Instrument cluster confusion

[Goose57]

Hi all I’m trying to get “Wait to Start” light working. According to my owners manual I shouldn’t even have a WTS light just a GP light. There are a couple of stickers on the cluster not sure what they mean. The WTS light was working before. I pulled the cluster and found a wire on the GP light twist socket going to the upshift light twist socket on the grd. side, because the copper trace was damaged, I did repair it.( see pic ). It was labeled upshift, but on the front side it said WTS, what the hell is going on? ( see pic) and there was not even a bulb on the GP socket very confusing. I think they were using the GP socket for the damaged copper trace. I put a bulb in the socket marked GP and lit it and there isn’t even anything lit on the front side just blank. WTF. After repairing the copper traces ( I damaged the one in the middle ). and getting the bulb to light on the WTS light ( marked upshift ) turn the key on to start the GP cycle and it blinked once and went out but still completed the cycle then started it and the now the WTS light stays on all the time. I thought for sure after fixing the damaged copper trace and getting the bulb to light during testing I was home free. I did hook up a test light to the WTS pin on the clusters connector in the truck and the test light stayed on during the cycle and after starting it went out like it should, but not when I plug the cluster in. I think I created a monster. I’m trying to find a used cluster and have it remanded but I’m now not sure which part number to get. GM Parts Giant says GM # 16197145 fits my truck but can’t find it. The one in my truck now is a 16176841, maybe it supersets it? I did find one on e bay for a 95’with no WTS light. Only year of OB1 on interior update what ever that means. Sorry boys for the long post. Thanks.

 

[dbrannon79]

Take a closer pic of how the wire is added between the upshift and the wts socket. also where you repaired the trace. is your's a manual trans or automatic? the wts light is the gp light. the wait to start should be lit when the GP's are running.

find the pin in the connector for the wts that you verified to work during the key on cycle and locate which trace on the cluster it connects to. then follow it to what bulb it goes to on the back of the cluster.

you can also shine a flashlight into the back of the cluster with the bulb removed to see if you have the right one. also you can remove the bulb and shine the flashlight or hold the cluster up to the sun looking in the hole from the back side seeing the wts from the inside. sometimes it's hard to tell but maybe your looking at the wrong bulb socket.

 

[dbrannon79]

one thing you can also do is carefully remove all of the bulbs and shine a flashlight into each hole one by one seeing which light each one is for also will tell you if one lights up two indicators on the cluster. this was the case on my cluster as someone had been in mine before me and had taken some plastic out from inside modifying it. I ended up sourcing another cluster for parts to repair mine. I might actually have that cluster here for parts. if you need something from it.

if I still have it, I think it still had a good circuit on the back but I used some of the guts to repair mine. I think I used the inner plastic housing that sections off each indicator light and one of the gauges. the circuit is nothing more than a flexible ribbon with copper traces, they get very fragile with age.

 

[Goose57]

Thanks d, unfortunately I don’t have a pic of the wire that was added between the 2 sockets. The cluster is back in. I do have an Automatic trans. The red line I drew represents the wire that was soldered on top of the bulb twist socket. It even melted the plastic on the twist sockets. A real hack job. The soldered wire went between one side of the GP twist socket on the top, to one side of the Upshift twist socket which is the WTS light on the front side. U can barely see it in one of photos. I believe they did that to complete the circuit because the one side of the copper trace on the upshift socket cavity was missing. You can see where i repaired it, it isn’t pretty. The WTS light is working but not going through the cycle properly . I might of messed up the trace circuits trying to repair them, I’m not sure. I did put a test light on the WTS light ( in the upshift light cavity) pin on the cluster’s connector mounted in the dash and it is cycling properly but when I put the cluster back in it doesn’t. I believe some one was in there back in 98’ see pic they even wrote REV on one of the white stickers when they had the cluster out. There is even a wire missing on the cluster’s connector going to the top GP light cavity that should be working on my truck according to the owners manual. They must put the upshift light on all the clusters, probably to save cost. Not sure how they got the WTS symbol on the front of the cluster. I did find a cluster on e bay that has the GP and upshift light on it. And it has 95’ C/K stamped on the back. I hope it has the WTS symbol on it. I tried to go online to see if I could information on all the clusters part numbers and what all the revision numbers 3 thru 11 mean.