Message Center - Fluctuating Brighness

[RobClark]

'86 Town Car:

My Message Center dsiplay (the green Plasma type on the right of the speedo) has always been less bright than the speedo/Fuel Gauge. I got a replacement (2nd hand of course) and it had exactly the same low brightness. OK - thought that that was just how it was.

But have noticed recently that the brightness fluctuates a bit and if I whack the top of the dashboard - it changes (sometimes brighter - sometimes duller).

So ... I assume I have a lousy connection somewhere.

Now - it is no small deal for me to remove my gauges ... and my car is converted Left to Right hand drive - so the dash has been 'rebuilt'. In otherwords it is a big job so I want all the info I can get before I dive in again.
Photos


- Common problem?
- Anybody had this in the past?
- Any hints on where to look for the shitty connection?

Cheers

[Martin Blank]

My message center (also an '86 LTC) was doing pretty much the same thing but I don't think it's a loose connection. It was doing the same thing and then a week ago it went out completely. I pulled it out and I'm trying to troubleshoot it, I'll post if I find anything.

I do have one question for anyone with a digi-dash. Are the fuel, speedometer and message center supposed to dim with the instrument dimmer? I haven't found anything to tell me one way or another nor can I find a wire going to them that appears to dim. The fuel and speedo are very bright and at night I have to drive with my hands high on the wheel to block them from view.

[gadget73]

The cluster should dim when the lights are on, and the brightness should be controllable with the dimmer knob. Do the rest of the interior dash bits light up as they should? If they do, probably the issue is in the main connection to the back of the instrument cluster. Its a copper foil connection on plastic film. Clean the connection up with some very fine (400 or so grit) sandpaper and see if that fixes it. Don't sand too much off, there isn't much metal there. You just want to shine it up.