Experienced help needed. Fuel, Temp, Oil gauges all not working

[tendy30]

Hey Guys,

I have a 1969 Charger r/t. I started a project this weekend and certainly am in way over my head. I pulled apart the dash to see why the fuel, oil, and temp gauges don't work. The alternator works fine as it's on as separate feed.

As I pulled the instrument cluster out of the dash, I did notice whoever restored the car did some sodering in various places. I used a tester to make sure the 12 volt feed has power and it does. I then tested the 4 or 5 little prongs that are attached to the circuit board and they all have power however, it's not consistent. It's more of a pulsating light on the tesert.. on and off every half second..similar to a turn signal. I also tested along the circuit board and it's producing the same turn signal like flashes. Anyways, I then took the whole cluster out and two of the prongs have been sodered but very stable. I'm out of solutions and started to look at a whole new dash cluster, HOLY SH*T $1500 later. Not something I want to purchase this year and even if I did unsure if that will solve the problem.

I highly doubt all 3 gauges are dead but I could be wrong.

Any help would be of great assistance,

Al

 

[PlumcrazyRR]

Couple of questions. Have the gauges ever worked and are you sure you have a good ground? Having a proper ground is very important.

 

[Beekeeper]

Sounds like the voltage limiter may be bad it's common to all three gauges
Go ahead and buy one of the new solid state limiters as they are more reliable
than the original mechanical ones. It's the rectangular module that's plugged in the circuit board

 

[PlumcrazyRR]

Just read an interesting article on the voltage limiter on the mopars. Not sure if anyone on the forum has attempted this improvement or has feedback on it, but thought I would throw it out there for reading at least.

http://www.allpar.com/history/mopar/electrical2.html

 

[Michael789]

I have done the conversion on my ralley gauges, it works great, it cost me about six dollars. Do a search for homemade voltage regulator and it should pull it up

 

[bigmanjbmopar]

We say it all the time and I'll say it again...... Grounds Grounds Grounds..... make sure you cluster is good and grounded on the frame it mounts to, make sure the circuit board is not loose, make sure the pins on the connector is good not loose or broken, I know you said it is soldered in a couple of spots but make sure the fix is clean, make sure the harness connector is good not cracked or a wire broken. Pulsating voltage is normal as you only get 5 vdc to the gauges. Do you have a wiring diagram?


Don't give up, you may spend some money on gauges, circuit board, limiter noise suppressor etc but ask around some members here have those parts laying around and would be happy to sell them to you. See the links below for wiring diagrams, check ebay for laminated 11x17 versions of your car they help a lot,

Post pictures of what you find you never know we may be able to help you just by seeing what you have. electrical may seem like a tough one but it can be easily fixed.

http://www.mymopar.com/downloads/1969/69ChargerA.JPG


http://www.mymopar.com/downloads/1969/69ChargerB.JPG

 

[tendy30]

The 3 gauges have never worked since I have owned the car which is only a year. I would say there is a good ground b/c everything else works just fine. I am going to start with the solid state limiter, a suggestion by Beekeeper. I just don't want to get into a bunch of money in parts and run the bill up to $900 b/c for an extra $400 to $500 I can have a brand new Rallye Dash with tic tac clock.

I'd like to get it working and simply leave as is until next year when I give the dash a full overhaul. I wish it could wait another year but the old heart can't take not knowing how much gas is in the take and if I am going to run out!

If any one has a limiter or any parts that have been suggest please let me know!

Thanks,

Al

 

[PlumcrazyRR]

Here is a site I found doing some research if you want to upgrade the voltage limiter to something more modern and do not feel comfortable trying to piece together the pieces required and try to manufacture it yourself. This option is more expensive, but much easier for someone that is not comfortable working with electronics. I have not personally used one, nor would I, but that is mainly because my job involves me working with electronics every day. I might try to find a cheaper option to start out with though for troubleshooting purposes, so you can find out exactly what is wrong first.

http://rt-eng.com/rte/index.php/RTE_limiter.

 

[Garys1969RR]

Had the same problem on my 69 RR. Replaced the voltage limiter and then 2 gauges worked. Fuel gauge still didn't work. I pulled the sending unit wire off the fuel tank, and hooked it to a good ground. This will peg the gauge if it and the wiring are good, which it did on mine. This pointed to a bad sending unit in the tank. Replaced it and now every thing works. I took the instrument cluster out and had it reconditioned including having all the bulbs and speedo replaced. That cost $250. Now everything works great! Just a matter of tracking it down 1 issue at a time. Good luck.

 

[JamieZ]

If swapping the limiter doesn't help (it's a good and fairly cheap first step) I recommend you consult this thread has it goes through how to test gauges and restore a cluster in depth:

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php?topic=37999.0;wap2