ok i was just working on the car about 20 minuites ago and when i started the car i kicked something in the floor board and the dic ,compass ,and the guages started working ......how wierd........note:the fuse box is hanging down in the floor board ......the dash flickered when i pushed the ac conteols but it came back on ......the dash completely went out when i tried to turn on the radio so what could be wrong are there any wires that control the dash that tie in with the radio ....it will be 8 more days till i get my fsms ....i appriciate all your help

You've obviously got some loose connections there, and possibly some oxidized pin connectors as well (the usual reason for flickering dash displays).

Let'* start with the fusebox, which is not supposed to be hanging down (by its wires, I guess). It'* on a swivel-down mounting attached to the end of a steel multi-function mounting bracket that holds the Twilight Sentinel and/or lighting controllers, among other things.

If it'* just dangling, get your head under the dash and find what it'* supposed to be clipped to. I'm doing this from memory, but basically it'* supposed to be held up out of the way when it'* not needed, flush with the underside of the dash and covered by a hinged plastic lid. It swings down for access by squeezing together a couple of finger tabs that release a little clip, and then you can lower the fusebox into view.

It sounds like you may have some flaky or broken ground connections, too. If stuff stopped working when you turned your radio on, that suggests that some components were using your radio power wiring as a ground path. When you turned your radio on, its now-hot power wiring was no longer a ground path, and thus the stuff that had been functioning that way can no longer work.

I suggest a little patient dismantling, just so you can see if somebody'* been messing around with the wiring in there. Look for any obvious non-factory connections; tell us if you see anything... "interesting"...

Also if you send me your email address in a PM I can email the '93 Owner'* Manual to you in PDF form. (It'll be coming to you from my office email address, not from here...)

well we have everything working on the dash the oil guage is bouncy but everything is working great even the compass ...... dad friend the radio though but that was due to carelessness i would still like the manual though if you can hit me with that now all i need to do is get the interior put in and find a fender and some other parts and ill be on the road .......also whats the average running temp on the 92 sse

Kewl! If only one gauge is flaky, start by checking its sending unit. (If they're all going nuts at the same time, you would start in the dash.) In your case, I'd see if the sending unit has a bad connection or is wet with oil on the outside; replace it if so.

Okay, but how "fried" is it, really? Can you tell us what happened?

That'll be on the way to your address from my office account this morning (about 10 minutes from now).

I couldn't say for sure, but just as a data point, my '93 runs at just one tick below the midpoint of the temperature gauge; the needle is almost exactly vertical.

well the radio was plugged in ans there is a cd stuck on it so he thought he would stick a screwdriver in one of the gills to try to push it out and when he did it buzzed real loud and started smoking real bad and now it wont power up so he "fried " it lol .....i dont have another e-mail addy just yet ill try to get one though unless you can transfer the file through aim.....my needle for the temp guage is at the mark after 200

Okaaay... "fried" it is! Let'* keep ol' Dad away from the electronics in future, shall we?

I'll get back to you in email; I have some other ideas.

You mean the mark at about the 1 o'clock position? That'* a bit high for normal cruising. Do a good flush of the system (i.e. don't just drain it; tee a flush fitting into the heater hose and _push_ the old crud out with a garden hose), then refill to 50% coolant strength. If somebody'* been adding coolant off-and-on over time you may have too much coolant and not enough water in the mix.

ok i did a flush but the guage still sits arounf the 1 oclock position and now the lamp monitor shows that my 3rd brake light is out ( been replaced and works ) my tail lights are out ( all replaced) and my abs light stays on and it shows the traction control is off ( wont change when i push the button )

Mmm-kay... Well, just keep an eye on that. If it goes higher under extreme conditions, then maybe you'll need to start looking for a new radiator; right now I'd say you've done the routine maintenance so wait and see how things go.

Got the correct bulb number in there, and a good solid connection? The side contact in particular can be troublesome. Mine did that for a while, too.

Including the little red side markers _and_ the license plate lights back there?

Check the brake fluid in the reservoir under the hood, and refill all the way to the Full mark if needed. These two lights (ABS and Traction Off) will illuminate together if the fluid level goes a little low, and the system decides it hasn't got enough in reserve to operate the ABS pump.

the abs light and the tracton control light are still lit and i cant get them to go off i have checked all of the plugs going to each tire and they were all connected and my temp guage is still sitting at the 1 o 'clock position still and i dont know where the boos guage should be sitting its currently sitting at -10 also the oil pressure guage is jumping around alot .....we have found a leak for the oil and 2 leaks for the transmission and are in the process of fixing both the interior is taking longer than expected due to lack of funds and the paint job will have to wait also i had no ided that there was gonna be so many parts that i couldent find for cheap

...and your brake fluid in the reservoir is right up to the Full mark, yes? If so, get AutoZone or somebody to extract the ABS codes and tell you what the problem is.

Yeah, well, if it doesn't go any higher, don't worry about it. (You might want to check whether your cooling fans are working.)

You mean it stays pegged at -10 while you're driving? Sounds like its sending unit might be bad or disconnected. Not sure where that gets its signal from at the moment; will check the manual when I get a chance.

Hmm... Anything else in the gauge cluster that'* flaky? I'm wondering if maybe you've got oxidized connections in there. Any flickering fluorescent displays?