Rev meter, mfa and water temp dials not working...

[Oaky]

Hi hopefully one of you guys will be able to help me with this one. Bought a mk1 tin top 1.8 gti the other day and I am just starting to take things apart and fix the bits that arent working.

The problem I have is that the rev meter, mfa and water temp stop working when I turn the headlights on. The fact that they work ok when the headlights arent on tell me that when I turn the headlights on something is shorting. Has any body got any ideas as to how I can identify where the problem lies, could it be the light switch itself???

Also the dash illumination is not working do I have to take out the dash to replace the bulb?

Looking forward to hearing what you all reckon.

I also need to take some photos of the car and get a thread going as I have got a few things planned for the car.

[rubjonny]

a good onew for this is the earth from the rocker cover to one of the coil mounting bolts, if its missing well worth addign one. also check any earths to the side of the head, if they look ropey clean em up

[Mixmasta]

I don't know a great deal about the electrics but I can confirm that I had the same problem and checking / cleaning up the earths worked for me