Hi Mark,
I had the same sort of problem on my '76 a couple weeks back. The
same symptoms, although the gauges were way low, not totally flat, so I
changed the voltage stabilizer with a spare I happened to have.
Although, before I actually pulled the old one out I checked the gauge
operation and everything worked OK. But, I just knew the stabilizer was
at fault (!!!!???) and it was going to do it again..... So,
I swapped them out, and everything was fine......until the next ride,
when they quit completely, along with the brake lights, etc. The fuse
blew, along with the next 3 I tried, hoping desperately that the Lucas
gremlin wasn't in my garage...
Well, since I made a long story unending..........what I found
was...the brake light switch had pretty much melted and was causing what
turned into a dead short. Pull the 2 wires off the brake light switch
and check the resistance in the switch. If the resistance doesn't matter
if the brake pedal is depressed or not, then that's your trouble. Or, if
the terminals have started "sinking" into the plastic switch, then you
know that's at least part of the problem. These switches are notorious
for failure. I hear the mid 80's BMW 3 or 5 series switches are better.
Check a boneyard in the area, or get a new one from the regulars.......
Good Luck, and let us know what you find.
Kevin Thompson
Cape Cod British Car Club
http://www.capecodbritishcarclub.org/
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