I have an '86 XT Turbo. I'm having some electrical problems and I need to get the dash off. How do I do this? Thanks.

 

PS - I need the whole dash off, not just the trim.

Sorry I can't tell you how to remove the dash, but are you sure that has to be done? What is the trouble you are having? I may be able to help you so the dash doesn't need to be removed.

Need to remove the center console. Look for hidden screws both sides of the console. Screws are hidden behind one inch square plugs. remove the trip computor by finding that plug to the left of it. Then pull radio. Don't touch the bezel. Reomve steering coulumn and then the dash panel. The dash has bolts at either end and a row along the windshield...more plugs to be found/removed. Couple of bolts down around the floor hump. May as well take out the front seats. Don't worry about the wiring. It is idiot proof. Only real problem is you will overlook plugging something back in. Once you locate all those plugs with the screws/bolts behind them you are home free. Figure about 4 hours the first time to pull the dash.

Thanks. I'll post my problem too. So I was constantly blowing one fuse, I finally fixed that fuse problem, but now everytime that fuse is plugged in I get a bunch of smoke from the top left side of the dash. I can see exactly where it is coming from, but I can't get to it. Thanks again guys.

Taking out the entire dash is a huge pain. You may be able to access the area by removing the dash cluster. There should be 3 screws on the top and a couple on the bottom. Remove the bezel(trim) and there will be a few more screws. Remove these, pull the cluster out enough to get to the plugs and unhook them. Remove the speedo cable and it should pull out of the dash. The should give you enough room to get to the area to check for a bad relay or bare wires.

 

Good luck.

Man, thanks. That will be a big help. Someone suggest I post a little bit more info, but here is the problem. Billowing smoke from directly behind the instrument cluster. Pretty sure it's just a bad wire. Thanks.

which fuse were you blowing and what was the cause?

which fuse were you blowing and what was the cause?

My girlfriend likes the banana. Anyway, I was blowing the engine monitor fuse. It was blowing because I had a few fuses missing and too much power was going through the system; just enough power to blow the fuse.

it sounds like you put iin a larger fuse to stop it from blowing out. If this is so I would disconnect it as you may start a fire. You stated that you had a bad wire and it is burning. The wire is carring current to something that is drawing a lot of current and needs to be fixed, It now appears that the wiring is bad also.

I put in the correct fuse, and I found out why it was blowing. Thanks.

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