Hey guys, I'm new to the Mustang forums so I'm hoping you all can help me out here. I just recently purchased a 2000 Mustang GT vert and it ended up turning into a lesson on fixing up car, something I know nothing about. The issue I'm having right now is the previous owner put a third party instrument cluster on the car and it's only half functional. When switching the headlights on, the gauges do not light up at all, only the arrows. The turn signals and all other alerts work. There is no dimming at all either. When I pull the headlight ****, the dash will be completely black until I turn the **** counter-clockwise until its about 1cm from turning on the dome lights, only then will the arrows/A.C. diagram light up. I pulled a new headlight switch from a scrap yard and tried that first, but I still had the same results. I checked all fuses too and they aren't blown. Do you think it could just be bad bulbs? I'm at a loss.

The kid who had it before me butchered the car with a crazy audio system so I've been finding a couple spliced wires here and there.

As a side note, the arrows the the gauges don't work when it's cold outside. The MPH arrow stays on 0mph until about 10-15 minutes, when the car wakes up.

I added a picture of what I'm talking about, sorry about the quality. Let me know if y'all need anymore pics or of better quality.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzuZ...it?usp=sharing

 

it seems like there is a ground not hooked up right. The arrow lighting up like that is an indication of a bad ground

 

So "grounding" has to do with the wiring, correct? I don't really have any experience in that field, do you know of any sites I can search to find some more information on that?

 

Not right off hand. Best bet would be to take the gauges out and look on the back, for any loose connectors. You can get a Chilton's manual at a parts store, and it will have the wiring diagrams in it

 

I"ll give that a shot! Thanks for your help!