Hey Forum,

As the title suggests, my Oldsmobile is having an issue with the Cluster and radio. I just changed the key cylinder in the steering column thinking that it shorted out and causing my cluster to not light up; it did not. I can still hear the chimes when the key is inserted, but the neither the radio and the cluster seem to get any power. I'd also like to point out that the cylinder had already been changed before and this is the second time. Apparently, the mechanic that did it before I did just tried to repair the wiring in the cylinder to "bypass" the security light and ended up ruining the accessories notch (turning the key all the way back).
As always, any help is appreciated and thanks!

-Martin

The lock cylinder has Nothing to do with your radio or dash lights.....what about your AC control head? Does that light up?

Have you tried your dimmer switch? Is it possible it is turned all the way down?

At night, with the lights on, car running, if you move the dimmer switch from low to high, does your dash and radio AND ac control head respond? Or is it just the dash and radio that doesn't?

If all three do not light, what does your radio do in the day time......does it light up with the time, when not on? If it gives the time in daylight, and radio stations in daylight, but doesn't light at night, even when moving the dimmer switch, then you have a dimmer switch problem....not sure if that is all part of the headlight switch....

The cylinder'* wiring to the harness shorted out the fuse to the cluster and radio on the firewall.

I think something else blew that fuse....

Sorry for the late reply, I found the source of the short. It was a crushed wire in the engine bay where the engine rests on top of. I moved the wire to another location and wrapped it in some electrical tape for the time being. Eventually, I'm going to put heat-shrink tubing around it.

It had to be something else.....the wiring to the lock cylinder has nothing to do with your cluster.....it is just a circuit to read the resistance of your key by the PassKey module......if you had a problem with that circuit, you would have a no crank situation....

I understand how all of that works; I've done my homework on it and please, READ MY COMMENTS CAREFULLY. I already bypassed the security chip ages ago. I also just replaced the ignition cylinder and switch. Like I said, I blew a Maxifuse on the firewall due to a wire shorting itself on the body. Moving the shorting wire out of the way and protecting it fixed the issue.

I was just responding to the fact that the wire harness to the lock cylinder would not cause the problems, you originally stated, in your second post........