I think DaraSue would prefer a little anonymity for now.Quote:
Originally Posted by SS Spoiler
Let's stay on topic.
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I think DaraSue would prefer a little anonymity for now.Quote:
Originally Posted by SS Spoiler
Let's stay on topic.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sometimes we all do...Quote:
Originally Posted by DMC5180
George
I didn't take any pix of my incredibly fetching pajamas/car repair outfit, but here is an incredibly lifelike artist's rendition of me trying to fasten a clamp around a hose that was leaking half a gallon of antifreeze:
:rant:
Seriously though, there was still about a teaspoon of leakage when I checked it again so I gave the clamp another couple turns with the torque wrench and it's held all day including the drive to work with a stop at Costco on the way, and a road test to the library and an exit up the freeway on my dinner break. Crossing my fingers that this particular issue is whipped for now...
Here's to hoping that solved your problem :)
Dara,
Did you ever make it to Las Vegas? Are you in town right now? There is a shop on the west side that works on DeLoreans. We could try to get some of the LV D owners and meet up with you for some fun.
Bob
No more leakage this morning, so I'm cautiously optimistic. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Lwanmtr
I never did, although I'm thinking of heading down there for a test drive next week, if my car continues to behave itself. :pQuote:
Originally Posted by Bob635
Is the shop Lost in the 50s? I know another guy down there who recommended them.
Does anyone have a picture of the plug that runs the left-hand gauges? The dead temp and voltage gauges are back after a day of driving around. Strangely my service manual doesn't seem to have a wiring diagram for those. I'm sitting in a Cabela's parking lot trying to look under the dash and see if anything's visibly amiss but I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking at. Are the connectors on the back of the gauges something I can see without taking the binnacle apart?
(I was trying to save that project for the winter since the issue's been intermittent but it's getting pretty annoying...)
No, they are not visible without removing the cluster binnacle. Although the gauges may flake out on you, you are fine driving it. As long as the batt light doesn't come on, you are charging. As far as the coolant temps go, if you did not see any abnormalities in temp with working gauges, the likelihood of you having a problem is low. Heck nowadays some cars don't even display that info anymore. It's just warning lights.
Your fine to drive home from cabelas.
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Yes. Photo of the flex circuit on the back of the instrument cluster is here: http://www.specialtauto.com/delorean.../dash-rear.jpgQuote:
Originally Posted by DaraSue
Get a mirror up under there and you can see it.
The connector that runs the (+) side of the left side gauges is the one that fits into the socket at the upper right of the circuit (as viewed toward driver in photo). It also carries the ground for those gauges, shared with the ground for the seat belt and door ajar lights. Are those working?
You might want to invest in the poster-size wiring diagram for this and future work: http://store.delorean.com/p-9202-wiring-diagram-lg.aspx
I made it home, stopping every 10 miles to make sure I hadn't actually blown a radiator hose or snapped the alternator belt. Last time this happened it would start working again after I'd stopped for 1/2 hour-45 mins, but I didn't get that lucky this time. At my last stop I checked the seat belt and door open lights and they weren't working either, so that's another piece of the puzzle.
If I take the binnacle apart, how big of a job is it? I really wanted to try and get down to Vegas next week, but it makes me nervous to drive it like this.
It can be removed easily if your familiar with the process. But it can be a tedious job if your not. I could walk you through it step by step.
My question for you is are you comfortable sliding your head upside down under the dash?
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Well, I guess if I can squeeze under the back of the car, this shouldn't be too much worse ;) The main thing I'd be worried would be breaking something. I've done electronics work before, but never on anything I would have been heartbroken to lose.Quote:
Originally Posted by DMC5180
I don't want to make you reinvent the wheel for my sake - I found this how-to guide, do you concur with his advice? http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?50...lb-Replacement
Also I've seen people talk about cleaning the contacts with sandpaper. What grit? I think the finest I have around here is 1000, although I have some nail-buffers (not files, pads that put a shine on your nails), and maybe those would work. Or clean them with something else?
(Oh, here's this one, too: http://www.dmcnews.com/Techsection/dashboard.html )
The second write up is a better guide and explains things in greater detail. I'd follow that one. One thing the second one does not do is have you remove the seat (four 13 mm nuts ) under the car. It really makes working under the dash much easier if the seat is out. One other item that was not explained well is how to release the speedo cable from the cluster. You simply press forward on the release tab around the end of the cable end and it will slide off the speedo. You don't need to unscrew the cable from the lambda counter.
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Success!
When I finally got the binnacle loose and pulled the connectors out, I found that one of the pins (?) in the plug was jammed back in its little slot, as if the wire had been pulled on. It was the green one third from the top in this pic: Attachment 47240 I pushed the wire forward and it sprung back into position. In addition, the metallic strip in the socket where this pin would have attached was pulled loose and wrinkled. I smoothed it down and plugged the harness back in and presto! I had my gauges back.
How important are the washers on the two 7mm nuts on either side of the steering column? I somehow lost one of them on the floor of my car.
Great! Always nice when you can find that its something simple (even though it takes a bit of work to find it).
I couldnt say for sure about the washer, but it could be one of those universe collapsing things...
The thing to do now is temporarily set the binnicle cluster back in place but don't secure it all down. Take the car out for a drive on bumpy road if you have those out there. Do a literal shake down drive. If no issues pop up finish the installation and then call it a success. But hay now that you've been in there you know what to do later for bulb replacements and such.
The little washer you lost could under a floor mat or landed on you while you were under there. The washer is needed if the hole the threaded stud comes through is elongated. I'm sure you could find something to work at a hardware store.
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I already put it mostly back together, but doing it in reverse took a lot less time than taking it apart the first time so I think I've kind of got the hang of it now. I'd taken it around the loop in my complex a couple times while I was putting the connectors back together (took a couple tries to get the speedo cable back on right) and everything seemed to be working but I'm going to drive it back up to my friend's house tonight and the 215 is like driving on the surface of the moon, so we'll see what happens. Thanks for your help, everybody!
Woo hoo, you can do it [emoji3]
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In case you weren't aware, that green wire (terminal 9) is the +12v feed for the left side of the cluster. That backed out terminal was almost certainly the problem. YOU fixed it. Enjoy your worry free trip the Vegas.
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I drove up to my friend's house for dinner (35 miles each way), and had no more issues with the gauges. It's not necessarily conclusive since last time they acted up it was 50 miles into the return trip from Wendover, but it's a good sign. As long as nothing else craps out in the next week, I'll feel pretty good about heading down to Vegas. :partyhat:
Awesome. Hopefully there's no more mishaps