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Temp & gas guage a little erratic

The gauges on my Bee do the same thing (spike) on very rare occasion…have been since I've had the car. One thing I learned about electrical problems on these old cars…unless it's truly broke (not working at all)...let the sleeping dog lie. Good luck solving your problem.
 
Had the same problem on my 72 Duster just last week. I wiggled the voltage limiter and made sure it was full in. No more erratic gages.

monaco66coupe said:
There is a volt limilter that reduces voltage to 5 volts plugged into the back of the cluster, when it is failing this can happen. Sometimes the circuit board develops a short to ground, which causes the same thing.
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Ordered one as a back up. Thanks

Photon440 said:
You likely need one of these:
http://rt-eng.com/rte/index.php/RTE_limiter

Better fix it before your gauges are toasted. It won't take much.
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The ALT gage can be bypassed. Check this thread. http://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/showthread.php?59873-Charging-system-Mod-Question
 
HT413 said:
Huh, my wife's a little erratic too, maybe her voltage limiter needs a look see. :eusa_whistle:
Click to expand...


HT, Clazar did say erratic but he clarified that by saying when he stopped fast his gauges pegged at the high point. That would be equivalent to an orgasm and YOU are the only limiter she has. :laughing9: :laughing9: :laughing9: :laughing9: :laughing9:
 
I agree that it most likely was the old point style instrument voltage regulator. Its purpose is to take 12 volts and drop it down to an average of 5 volts. Should the points stick too long, you will experience what you had, all the gauges starting to peg. If this happens for too long, you can kiss you gauges good bye was it will fry them! Seems that 5 volt systems don't like a full 12 volts for some reason! lol. A good fix for this is the solid state regulator like the one that Real Time Engineering (RTE) offers. Also, I think Charger Specialties offers one as well. If you problem still does this, most likely you have a direct ground causing the problem some where. It could be anything from a bad gauge to a shorted circuit board to a wire that has chaffed or broken insulation that is causing the direct ground somewhere making intermittent contact.
 
I probably have to replace the alt guage. Is it correct that i can bolt the alt guage wires together effectively bypassing the guage till i get a new one installed without causing a car start problem?

Chuck
 
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correct. that is what I did when I sent my gauges out for calibration / repair to keep my car able to move around and work on it. Just be sure to wrap the connection good with electrical tape. You DO NOT want them touching anything metal!
 
Do you by chance have the correct Alternator? The 70' has two ground connectors, the 69' had one. Many times people mix them up. The regulator suggestion tripped that old memory bank. A 69' inn a 70' will cause the alt to surge, and the gas/temp.
 
monaco66coupe said:
Do you by chance have the correct Alternator? The 70' has two ground connectors, the 69' had one. Many times people mix them up. The regulator suggestion tripped that old memory bank. A 69' inn a 70' will cause the alt to surge, and the gas/temp.
Click to expand...

I do have the correct alternator on it. I had a 69 alt on a 70 RR long time ago & it fried some wiring. Thats how i became somewhat helpful to others since i have now replaced 2 sets of under dash wiring.

Chuck
 
I sent my eBay core cluster to Bob's speedometer, got the amp gauge sodderd, Speedo got rebuilt, replaced the volt limiter.... I went with a 2 1/8" volt meter and made it fit the dash... got some ebay vent ducts and grille centersection to play with. Going to ebay for cheap junk to familiarize and to experiment with the cluster came modified for an 8 track player and I just got my player back from Barry's 8 track center... my disc brake proportion valve is mounted around the fuse block neer the e brake release lever.... I have taken about 3month's working out the dash. I'm going to use headlight relays... accessory relays and electric choke. A powermaster alternator with a suppressor a 8ga bypass to the battery another suppressor and 8 ga wire to a Rockford fosgate punch 150 that's been sent out to amp repair center the rear deck has 3 6x9 speaker holes factory and I'm going to convert the single front 4x10" speaker to 6x9 and use 4 61/2" speakers in the doors there plyle gear and it has a design that looks like the mopar triangle... it may be over kill but it's what I want.... I have read all I can find on electrical on the various mopar boards... I can put it all back to stock if I want later... I plan to make new door cards from plywood and my old seat covers when I get that far....
 
sleepar said:
I sent my eBay core cluster to Bob's speedometer, got the amp gauge sodderd, Speedo got rebuilt, replaced the volt limiter.... I went with a 2 1/8" volt meter and made it fit the dash... got some ebay vent ducts and grille centersection to play with. Going to ebay for cheap junk to familiarize and to experiment with the cluster came modified for an 8 track player and I just got my player back from Barry's 8 track center... my disc brake proportion valve is mounted around the fuse block neer the e brake release lever.... I have taken about 3month's working out the dash. I'm going to use headlight relays... accessory relays and electric choke. A powermaster alternator with a suppressor a 8ga bypass to the battery another suppressor and 8 ga wire to a Rockford fosgate punch 150 that's been sent out to amp repair center the rear deck has 3 6x9 speaker holes factory and I'm going to convert the single front 4x10" speaker to 6x9 and use 4 61/2" speakers in the doors there plyle gear and it has a design that looks like the mopar triangle... it may be over kill but it's what I want.... I have read all I can find on electrical on the various mopar boards... I can put it all back to stock if I want later... I plan to make new door cards from plywood and my old seat covers when I get that far....
Click to expand...

Good luck with all the time & effort. Hope everything works out for you.

Chuck

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Another dumb question. Does anybody make or have the insulators that go over the alt leads available? Or is it ok just to make some out of cardboard or something else?

Chuck
 
I made mine out of thin cardboard. 12 years now and it works fine. The original had cardboard as well.
 
IMG_2032.jpghi chuck.my 70rr has a similar problem, except mine temp will show (hot) between 230 and 250 and my oil pressure guage will be maxed out and when i turn the engine off and turn the ignition to the on( not running) positon to check temp guage and my oil pressure guage starts rising and the engines not even running.randy
 
TRAMO said:
View attachment 184910hi chuck.my 70rr has a similar problem, except mine temp will show (hot) between 230 and 250 and my oil pressure guage will be maxed out and when i turn the engine off and turn the ignition to the on( not running) positon to check temp guage and my oil pressure guage starts rising and the engines not even running.randy
Click to expand...

I did replace the voltage limiter with an electronic version & everything works fine now. The only thing i have to do is replace the amp guage.

Chuck
 
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