Oil Pressure & Voltmeter gauges inactive

[Phantom]

or failing that I usually use a coin

[greyblue]

Thanks again for the information - I had no idea what sort of fixing I was dealing with so I was being on the safe side. If you say the gauges will just pop out with sufficient leverage then I will do as you suggest and try again, armed with a wide-bladed screwdriver and a thick piece of card.

[markybrisca]

If the gauges are not working or even lighting up, I would be surprised if that is down to anything but non-connection mate! Should be a 2 minute fix.

[greyblue]

Thank you for your contributions, markybrisca and Phantom.

With a broad bladed screwdriver and a surprising amount of effort, I eventually levered out the panel which dropped away cleanly - there was no attached cable.

It took only a few moments to rummage around in the void and find a lead ending in a similar connection to a computer floppy disk power plug. I just connected it and when I switched the ignition on, both dials registered a reading. When turned on the lights, both dials illuminated.

My feeling is that these gauges were never connected at the factory, and therefore it is the first time that they have ever worked. It was a similar story with the boot light previously mentioned, which I had to connect up myself as previously it wasn't lighting up.

The car's previous owner was a lady who, I suspect, had little interest in such things as a voltmeter or an oil pressure gauge, so even if she noticed they weren't working, she never bothered getting them looked at. I'm surprised that she didn't get the boot lamp connected up, though.

A happy ending. Thank you to all who contributed to this thread.

[RobbieV]

Nice to see an easy fix for a change

and glad to hear they are working

[markybrisca]

Nice one mate, not many easy fixes on a Calibra but that was one of em!....

[Westy]

Mine seem to be connected ok, I might check that power is getting to the pins, this has been a lot of help thanks.