Virtual Kingswood HGDash Board
The two knobs on the left are Wiper/Washer and Choke. The Wiper/Washer knob rotates to two positions - low and high. As typifies cars of this era there is no Intermittent setting. Pushing the knob is supposed to cause water to squirt on to the windshield, but it doesn't. The Choke knob makes the car start better on very cold days. A byproduct of this is that the engine revs faster. If you pull it out too far in warm weather the car will stall or have very little power. If you forget you have left it out whilst driving, you might find cornering exciting as you will not be able to slow down without using your brakes. The Fuel gauge works as it should, but don't be surprised if you find that you suddenly lose or gain an eigth of a tank now and then. Turning on the parking lights makes this gauge drop one eighth probably due to old wiring and voltage drop over the fuse. E seems to mean empty, but I have never run out. The GEN light should come on when you turn on the ignition, and go out when the car's running. If it stays on check your fan belt. If it comes on when you put the car in Reverse, slide the fuse back and forth until it goes out again. (Corrosion.) If it glows dimly, it's working hard - is your battery low? The OIL light will be on when you start your car and go off about 5-10 seconds after starting. If it stays on, you've got a problem. The TEMP light should never come on. If it does you might have a problem :) To test it, remove the wire from the motor - the light should come on after a short time. (2 mins max.) If OIL, GEN and the fuel gauge all fail to move when you put the car to ON, the fuse is rusty or blown. Move it from side to side with your fingernails till the lights come back on, or else clean it properly. You can drive without them, but better to know what's going on hey! The speedo is in Miles Per Hour, if it is working. This one actually came out of a dead belmont. See details below on how to remove the Dashboard and Speedo. The Speedo also incorporates a BRAKE light - that I've never seen work despite running out of fluid on many occasions. Not sure how to test it so I am not worried. It's not hard to tell when you are out of brake fluid - the brakes stop working properly! To the right of the speedo is the ignition switch. Far left is Accessories, then Lock, then Off, then On, then Start. Accessories allows use of the wiper, radio, fan, indicators. On the far right is the Headlights knob. It pulls forward two stops - the first turns on the parking lights, the second the headlights. It can also be rotated to vary the brightness of the dashboard and colsole lights. How to Remove Dashboard...Back to the Front. Written by the wierdo otherwise known as Michael Kean. |
