Help! I have a trip to make tomorrow and my gauges aren't working!

[Ikeaboy1]

So I've recently completed an interior refurb and have everything back together. But...


My volt meter, temp gauge, and left turn signal aren't working. I know this has something to do with the common connector on the back of the binnacle. I've checked and the connector is inserted correctly and the contacts have been adjusted to make sure a solid connection exists. I've also checked fuse 5 and it's good. I've introduced 12v to the gauges and they do function. Is there something else I may be missing here?

[Michael]

Can't you just start at the connection and work backwards with a multimeter?

ohh, just saw the back together part. Well if you are sure it's in the cluster, that's not a bad job to remove.

[Jonathan]

Did you check the black connector on the left side as well as the big white one in the middle? The schematic says those three things you mentioned are all running off the black connector. When you see them all in a line from the backside, it could be the ground for those on that connector (pin #12, which is the one on the top at the far right in the photo showing the hole where that black connector would plug into). That same ground serves all of those items you mentioned. My bet is that either the little metal tab got folded up and isn't connected well, or the circuit itself got torn somehow and it happened somewhere along that ground before it gets to the connector.

30229

[Ikeaboy1]

My multimeter is on my desk at work, unfortunately.

[Ikeaboy1]

I'm suspecting it's the circuit board. I adjusted the contacts on the connector and believe it's making solid contact. I'll need to make a trip to the office and pick up my meter to confirm lack of ground continuity in the board. Damn.

[djdogbone]

In the for sale forum, there is a guy selling an instrument cluster back....says it works

[djdogbone]

Here is the link

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?9394-Instrument-Cluster-Case

[DMC5180]

Deleted

[Ikeaboy1]

Update:

I changed the printed circuit board and still nothing. It has to be the ground wire.

Where does that ground wire lead?

[David T]

Update:

I changed the printed circuit board and still nothing. It has to be the ground wire.

Where does that ground wire lead?

If you suspect a problem with the ground just run a temporary wire to a known, good ground and see if that helps.

[Ikeaboy1]

Someone please call me a dummy and tell me what I'm missing, because I'm completely baffled.

Updates and more details:

1) I have two sets of volt/temp gauges. I've confirmed they both work by applying power directly. I've swapped them both out. When I start the car, the volt meter does nothing, and the temp gauge slowly rises to near vertical from it's pictured position. I've confirmed the needles aren't stuck.
2) the grounds are good! I've tested them with a multimeter and they're fine. Good continuity all the way back to the negative battery terminal.
3) the printed circuit board is new and I've checked and rechecked the physical contacts between the connector and board.
4) I've confirmed the presence of 12v with my meter to pin 20 pictured. Fuse 5 is good.
5) my turn signal bulbs, door, and seatbelt bulbs all work.
6) the battery bulb illuminates and the goes off immediately after ignition.

So why in the world don't the gauges work? How is this possible? If pin 20 pictured has power when I turn the car 'on,' why doesn't it move the volt gauge when I fire up the car?

[Ikeaboy1]

13+ volts measured at the volt meter posts while the car is running. Wtf?

[Jonathan]

Are you missing any of those little washers that are supposed to be in there on some of the screws/nuts?

[Ikeaboy1]

Solved. It was the nuts supposed to make contact with the ceramic resistors.

[jerrysony]

Solved. It was the nuts supposed to make contact with the ceramic resistors.
Hi. I'm experiencing the same problem you had but in my case the oil and fuel gauges are the ones dead. Could you please specify how you solved? I don't quite understand the nuts and ceramic resistors solution. 39486

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[sdg3205]

Did they both stop working at the same time?

Are you familiar with binnacle removal?

[jerrysony]

Did they both stop working at the same time?

Are you familiar with binnacle removal?
It seems that they did. I have no problem removing the binnacle.


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[sdg3205]

Cool. Remove the binnacle.

Using some fine sand paper, clean the contacts on your pin connectors on both the male and female contacts. Be very careful, the circuit traces can tear like paper.

Then remove the nuts on the inoperable gauges and gently clean away to corrosion there.

I doubt this is your problem, but I also doubt you lost ground at the oil pressure sender and fuel sender at the same time, so me thinks a ground at the binnacle has gathered just enough corrosion to cause an issue.

I once had a cluster that only had one or two lamps working. I had to clean EVERY contact on that cluster. It was insanity. But ya know what? Everything worked again.

[Ikeaboy1]

When you pull the cluster, you'll see some of the gauges have these little white spacer looking things between their contact posts. These are actually ceramic resistors and are critical to the proper operation of those gauges. I didn't understand this when I began this project and did not make sure that proper contact was made to them. You'll see they have copper contact points on them. Make sure they are making good contact to the nuts.

Also, be careful hooking the connectors up to the printed circuit board. As mentioned, it's a fragile connection. This also gave me some headaches.

If both the gauges suddenly stopped working, I doubt it has anything to do with the resistors. I took stuff apart and then didn't put it back properly. Did you have the cluster apart before this issue? I'm assuming not and they just stopped working.

You have several warning lights illuminated in your picture. Looking at the cluster wiring diagram, it looks like those warning lights share 12v with the inoperable gauges. Meaning the gauges should have 12v to them, because the glowing warning bulbs obviously do. The gauges do not share ground with those glowing bulbs. They do share ground with the low beam bulb, right turn signal bulb, and two of the binnacle illumination bulbs. Are those bulbs working? If not, then the ground may be the problem. The ground contact is actually in the center of the big connector and unlikely to have wiggled loose. If those bulbs are inoperable, my guess is the problem is not in the cluster at all, but wherever the cluster grounds to. Lots of stuff grounds to the radio bracket behind the center stack.

[jerrysony]

Thanks for all the advices.
The rest of the bulbs are operative but I'll take a look at the ground just in case. Then I'll go for the gauges and their ceramic nuts to check if they're making good contact.
I hope to do it this weekend and keep you posted. Thanks again!

[jerrysony]

So I decided to do it tonight. All the connectors seem to be fine. I only found one white spacer. Is it ok? Or do I have to get more of them? http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160204/32a765a7782a7e43f8d56591bc1555c6.jpg

[sdg3205]

Once you've cleaned the contacts, plug the harnesses back in and check the printed circuit board at the gauge terminal posts with your meter.