please dont hurt her... lol

[ 05-24-2003, 06:16 PM: Message edited by: Bradcelica ]

on the driver's side, where your left food goes, there is a "foot-rest" and on the left side of that "foot-rest" is a panel called the "kick-panel"... this is where my inverter is stored behind, and this is the panel that I was referring to when I mentioned kicking

lol , i know, but "kicking" the car sounded funny ... just j/king around

yeah... i sometimes kick my celica with LOVE

Isaac, you are THE man

My wife read this and got all giddy

I'll take the pic today and email it / post it.

the EXACT problem happened to my gauges. i ordered them from mb autosports. i called them up and they sent me a new gauge face and power inverter. i only needed the face tho.. oh and i had to pay shipping to send my gauge face back but it wasnt too much. my new gauges havnt had any problems yet but it took a few months before my other ones started to flicker then finally go out. if it happens again with these, im going to call them up and see if i can pay the difference for the 3d gauges. good luck!

Okay, I took the pics and emailed them to you, Isaac. Here they are for anyone that's interested:

What the hell? I sent you the new gauge overlays like a month ago because you promised to return back the "damaged" ones... I still haven't received them yet.

did you even send them back? I will be forced to bill your CC $65 for the replacement sets unless you return the "defective" parts that you had promised to return.

I believe I've been more than fair on this situation