Hi everybody! It's been a long time since I posted. I think you all last heard from me in November 2013, when I was installing a water pump, timing belt, cam and crank seals, harmonic ballancer,and a new alternator on the 94 SC300. On Thanksgiving day I got it together and fired it up. The first time I revved it hard, while warming it to open the thermostat and top off the coolant, the impeller shaft bearing on the cheap water pump I bought destroyed itself, sending my fan blades into the transmission cooling lines (the shrouds weren't on yet), meaning I had to buy a new water pump and fan, then do most of the job again. Winter set in before the parts arrived, and I don't have a garage, so the SC was on the back burner until I needed another vehicle because my son in law was coming to Denver for a 6 week contract job. In early August I got her back on the road, and he drove it while he was here. It's now my weekend car, which is much nicer to drive than my E250 work van.
Today I drove it to measure a couple of jobs that I need to bid. I was running at about 60mph, then throttled back for a turn, and everything shut down. I coasted to a stop, popped the hood, and found out that my positive battery lead had come off the post. I put it back together, and she fired up, but suddenly my dash is even darker than it was. All of the backlighting on the right side of the cluster is now dark, suddenly. Does that make sense?

 

Sounds like your alternator surged when there was no battery and blew out some lamps. I hope it isn't too bad to replace them.

You might check the gauge illumination adjuster to make sure it didn't get rotated unknowingly.

 

Give the top of the dash a good smack or two, that worked for me in the past. Although because this issue happened after your battery died I have a feeling its burnt bulbs or maybe even fuses. Doesnt hurt to try though.

 

I would echo both of the previous comments. My lower left bulb goes out from time to time and needs that section of the gauge cover tapped lightly to come back on. I would replace mine, but disconnecting the harnesses at the back of the cluster, in order to drop the panel down to get to the bulbs, proved impossible last time I tried. They might as well be super glued in place. Hopefully, yours aren't so difficult.

I wouldn't think there is a fuse(s) that affects just some of the gauge cluster bulbs? My concern would be, what else might get damaged at the same time as bulbs? Hopefully, there are fuses protecting most such sensitive equipment.

Definitely check the illumination ****. I and others have been confused by lighting issues that turned out to just be the **** getting disturbed somehow.