Need Help

[Scaemur]

I need some help. I know it is probably already detailed on this site somewhere, but I did a search and could not find it, so I am asking at the risk of duplicating something that has already been "taught" here.

I have a 2007 Cobalt 222.

I want to access the back of the gauges (all of them). I assume I need to access by removing the back panel area of the reclined seat in the bow that is directly in front of the captain area. Can someone detail how I remove this without damaging it? I see the screws and can remove them, but it is still tightly connected somehow and for the life of me I cannot figure out how to remove it without putting a lot of force on it. I am afraid I am going to break it.

Any step by step advice?

Thanks in advance.

[GrantS]

Good Afternoon,
I also have a 2007 222 and have accessed the back of the gauges.
Take out the screws you mentioned, check to make sure you remove all of them. You may also have to remove the
clips for the Cover Poles. The Carpet Panel is a very tight fit, you may need to "Wiggle" it around to get started but is will
pull out. Good Luck

[AsLan7]

Good Afternoon,
I also have a 2007 222 and have accessed the back of the gauges.
Take out the screws you mentioned, check to make sure you remove all of them. You may also have to remove the
clips for the Cover Poles. The Carpet Panel is a very tight fit, you may need to "Wiggle" it around to get started but is will
pull out. Good Luck

.
Hey GrantS. Welcome to the Cobaltchat forum. So glad you found us!

Thanks for that input. Hopefully it will help Scaemur. Our 263 is fairly wide open behind the dash (relatively speaking) so we don’t have that carpet panel to remove.

Any pics of your Cobalt?

Again welcome aboard mate!

.

[Scaemur]

Good Afternoon,
I also have a 2007 222 and have accessed the back of the gauges.
Take out the screws you mentioned, check to make sure you remove all of them. You may also have to remove the
clips for the Cover Poles. The Carpet Panel is a very tight fit, you may need to "Wiggle" it around to get started but is will
pull out. Good Luck

Thank you sir. It was the needed confidence in giving it the extra "wiggle" and "yank" that I needed. It worked.

[Scaemur]

I have another question. Should the instrument gauge backlighting only work when the engine is actually running versus when the ignition key is on but the engine is not started? Just wanting to know if this how it should be working. Thanks again.

[Whippled263]

The lights should work regardless of the engine running. They are controlled with a switch on the dash

[Big Block Power]

The lights should work regardless of the engine running. They are controlled with a switch on the dash

I never turned mine on in the garage but I'm sure it's with the bow and nav light switch. I think the anchor position won't turn them on.

[Scaemur]

The lights should work regardless of the engine running. They are controlled with a switch on the dash

I never turned mine on in the garage but I'm sure it's with the bow and nav light switch. I think the anchor position won't turn them on.

Thanks. It looks like I have some detective work ahead of me to figure out why they are not working.

[Holy Smokes]

Typically, dash gauge lights only come on when NAV lights are switched on.

[GrantS]

On the underside of the Driver Side Console, Right Hand Side, there is a small "Dial" for the Brightness Level for the Gauges. Perhaps
yours has been turned down too low. The Navigation Lights need to be on as well.

[Scaemur]

Well...here is where I am so far in trying to figure out why my gauges do not back-light/illuminate:

• Gauges all seem to function other than the lighting

• None of the gauges back-light except for the multi-function depth finder, which is also the only gauge not attached to the strand wire and navigation switch for illumination purposes

• Navigation lights work

• Gauges are definitely attached to the navigation switch as well

• Dimmer knob control is not in the off position, and I have rotated it but with no effect on lighting

• It appears all wire connections including to all gauges, nav switch, dimmer control, etc are all attached

I wonder if there is a way to check the dimmer switch to see if there is a problem there? I also wonder where I can check to see if power is even getting from the nav switch to the first gauge on the wired circuit?

Any thoughts?

Thanks again in advance.

[Big Block Power]

Yea is a rheostat. Power in power out. Pretty basic.
It is just a resistor. If you have power in and no power out even when turning the knob is bad. Just jumper the rheostat. If it works there is your problem. You can even put power to go your lights at the guages to see if they work.

[Scaemur]

Yea is a rheostat. Power in power out. Pretty basic.
It is just a resistor. If you have power in and no power out even when turning the knob is bad. Just jumper the rheostat. If it works there is your problem. You can even put power to go your lights at the guages to see if they work.

Got it...and will do. Thanks.

[Scaemur]

Yea is a rheostat. Power in power out. Pretty basic.
It is just a resistor. If you have power in and no power out even when turning the knob is bad. Just jumper the rheostat. If it works there is your problem. You can even put power to go your lights at the guages to see if they work.

Got it...and will do. Thanks.

Not sure I would know what to do with it, but I am finding I wish there were a more detailed electric wiring diagram than what they have in the owner's manual.

[Scaemur]

Well...I "sort of" figured this gauge light issue out. It was not the wiring, bulbs or any of the things I had checked. I got this hunch that "what if when I am rotating the dimmer knob below the steering wheel...what if it is rotating the entire dimmer box on the backside of the panel instead of actually rotating the dimmer control itself"?

So I checked the backside and sure enough the entire dimmer box was loose enough that it was rotating back and forth instead of actually controlling the dimmer. I guess it was only rotating enough that the two wires were never criss-crossing.

I tightened it, and the gauge lights now come on.

I began by saying I "sort of" fixed it because now the dimmer knob itself does not actually change the light brightness on any of the knobs. I guess my detective work continues, but I am tired today so that might come later tonight.

Thanks everyone for your help.