Dash lights and more out

chazyouwin · Fri Jan 17, 2014 1:37 am

Most of the dash lights out in my 2010 just a month after going over the 3yr bumper to bumper. Also the back up detector and the fuel meter are out so I think it is more than a bulb. Checked the fuses under the hood and under the dash (the latter from a bit of distance and they looked good - but I'm not sure what a bad one would look like. Everything else seems to work, including starting and all driving controls, and the battery voltage checks out at 12 volt with a meter -- so I think it is not the battery. Before I bring it in on Saturday, is there anything else to check?

Fri Jan 17, 2014 1:39 am

Did you actually remove fuses to look for any blown ones?

chazyouwin · Fri Jan 17, 2014 2:38 am

No, I just eyeballed the outside. I did not see anything suspicious. But from the nature of your response and the pictures it looks like I should take out each one? By the way I could not figure out which fuse went to the dash lights. And if I find a bad one, can I replace it by pulling out a "blank" fuse?

chazyouwin · Fri Jan 17, 2014 4:03 am

All right - I checked fuses labeled "dome" and "mtr" with an analogue multimeter. They seem to be the ones attributable to the dash lights and the parking backup sensor circuit. Both were working. Might the battery just be going?

chazyouwin · Fri Jan 17, 2014 4:26 am

Checked "back" fuse (back-up light). Also good. No more ideas from here.

~tc~ · Fri Jan 17, 2014 4:31 am

How did you check with the multimeter? Continuity or voltage?

chazyouwin · Fri Jan 17, 2014 4:53 am

I set the multimeter dial to "ohm" or resistance, put the leads together and calibrated so that the needle reading went to zero. On each of the fuses I checked, I put one lead into the small indentation on one side and the other in the small indentation on the other side. For each of those fuses, the reading went to zero meaning that the fuse was okay. I did not check each fuse as this procedure was a PITA - the fuse box under the driver side panel is cramped up there and blocked with packets of wires, etc. Hard to balance the multimeter leads, flashlights, and the multimeter itself so that I could read the needle.

murcod · Fri Jan 17, 2014 6:38 am

Which dash lights have you lost? eg. back lighting for the instruments , heater/aircon, head unit etc

Check the attached file, the fuse box pictures didn't save

, but it gives a comprehensive list of what each fuse does.

Woodie · Fri Jan 17, 2014 11:14 am

Holy Crap !!!

76 fuses? Is that right?

chazyouwin · Fri Jan 17, 2014 1:54 pm

Thanks David - it appears that the fuses may be labeled differently for Australia. I have 2010 SLS. But to answer question, it is the instrument cluster just behind the steering wheel that is not working and it is not just illumination. This includes gas meter, warning lights, etc. What is not working is on the attached .pdf circuit diagram (page extracted from a service manual which someone very helpfully uploaded). As I mentioned above I checked the fuses which are listed on this diagram. Can't figure out what else to do.