No instrument lights

[JTH1972]

Hey all, welcome to my first post (of many, I'm sure)!

I bought myself an 86 Ranger 4X4 a couple of weeks ago, knowing it was going to need a little TLC. One of the first problems I've had with it is losing the lights in the instrument cluster. The lights on the speedo haven't worked since I bought it (I think) and the other instrument lights have come off and on, and how long they stay on depends on how high I have the dimmer switch turned up. Recently, I lost all the other lights to the instruments. The high beam light still works and the lighting for the heat panel and transmission still work.

I'm trying to remove the instrument panel to check wires, but I'm having a hard time getting the speedo cable off, and I don't want to just start pulling on things without knowing how it's supposed to come off. I do have a Clymer manual coming, but if someone could give me info on how to finish pulling the instrument cluster out, and an idea what else to check for (besides bulbs), I'd appreciate it.

Thanks

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

ive never removed the instrument cluster from a gen 1, but assuming they use the same setup for attaching the speedo cable to the speedo head as the gen 3's, here are a few pics of the clip your dealing with.

here is a straight on view of the clip at rest. the little plastic hook you see engages a depression on the speedo head to hold the cable in place:

this is a side view of the clip depressed. the clip doesnt have a decent pivot on it, when you press on it, the whole plastic part just warps and bends...so its hard to tell if your doing any good:

straight on view of the clip depressed, note that the little hook is retracted:

 

[JTH1972]

That'll give me an idea of what to try and feel for. thanks