Hello all, new Olds owner here (well, used to own a '72 Cutlass notchback but it was 10 yrs ago or more)


With this '79 wagon, what warning lamps are supposed to be in the instrument panel? I have :

Engine
Hot
Gen
Fasten Belts
Brakes

The Engine, Hot and Fasten Belts come on when the ignition is turned on, the fasten belts turns off after a few seconds and the buzzing stops. The HOT and BRAKES only comes on when the motor is cranking and then goes off.

In the owner's booklet there's a light for tailgate open, low fuel and lights on but when I took out the dash panel to change the bulbs there were no holders in those holes. Also, there seems to be many more holes than warning messages. What gives? Anyone have a diagram of what goes where and what is supposed to be there?

Dan

 

Welcome to the site!
It has been known that some of those warning lights were not used. The 80's cars GM were well known for it. My 86 stumped me when i first got it too.
Most likely they would be for additional warning lights added in the future.
When GM had those plastic films made, they wanted to make sure that they did not have to remake them too soon. Somethimes those new warnings just never came about.
They might also have been used in other car lines with different warnings.

The factory service manual would have all the info you would ever need. However, whatever has a bulb in it should still be used.

 

Thanks Rob but I have the '79 service manual and cannot see where it shows what I need for my wagon. There's a light for the tailgate open but there was no bulb in there, also the lights on one didn't have a bulb. I am wondering if I get another bulb and bulb holder in there if they would work? Maybe someone took them out at some point or put them in the wrong place

 

Some of those unused warning lamp locations are used for options such as the low coolant indicator and the diesel glow plug heater lamp. Don't lose any sleep over this.

EDIT: Sorry, I saw "Cutlass Cruiser" in the title and read "Custom Cruiser". I've edited to correct that. Also the V6 engine option used an electric choke and there may have been a CHOKE lamp as well.

 

Check the circuit traces for depressions or scratches of a socket that was once there.
In your service manual, look carefully over the wiring diags to see what was used. Some higher trim levels could have had the bulbs populated.
You could always pop a bulb in a hole to see if it will work, or follow the circuit traces and see if they connect with anything. With a little wiring, some could be made to work. I know there was a little circuit board that could be pulled from old Buicks that could make the low fuel light work. However, that's what an attentive driver is for.
I would have thought the tailgate open light would have been there, as even economy wagons (Pintos) had that light functional.

 

Thanks for the quick response! I just picked up the car so I will start looking into this further.


Dan