Dash board illumination

[amberforce]

Have had my 450 Chimaera for three weeks and am in the process of putting right all the niggly little things that need doing. Could anyone suggest what to try first with the lack of dashboard illumination?
Also, and here is the laugh, the car has had the tuscan healight conversion and the headlights are coming on when it should be main beam and vice versa. Now I know why so many people were flashing me when driving the car up from Southend!! Is there an easy way to rectify this, or do I have to pull the panel off the inside of each wheel arch and swop the wires over?
Fantastic car all the same, and quite enjoy tinkering around with these superficial things, although it would be a lot better having the benefit of something equivalent to a Haynes manual.
Thanks for your help.

[jumplead]

There is a button on the left hand side under the steering wheel, about in line with the boot opener button which turns the illuminations on and off (Unless it has been modified to put the engine fans on). Try that first before taking your dash off to play with the wires.

[amberforce]

Thank you very much. Just tried that and it works!! The tvr has been a bag full of surprises ever since I bought it, with all the things that you would never find on any other car.

[WazzaL]

amberforce said:

Thank you very much. Just tried that and it works!! The tvr has been a bag full of surprises ever since I bought it, with all the things that you would never find on any other car.

Remember you open the boot the same place, but on the other side of the steering wheel..

And you open the doors by turning that thing in the middle. - Or am I being too obvious now...

[jumplead]

With regards to the Haynes Manual, there is a Steve Heath Bible for the Chimaera and Griffith which people swear by, I just got my Chimaera last friday (oh my god had it a week) and have found the borrowed copy of the Bible very useful. Something I must purchase.

[amberforce]

You are being a little obvious now, as the items you suggested are enquired about on purchase. Nobody thinks to ask if there is an illumination stitch for a dash board though, even more so when it is daylight, or maybe you long time tvr owners would expect such an item.

[spend]

The headlights may just have been connected the wrong way round, you need to swap the connectors to the bulbs around. Just make sure its not an alignment problem - if you park against a wall/door you should see the pattern cast by the dipped reflector, the lenses look a bit different with the hella units (more like projectors), mine has the sidelight incorporated in the main unit if that helps

Dave

[poorpeet]

On my 93 one the main beam warning comes on on dip not main. Always has. Its one of those things I keep meaning to sort out.

[russ turner]

WazzaL said:

amberforce said:

Thank you very much. Just tried that and it works!! The tvr has been a bag full of surprises ever since I bought it, with all the things that you would never find on any other car.

Remember you open the boot the same place, but on the other side of the steering wheel..

And you open the doors by turning that thing in the middle. - Or am I being too obvious now...

Left my Chim with my father in law when we went on holiday to Spain in the summer but asked him to start it while we away just to keep it ticking over. He got in, shut the door, started it and sat there for half an hour trying to figure out how to get out and how to open the windows.

Had to wait for his wife to come out to figure out what he was doing.

Needless to say he was pretty warm by this stage.