ignition switch problem maybe? (among other things...)

[75pinz]

My fuel gauge wasn't working at all. Always reads empty. I turned the key on and heard a loud click. Gauge is reading full which the tank was/is full. Turned off the truck. Gauge is now not reading again. Click the light switch to headlights, immediately the gauge reads full and stays there even after I shut the lights off. WTF? Do I have bad contacts in the switch? In addition to these gremlins, I also have my wipers going very slowly. There is a green light on the dash that lights up as my wipers move very slowly. It's right in the middle and I don't recall any of my other Pinzgauers having this light.

I took my Dad out for a ride today to give him the first ride in it. We went out to the old spill site for the lake. Went straight up and straight down the berms which are really steep and pretty long. Well, a long story short the POS dies on the other side of the spill way after going up and down three or four huge berms. No fuel at all. Couldn't get any fuel out of the tank to the pump. Must be plugged with crap. Anyway, called my wife who came out and got us with my Dad laughing his ass off. Don't really know how to get the GDdamn thing out of there due to the terrain. My dad suggests my M37 could just tow it out. I don't think so. Anyway, since I was wrong pretty much the whole day we went out there with a strap. The M37 went right up, struggling less I think than the Pinzgauer. I towed it out of there with my Dad steering the Pinz. On old NDT's. Pulled it home several miles and then it started right up in the garage. What a day.

[todds112]

Wow. sorry you had a such a rough time. I've taken her back into some REALLY remote places here, and always had that fear in the back of my head: "What happens if I break down back here?" Lots of places here don't have cell service.

Glad you got it home.

[russ]

Wow. sorry you had a such a rough time. I've taken her back into some REALLY remote places here, and always had that fear in the back of my head: "What happens if I break down back here?" Lots of places here don't have cell service.

Glad you got it home.

Go with a buddy... We always have a group, even if it's not a capable vehicle, it's nearby and can get us to someone who can get us out of trouble. Unless you bring camp gear and plenty of water/food, a buddy is easier.

[milesdzyn]

75 Pinz....30 plus year old wiring sucks for finding gremlins, but it sounds like you may have a bad Disconnect switch. Or first check that your cables are not loose from the battery posts, if they are not really tight you can get intermittent or weak power. Offroad vibration can loosen anything after a while.

Miles

[Jimm391730]

One of the first things to check is the ground connections behind the dash that connect to the sheetmetal back there. I had one of the ground wires come of, and weird things like the fuel gauge moving in time to the turn signals, etc. were happening. Once I found the disconnected wire and fixed it all went back to normal.

Best of luck,

Jim M.
712W and 710M

[75pinz]

You're right. The ground had come off on the sheet metal behind the dash. The fuel gauge has gone back to inoperative completely though but the wipers work again. When I ground the fuel gauge properly it immediately quits reading... It died again last night but I think it has crap in the tank as if I blow back through the line it will clear out and run ok for awhile. When i run this tank of fuel out I will take the tank down and reline it...I may post more details about the truck so that others can avoid the mistake I have made saving a little money. I will say that I will be more careful where I shop from now on.