Instrument Panel is dark

[Guest Deacon Dan]

I have a 1986 Venture Royale. I was out riding and the instrument panel just went dark. It came back up after a bit then dark again. Brake lights are gone, turn signals, and none of the gauges work. One oddity was that when there was no load, the instrument panel would light up but any load would darken it (putting down the side stand, turning on signals, etc). Fuses are all ok. Any ideas on where to start dx this problem?

 

[Guest Fly-N-Lo]

Check the connections on the rectifier/regulator first. 1st gen rectifiers were know for over heating the connectors. Many guys have soldered the wires together to prevent plastic melting. Better yet check all wiring harness connectors. My bike is originally from Miami and nearly everyone of the had some sort of corrosion. I cleaned all that I could get to and amazingly everything started working properly. Just my 2 cents worth.

[Venturous Randy]

I think Landon is on the right track as it sounds like you may have a charging problem. You may also want to check the stator output and there are several posts on here about how to do it.

randya

[GeorgeS]

I highly reccomend CRC Brand, Item # CRC 2-26, spray can Electrical connection cleaner.

 

Home Depot carries it in the Home Electrical Section ( dept. )

 

There are a couple large plugs under the Instrument panel. Pull the head light assy to get in there.

 

I reccomend you Dissassemble every plug you can get your hands on and clean and spray down with CRC 2-26.

 

Also, thats VERY GOOD advice to check the large 3 wire plug from Alternator to the Regulator unit. These have always been a Trouble spot. If the plug is damaged beyond repair, most folks just splice the wires together, ( If you do this, Solder them and install a couple layers of Shrink Tubing )

[muffinman]

While everyone that has replied to this post is correct the problem may lie in the computer circuit board on the cluster. If cleaning the connectors does not fix the problem try soldering the terminals on the circuit board everything goes through the board so the problem may be in a loose solder joint.

Jeff

[MikeM8560]

Muffinman is the computer circuit board on the back of the dash panel?

[muffinman]

Yes it is Mike I remove the cluster (4) 10mm nuts and washers then remove the 4 screws holding the black cover in place then 4 more screws and the circuit board will come out. Just so everyone knows that to remove the speedo cable you have to gently bend it sideways just a little to pull the cable housing off let us know if you need more info.

Jeff