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66 charger .. gauges not working

tpodwdog

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how-deeeeeeeeeeeee....dawg here. im working on a 66 charger and the factory gauges do not work. these gauges are not like what im used to seeing. im used to a circuit board...but this isnt like that. it has electro-luminescent dash board, and no circuit board. all gauges were grounded out and none of them pegged...no movement at all .

after chasing wires all day and dancing with a schematic...heres what i discovered :

the schematic shows all the gauges being powered at the GAS GAUGE...and linking thereafter WITH A BROWN GROUND. (except the alt gauge, that works ).

there is a condenser connected to where the 12 volt power is supposed to go ( on the gas gauge ) and said condenser is grounded to the dash frame with the pigtail on the threaded stem...THERES NO POWER RUNNING TO IT FROM THE FUSE BOX like the schematic says........SO....

i put 12volts to it and still get no gauges...( key on ). they are all properly grounded and all wires are where they should be according to the schematic.

im usually a whizz when it comes to electricity but this one has me stumped.....any ideas?.....thanx in advance!

:headbang:
 
Send me a PM and I will give you my phone number..it's easier for me to talk you through it rather than type it all out. Problem is probably the gauge limiter inside the fuel gauge.

Bryan
 
Send me a PM and I will give you my phone number..it's easier for me to talk you through it rather than type it all out. Problem is probably the gauge limiter inside the fuel gauge.

Bryan

YA KNOW...i was looking for a voltage limiter but damn if i could find one....PM sent
 
thanx for the help bryan,,,ill let ya know how the surgery goes,,,thank you!
 
show them the pictures of your parts , clusters :)

just a small sample of what I have collected since 1974

Bryan


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Dog, take some pics of what you got going on there please.

condenser, suppressor, whatever it's called..it's not the limiter...the limiter is built into the fuel gauge, that's why there are 3 wires on gas gauge

Bryan
 

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I know who I'm going to become friends with when I start doing over my 67 440 4spd Charger!
 
had some spare tail lights around for my cars...I did something with them

Bryan
 

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Bryan has some serious spare parts! The condenser attached to the post on the 12V side of the gas gauge is for dampening the static produced by the points type limiter in the fuel gauge (for the AM radio). With a solid state limiter installed (removing the points limiter in the fuel gauge , that can then be tossed)...More than likely the points limiter in the fuel gauge has failed, which also supplies 5V to the oil press and temp gauges. The bad part is that when the points limiter fails, it more than likely put way more than 5 V to your three thermal gauges and cooked the insulated nichrome wire in them. First they will become unreliable (calibration will be off) and then if the wire gets cooked enough, will fail altogether. I have restored close to sixty 66/67 gauge clusters since I opened for business back in 2009. I own both a 66 and a 67. Be glad to help if you need any more advice or rebuilding work, my contact info is on my website, www.thegaugedoc.com.

Thanks,

Mark
 
holy cow... DAYTONA CHARGER.............. wow. nice Bryan. ! im heading over there at noon eastern time and put your advice to work. ill let ya know what happens!
 
PROGNOSIS............. the gauges are toast...no ohm reading at all and and he dont want to fix them yet ( no dough). so we installed an after market fuel gauge today so he has something to register fuel. amp gauge works....after market oil and temp gauges are in the car. this will work until he hits the lottery. thanx for the help brian.!
 
yea, kinda figured that..it's a common issue....don't feel like he's the only one that has this problem....

None of my gauges worked when I got my 66 back in '74

Bryan


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i dont see the metro , what did you throw it in the closet :)

No, it's still in pieces in the garage.....but it is up for sale on Craigslist if you wanna add it to yer Nash collection
 
someone wanted pix so here they are. heres the story with this car:

to look at it its nuthin special EXCEPT..there is absolutely no rust or rot on this car. when i met my buddy and this car it was DEAD. he had the motor and tranny built 10 years ago and it sat for that long without being started BECAUSE.... someone cut ALL of the underhood wiring and my buddy had no idea how to wire it back up, so it sat in this garage for 10 years. i spent 3 weeks tracing and rewiring this car. installed new style charging and ignition systems ( stock Mopar ). when it was time to fire it up....i poured a bit of gas in the carb and it immediately came to life with no hesitation....didnt sputter and die....it stayed running on the first turn of the key. its a 383 .

as far as the gauges BRYAN...i kinda figgered that too..being that if the wires were all cut....something bad was bound to happen. but the electro-luminescent lights work and we have all needed after market gauges in there. heres a few pixx.

spanks car 070.jpgspanks car 071.jpgspanks car 072.jpgspanks car 073.jpg
 
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