I was wondering if there is a way to bench test the dash lights? I am working on a project with my gauges and would like to see how the spare cluster will light up before I take my dash apart. Could someone tell me how I would go about bench testing the lights? Specific instructions would be appreciated, I am not too confident with electrical stuff yet. Thank you.

look at the traces on the back of the dash. Follow the light traces for the dash lights and see how they connect. apply 12v dv to the traces that connect the lights and they will light.

Ok thank you, I have an extra set of the plugs with the wire pigtails on them so that should be pretty easy. So would I be able to use the terminals from a regular automotive battery charger for my 12v source?

A battery charger or a spare car battery will work.

The gray wires in the instrument cluster plugs are power for the dash lights. And the blacks are the grounds. There are several of each, so you'll need to splice them together to get power to all the lights. But aside from that, you should be good to go.

[This message has been edited by Blacktree (edited 09-17-2010).]