71 cuda, w rallye dash, the mph gauge works, tach gauge works, and clock works.
however the quad gauge w fuel, temp, oil and ammeter do not function.
I have looked over the connections over and over, ran a separate ground and have power to the voltage reducer unit and have that connected to each corresponding unmarked studs. nothing.
I ran master gauges off engine and have temp and oil levels that register and are correct.
5 gallons of fuel in tank currently.
I currently have nothing connected to the ammeter gauge, could this effect function of the other gauges?
thoughts?
All 4 gauges (in the single housing that is 3rd from the left) do not work? Does the power run through the Ammeter? :huh:
With the ammeter not hooked up, there's no power going through the car. In order for the gauges to work the key has to be on, and I'm assuming they would need power. Try hooking up the ammeter and turning the key on :alan2cents:
I do have power to the three gauges that I plan to use, but you think the ammeter needs power to it to allow the other three to function, ill try it as I don't know.
I did check and with the key on/ and or running none of the gauges move, I do have 12 v to the back voltage reducer that is routed to the unmark stud on each of the three gauges, (fuel, oil, temp) and on the stud mark with various color, I have each sending unit connected.
I do plan on changing ammeter to volt meter but was hoping to have all other function now.
anyone know how many volts should be coming out of this unit to feed all these gauges?
black arrow is where I have the ground mounted and the stock"noise suppressor" is not installed
red arrow is the new 2 prong limiter in question, what voltage should this put out?
IVR should put out 5-6 volts... And it's very likely thats where your problem is...
5V regulator is done. Buy a new one. rte sells solid state ones.
(or it came loose)
alright so I tested the voltage limiter...with the key on, I have 12 v to the top spade, and nothing at the bottom , however when I disconnect the 3 way branch that routes this power to each gauge I have 5 .02 v at the bottom spade of the voltage limiter.
so the limiter is fine, but as soon as I connect to any of the (quad) gauges, I get no power as I tried each independently......so I am now questioning how these 4 gauges mount through the entire gauge bezel housing.
If I recall each gauge in the quad setup has two threaded posts. they pass through the gauge bezel housing, and are mounted with nuts, then each stud gets either the sender signal wire routed to it and the other the 3 way branch from the voltage limiter power supply.
so if the gauge bezel housing is grounded, how do mounting post of gauges not ground through the housing so the ground and power supplied wouldn't cause a short?...
are there to be nylon spacers or brass nuts, or something used to mount but isolate them so these gauges into the housing to prevent this grounding issue?
at this point I suspect that each gauge is not mounted with correct isolation causing a short problem, any info or pics of proper gauge to gauge housing would be greatly appreciated.
so i did some digging and found a non rallye gauge cluster from a e-body...I took out the gauges and found that each gauge had a thin foam like plastic strip on the inside, and outside along with a small o ring around each gauge mounting /wire post to prevent contact with gauge housing.
this makes perfect sense as to why I am having an issue, as the new gauges did not come with anything, and I pieced the dash together and never had or knew that these were to be there, not happy that I have to pull the dash apart again but happy that that's all it is.
?does anyone sell a gauge mount kit that has all these instrument gauge mounting Stud Insulator/ strips, "o/square-rings" for mounting gauges into the bezel?
I haven't been able to find the correct set, I am thinking of simply piecing together my own using various nylon/felt sleeves spacers and washers.
That would be the problem ,they have to be insulated from the metal dash frame , fiber or nylon spacers will work , no one will ever see them & I do not know of any repro washers , you could check wiith Roseville , Dave would know if repro are available
finally... :banana:
after a lot of very slow moving, careful screw and piece removal, I was able to pull the gauges back out from the "completed" dash. I removed all these 4 small gauges, went to Running's and got an assortment of felt, rubber and nylon washers, sleeves, spacers and O-rings, I put it all back together and started her up.
The oil pressure gauge jump right up to life, then the temp begun to move...I don't have the ammeter gauge hooked up as I plan to swap gauge to a voltage gauge, so that didn't move but I know why.
However the fuel gauge never moved. figure it would go up as soon as I turned key on, as I now have 5 volt coming out of limiter going to each gauge...
I know I only had 5 gallons in it before breaking in cam/running engine for the first time etc. so maybe just not enough fuel to register?? any idea how much tank needs before it will register?
so before I pull gauges again...is there away to easily check to see if the wire coming from the tank is sending the proper signal without having to remove gauges, or exhaust/heat shield etc?
Ground the wire that plugs into the sending unit at the tank, it should peg out at full. that will test the gauge and wiring. Good luck!!! Mark.
Put in more gas !!! So simple to do !! On my 74 Challenger i have a new tank and new sending unit. When full the standard gas gauge needle (not ralle) swings past the full mark... If i drive it till it shows empty, then fill it, the most i have put in is about 12.5 gallons... Now since it is a 19 gal tank, that means there is still at least 5-7 gallons in it when it shows empty. So, add another 5 galls into your tank and see if the gauge doesn't start to work...
To test the Gauge itself, take a good ground and apply to the sending unit post on the gas gauge, and turn on ignition...Needle should swing past F in just a couple of seconds.
To test the sending unit, itself, use an OHM meter (multimeter set on resistance), take the sending unit wire off gauge and use test ohms between it and good ground. It should read:
at Empty 73 ohms, 22.8 ohms for 1/2 full, and 9.6 ohms with full tank. (these numbers came from www.Chargersourguide.com gauges, fuel gauge. I would think they would still be approximately accurate for our 70-74 E Bodies as well. I have also read 80 ohms at empty, and 30 ohms at full...
If sending unit isn't putting out the correct resistance, (with enough gas in the tank), then make sure at the tank there is good ground, and test the ohms right at the output spade of the sending unit!! If nothing then test that the tank is grounded, by again using ohm meter between tank and good ground...and right on the sending unit to good ground. I have seen where the sending unit isnt getting ground... On my 74 there is a clip that goes from the ground source to the sending unit... it could have become corroded. If still nothing then probably a bad sending unit.
Hope this helps.
Oh here is the clip i was talking about:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-MOPAR-1963-74-FUEL-TANK-GROUND-CLIP-ALL-MODELS/232804036014?hash=item363433adae:g:ILsAAOxyuR5TYpQI
got them all to work!!
and a side thanks to Dave from Roseville as my complete dash is going back together for the last time! thanks to his restored dash dimmer switch!
she is 99.9 percent ready for that maiden voyage!
turns out the 5 gallons of fuel that I started with after running my cam break in was simply not enough fuel to register, so I added another 5 and gauge came up off bottom to the E mark, temp and oil pressure work too. found a original borg-warner stock headlight switch replacement unused still new in the vintage 70's box, and a nicely restored dimmer switch from Dave, its all going back together tonight!
:bravo: Electrical problems can get :pullinghair: But you stayed with it, and Concorde it! :ohyeah: