Indiglow problem

[spyderdude24]

I have a 98 Spyder GS. I just finished installing my Indiglow
gauges but having probs with the wiring. My kit had a black and
a red wire which I assumed to be ground and hot. I wired the black to a chassis ground and the red to my green/white parking lights wire. As soon as I hook up the red wire, my headlights warning alarm goes off and my parking lights stay on even with my keys out and the lights off. Unfortunately, my Indiglow kit did
not have any instructions. Any idea whats going on? Are the wires to be reversed?

thanks,

[Blackboost]

See if this helps you out: http://iceman.gotdns.com/~iceman/misc/gauges/

[spyderdude24]

Blackboost. thanks for the reply. I followed those exact directions
when I installed my Indiglows. The directions were great and I even followed my alarm wiring to the green/white parking light wire like the guy that wrote the directions. I don't know why my
parking lights stay on and my headlight alarms stays on though. I'm going to reverse the wiring on the Indiglows tomorrow to see if they screwed up on the ground and hot wire...

[Iceman138]

I'm glad my VFAQ helped someone out, even just a little ;)

In 99.% of electronics work the black wire is ground. If it's the opposite, then the gauge manufacturer is a moron. It sounds like there might be a short in the power inverter for the indiglos, thus causing the alarm to go nuts and the lights to stay on.

Try this...get a cheap multimeter from sears or home depot and take a few measurements. First measure the voltage on the Green/White wire...when the parking lights are off and when they're on. If I'm remembering correctly, you should see 0V when off and ~12V when on or something close. Then, with the red wire from the indiglos disconnected, measure the continuity from the red wire to the chasis, while leaving the black wire screwed in. You can measure continuity in 1 of 2 ways...if your meter has a continuity check do that, if not, measure the resistance (ohms) and if it reads 0 then you have a short. If it reads something high, then it's ok.

The other thing it might be is a bad ground. Try picking a different grounding point under the dash.

One last word of advice...I would suggest putting a 2A inline fuse on the red wire. I've read of people having electrical problems with some Indiglos and you don't want to risk your car going up in flames. I've been meaning to do this for a while now, but just haven't found the time.

Hope this helps, and if you have any more questions or want further help diagnosing your problem let me know :)

[Blackboost]

Originally posted by spyderdude24
Blackboost. thanks for the reply. I followed those exact directions
when I installed my Indiglows. The directions were great and I even followed my alarm wiring to the green/white parking light wire like the guy that wrote the directions. I don't know why my
parking lights stay on and my headlight alarms stays on though. I'm going to reverse the wiring on the Indiglows tomorrow to see if they screwed up on the ground and hot wire...

Keep us posted!!!;)

[spyderdude24]

thanks all. I'll get my mulitmeter and take some readings tonight.
I should be able to ohm out the resistance to the inverter and each gauge pod and see if I'm shorted to ground somewhere.
First, I may relocate my ground and possibly try swapping the wires after I take voltage readings on the parking wire. I just hope I don't have a faulty Indiglow....

[spyderdude24]

Here's what I found:

The problem is that the green/white wire I'm tapped into is 12volts with the headlights off and 0V when turned on (negative system). According to the Chilton diagram I am connected on the headlight switch side of the relay whereas I should find the green/white on the backside of the relay directly connected to the lights that goes to 12 V when switched on. I'll have to chase a wire
down tomorrow. One other strange thing, is I connected back up to 12V on my red wire just to see if the gauge glow and they don't. Took a reading and the voltage drops to 5V when I connect the gauge. Can anyone try tapping in this wire and give me voltage reading? Thanks and I'll have more tomorrow once I take everything apart and check the gauges and connectors themselves..

[spyderdude24]

I have the Indiglow's now working and everything back
together. I had two original problems:

1. The gauge connectors had been coming unsnapped when I
routed my ground and hot wire through. The connector wire
they give you is not long enough and difficult to keep fastened.
I taped up the connectors and leads to help prevent.
2. I had originally connected my red wire to the green/white headlight switch. Unfortunately, the diagram and my multimeter confirmed that this was 12V with the lights off, and 0V switched on. I looked into the wiring diagram and found another green/white wire after the relay that went to my rear parking light. I connected there and everything worked great.

Thanks to all for the advice-

[Iceman138]

Glad to hear everything worked out for ya :)