New member... old cabriolet ... instrument panel gremlins

[jVanderWood]

Hello all - I've been browsing, and this looks like a great site.
My wife's sister just gave my daughter her '92 Cabriolet with 140K miles. Please advise if possible:
Half of the time, the guages all work but the turn signal indicator does not, and the lamps are very dim. The rest of the time, the tach, fuel, and temp guages are dead and the turn signal indicator *does* work, and the lamps are OK.
I'll assume it's a loose connection of some sort, but can someone tell me something more specific to look for? And any tips on getting access to the places I need to check?
Thanks in advance!

[JFryauff]

First thing I would do is pull the cluster, and check the connections on the back for issues.

[C-Lark]

pull a cluster from the junk yard (cheap)... and if it doesnt do it than there's ur prob.

[RandoCommando13]

Best thing to do is get a Bently manual, and trace all the wiring and clean some connections check for shorts, but i agree go to a junk yard get a new cluster and see if that solves the problems, also check the turn signal switch and while your at it the relays. Keep us posted

[Fourt1thirty]

Moving to MK1

[Fourt1thirty]

Check the plugs on the back of the instument cluster, and check the fuse box for corroded connections. Cabriolets tend to leak, and the fuse box suffers because of this.

Also check the connection to the emergency flasher switch and headlight switch.

[solidinside]

check and make sure the car has a really good gound

[jVanderWood]

Turns out when somebody worked on the instrument cluster previously, he tightened a mounting screw too tight and broke the copper foil underneath. This was on the main 12V+ line. Caused really screwy symptoms. I just soldered across it.

Thanks again to all responders.