No Dash lights, No start.

**Blksnshn** · 08-28-2012, 11:45 AM

I was driving down the road today in my 98 WS6 and my dash lights flickered, the gauges bounced around and then the dash went black. The continued to run normal but after I pulled into the driveway and shut it off, it now refuses to start. No dash lights illuminate, no click from the starter. I can still turn on the stereo and I can hear the fuel pump when I turn the key forward. I checked the under hood fuses and tried installing a new ignition switch because I had one sitting around but it made no difference.

Anyone have any ideas?

**steve00ss** · 08-28-2012, 01:03 PM

check the fuse for the gauges...that little guy screwed me over just like that

**Blksnshn** · 08-28-2012, 01:13 PM

Originally Posted by steve00ss

check the fuse for the gauges...that little guy screwed me over just like that

did it cause a no start too?

EDIT:

Good call. Fuse was burned. Replaced it and everything came back to life. Now I have to find out why it burned.
What ended up being the cause of your blown fuse?

I checked every other fuse box in the car and neglected the interior box.

Thanks for your advice Steve.

**Knight** · 08-28-2012, 01:50 PM

A short or ground would be the cause of the fuse blowing. Where exactly it is will be the hard part to determine.

**Blksnshn** · 08-28-2012, 01:55 PM

Originally Posted by Knight

A short or ground would be the cause of the fuse blowing. Where exactly it is will be the hard part to determine.

Yeah, sometimes cars wiring systems have known bad spots. So I was looking to see if Steve found his short and that could be a nice starting point for me.

**Knight** · 08-28-2012, 02:02 PM

I would suggest checking any of the wiring running near the exhaust first. It's possible a wire or wires might have contacted the exhaust and melted enough to cause a problem. Just a thought.

***SMWS6TA*** · 08-29-2012, 07:59 AM

Could be that the fuse is just 14 yrs old. If it pops again then I would be worried about a short.

**steve00ss** · 08-29-2012, 05:55 PM

sweet I helped somebody! and mine was just a fail on my part. I was hooking up a light under the dash and touched the wire to something and pff. I was terrified I fried something lol.
glad I could help though

**Blksnshn** · 08-30-2012, 11:42 AM

Originally Posted by steve00ss

sweet I helped somebody! and mine was just a fail on my part. I was hooking up a light under the dash and touched the wire to something and pff. I was terrified I fried something lol.
glad I could help though

Appreciate it Steve.

I'm hoping mine was just a bad fuse but I doubt it. The fuse was melted pretty bad. However, I replaced the fuse and drove it for a while with no problems. I also checked to see if it was hot after use and it was not.

I didn't find any bad wiring, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.