65 Valiant oil light only flickers when key turned

[wh23g3g]

I'm trying to figure out why the dash oil light doesn't stay on when I turn the key to on. It will only flicker for a second when you turn the key from ACC to OFF or from OFF to ACC. It's a new switch and cylinder. I wasn't getting any dash illumination so I took out the instrument cluster, replaced the bulbs with Yellow LED bulbs, BAD IDEA by the way, they are not even as bright as the regular 194 bulbs, and I also checked the orientation of the wires to the socket plug. It appeared some of the wires might have been in the wrong place on the socket plug so I went in order with my wiring diagram and when I got to the last one it was supposse to be a Dark Blue wire for the High Beam Indicator bulb, which also doesn't light up. However, I only had a black wire and a gray or light green wire left. I couldn't tell if the wire was light green or gray because it was so faded. I did change the harness and I'm not sure what car this harness came from. I think it may have been a 65 Barracuda. So I chose the black wire for the dark blue wire and it appears to go to the dimmer switch on the floor but that doesn't illuminate either on the dash. If the oil light flickers when you turn the key back and forth what does that mean? I tried to unplug the wire at the switch and jump it to see if the switch was bad but it didn't light up still. Could a wire be in the wrong location on the instrument panel plug or is it losing a ground when turned to ON?

 

[67Dart273]

Could be a lot of things. Remember, your oil light is a simple series circuit. The wire from the sender comes through the bulkhead and goes directly to one side of the oil light.

One thing I'd do is check carefully that the terminal at the sender end of the wire is OK, or replace it. While you are doing this testing, clip lead the sender wire directly to ground to eliminate the sender itself, or a loose connection at the sender terminal.

Could also be a bad connection through the bulkhead connector.

The other side of the light is hooked to switched IGN

According to these diagrams:

http://www.mymopar.com/downloads/1965/65ValiantBarracudaA.jpg

http://www.mymopar.com/downloads/1965/65ValiantBarracudaB.jpg

A (violet) is the temp sender

C (orange) is your dash illumination lamps (from the dash dimmer)

D (dark blue) goes to fuel gauge sender

G (red) goes to high beam indicator

H (gray) IS YOUR OIL SENDER

J (dark blue) is switched 12V from IGN switch

K (tan) is right turn indicator

L (light green) is left turn indicator

I'm not really familiar with the cluster in those old girls, but in general, here are some of the problems

loose connections at the pins on the PC board, as well as corrosion in the harness connector

burned up PC traces, rare

poor connections at the gauge nuts to the PC board

poor ground connections between the PC board and the cluster, and,

poor ground from the cluster to the dash. Run a ground wire from a known ground point to the column support with a separate wire, screw and nut. Use star washers

Bad/ eroded/ corroded PC board where the lamp sockets fit. Trouble in the sockets itself, and trouble / corrosion with the lamps

 

[Kelly Pate]

Electric "circut" (circut MUST make a "CIRCLE" and that means the "GROUND" has to be GOOD) Had a friend buy a "starter", and a "battery", even change the points,cause he had trouble STARTING his car,,,,I told him to take the groung wire off the block, clean it up, (it was sitting for years) and IT STARTED RIGHT UP !
Good Luck.........