So after reading a thread about switching from light to guage and/or running both I decided to temporarily run the idiot light while I fabbed the pod to fit the after market mechanical gauge I just got a hold of. Well, it won't work. Apparently if you have the guage as I do, then there is no wiring for the idiot light.

Am I right?

There is a white/Blue wire behind the instrument cluster that goes nowhere. Could this be the castrated idiot light?

I am trying to avoid puting in a seperate wire for the light once I find a tee (everytime I ask the folks behind the counter they look at me like I just cut the cheese) so I can run both.

anybody try to hook up the idiot light before? Tips?

If my memory is correct, someone - maybe DougB - discovered that if your truck has the gauge, then there is no bulb in the cluster for the idiot light. Look in the manual to find where the bulb should be and see if there's a bulb in that socket.

I remember something about some tape blocking that socket also. Maybe Doug remembers.

Frank

Check continuity between that wire and the one that goes to the guage. It will tell you yes or no.

I read Doug's post and the hole is empty and taped over as he said. Confirmed this by moving the open door light into the empty hole and sure enough it the oil symbol was there.

I was hoping the wire would be present and I could just run a bulb and tape it in. but according to the wiring diagram there is only one wire (yellow) so it looks like I will have to run the wire (yellow) from the gauge to the instrument cluster.

the Blue/White wire seems to be the power steering pressure indicator according to my diagram, which I didn't know there was such a thing.

The diagrams all show that the light is wired through the harness. You're right, look for a yellow wire in the main harness connector to the cluster, not a separate wire.
Ya do need to swap the sender, though- the one for the bulb is just a switch.
hth,
t

IIRC, Kary (BigBlue) said that he had taken a harness apart and the two wires are tied together within the harness. It doesn't make sense to me for MMC to make individual harnesses just to provide for the difference in models, so you might find the wire taped back inside the harness loom at the first junction back toward the firewall. If it's there, the next check would be for continuity to the gauge wire. If there's continuity, then the two wires are indeed connected within the harness. If not, the other end of the idiot light wire should be taped back inside the harness at the first loom junction of the gauge wire.

It would be great to be able to tee off of the filter adapter and use both senders with gauge and idiot light. The idiot light could also be wired in parallel with a loud buzzer alarm. I always wired boats that way and it was so much better than either system alone.

Frank

Thats where I was going too in my post.
If you look make sure you post it up. I have a mechanical guage in mine right now but it would be nice to install a elect back in there (less likly to loose oil in a failure) and have the light and buzzer as a backup. When you are wheeling, you can't watch that guage and wheel too. A buzzer in essance would save the motor.

Yah,
but a buzzer would make it sound like a Maaaazda-
my old RX7 had a buzzer that went off when I got close to redline... which was most of the time, as the car really didn't mind winding out.
t
<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

If you want to sound more like a boat, connect an alarm bell instead of a buzzer. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> It would certainly be easier to hear. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Frank

You mean like our pissed off mosquito buzzer in the GenI's? I disconnected mine many years ago. I also diconnected ChrisJ's while I was working on it. I wonder if he noticed. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />