Power supply check to right side of gauge cluster.

All of my gauge cluster lights used to work. After having the cluster out, the right side (circuit board) stopped working after one of the "posts" for the wire harness broke off the circuit board, while I was running wires to/from the ammeter. I assumed this was for the power wire, so I "made" a post to test. Connected the harness. No luck. So I then replaced the circuit board with new. I've tried (new) what I *think* are the correct bulbs and sockets (per Classic Industries) with no luck. They do seem to fit a bit loose. I ordered another set from another vendor but am having trouble finding them.
Gauges still work, just no lights.
Things I've also tried:
New aftermarket headlight switch.
New aftermarket dimmer switch.
Separate wiring to/from ammeter to take some of the stress off of the OEM wiring.

All gauges work and all lights on the left side of the cluster are fine. Is there a way I can temporarily run power to the circuit board side so I can trouble shoot? I'm not sure if it's a mechanical/parts issue or power supply. I SUCK at electrical work so kinda stumbling my way through this. None of the shops in my area will touch any of this.

Thanks, in advance.

Sure you can.
But it sounds like a test light or meter would be helpful.

Lots of questions here.
What are you working on.
Is the cluster still out of the car?
Do you know for sure, that your ‘replacement’ post is making electrical contact with the circuit board? Use an ohm meter to see if you have continuity.
Do you have an electrical diagram of your system so you can determine which post on the circuit board does what?
If your cluster is out of the car, you can run power to it using a battery or power supply but if you’re not sure how to do this, I would get help from someone who knows and learn from them because you could cause more damage that might not be repairable.

‘Separate wiring to/from the ammeter’ brings up a whole different set of questions…..

Don Frelier said:

Sure you can.
But it sounds like a test light or meter would be helpful.

Click to expand...

If I knew how, I would.

BigFlo said:

Lots of questions here.
What are you working on.
Is the cluster still out of the car?
Do you know for sure, that your ‘replacement’ post is making electrical contact with the circuit board? Use an ohm meter to see if you have continuity.
Do you have an electrical diagram of your system so you can determine which post on the circuit board does what?
If your cluster is out of the car, you can run power to it using a battery or power supply but if you’re not sure how to do this, I would get help from someone who knows and learn from them because you could cause more damage that might not be repairable.

‘Separate wiring to/from the ammeter’ brings up a whole different set of questions

Click to expand...

1969 Charger.
Cluster is in the car.
I do not know that the new circuit board is 100% functional, but I would have a hard time believing it has the same issues as the broken one.
I have the service manual. It's been a while since I looked, but I seem to remember the broken post from the old circuit board was responsible for powering the lights which has brought me to where I am now, with my original question.
I may not have mentioned it in my original post, but there is nobody in my area that can help me. Again, the reason I'm here.
Separate wiring to and from the ammeter was done to relieve some of the stress going through the bulkhead.

I don’t know that year cluster so I’m basing this on a 65 that has separate power to left and right sides of the cluster. but if all of the bulbs on the one side don’t work (and you have the same bulbs in the other side) it is a power, ground or circuit board problem. The fact that everything worked before you switched to the new circuit board, that is your best clue. What did you do to switch-out the circuit board and did you install it exactly as the old one that came out. I would guess that you still have power through your harness that goes to the circuit board, but you need to confirm. First thing you need is a multi-meter so you can check for voltage and continuity. Assuming you can access the back of your cluster (or harness), use your wiring diagram to check for power to the power pin on that side of the cluster. Then check the ground on the circuit board on that side to make sure you have continuity to frame ground. If either of those don’t check out correctly, you know what to fix. If they do check out OK, then things get more interesting and it could be a lot of things.
Lots of threads here about diagnosing clusters - you might want to search and read them, if this is not a power/ground problem.

BigFlo said:

I don’t know that year cluster so I’m basing this on a 65 that has separate power to left and right sides of the cluster. but if all of the bulbs on the one side don’t work (and you have the same bulbs in the other side) it is a power, ground or circuit board problem. The fact that everything worked before you switched to the new circuit board, that is your best clue. What did you do to switch-out the circuit board and did you install it exactly as the old one that came out. I would guess that you still have power through your harness that goes to the circuit board, but you need to confirm. First thing you need is a multi-meter so you can check for voltage and continuity. Assuming you can access the back of your cluster (or harness), use your wiring diagram to check for power to the power pin on that side of the cluster. Then check the ground on the circuit board on that side to make sure you have continuity to frame ground. If either of those don’t check out correctly, you know what to fix. If they do check out OK, then things get more interesting and it could be a lot of things.
Lots of threads here about diagnosing clusters - you might want to search and read them, if this is not a power/ground problem.

Click to expand...

Firstly, I'll reiterate:
-it's in a 1969 Charger so, yep: separate power sources.
- yes, circuit board side issue.
- it did not work before swapping the circuit board, which was the reason for the new circuit board. The old one had a post break off, where the harness attaches. I'm 99.9% sure it was for the wire that supplies power, shown here:



- I searched but didn't find any threads reporting half the cluster not lighting up while all gauges are working.

Now, onto the fun (new lol) stuff:

I can check the harness for power, that's easy enough.
To ground the cluster while out of the car, I guess I can clip a jumper from the cluster frame to the car. How do I confirm the circuit board is grounded?

Sorry. I suck at electrical stuff.

Power comes in from the harness to the board pins, thru the lightbulb and to ground thru the screws that screw the circuit board to cluster casting. Screwing the cluster to the dash (and dash to the car) completes the grounding of the circuit board to the car frame ground. (You need to make sure those screws are connected and grounded properly).
In your picture I added some colored lines - the yellow line shows the copper trace that goes to the screw. This is the ground side of the circuit. When you follow it, You will see it goes to two bulbs and also to your voltage limiter. One side of every bulb is connected to a ground screw thru a trace.
The other side of every bulb is connected to power. See the blue line. This connects power from the pin to the two bulbs shown and then goes off the picture to the right to also power something else. (Maybe another bulb but I can see where it goes)
The red line is also power that goes off to the right - assuming to the bulbs on that side of the circuit board.
Remove the bulbs from the board. You will see the power side of the circuit trace and the ground side of the circuit trace do not touch each other - the bulb completes the circuit when plugged in and lights the filament when current (voltage) flows from power to ground.
With bulbs still removed, take one lead of your ohmmeter and put it on the metal casting (not the screw) and the other lead on the copper colored side of the ground at each bulb (not to the green coating leading up to the bulb - that’s insulating material). You should get zero ohms for each bulb. This means your ground is good at each bulb. If not, loosen the screw on the trace with the offending ohmmeter reading and retighten and re-measure.
To check the continuity of the power traces, put one ohmmeter lead on the pin and one lead on the power side of each bulb that is connected to that pin.
If you get zero ohms for all these readings, that will clear your circuit board.
Then you need to ensure that you have power thru your harness to pins that power the bulbs.
Then you need to ensure your cluster is properly grounded when you put it back in-it should do that thru the mounting screws.
Good luck and report what you find.

Afterthought- You said you got new bulbs. Have you tried swapping the bulbs that work to the positions that don’t work, just rule out the bulbs being the problem?