printed circuit on back of gauges.......

[Cornpatch MO]

Has anyone actually needed to replace one? Is there a way to test it all out? 1964 Dodge.
I have been told that I have a bad one. I am skeptical , does the guy really know what he is talking about? That was the diagnosis on why my gas gauge does not work. Needle will not move when sender wire is grounded out. New electronic voltage gauge regulator. ........................Thanks for your input........................MO

 

[moparedtn]

I had to do a ton of repairs on mine and I did it "old school" - I took the cluster out of the car and worked on it on my bench.
Once you have it in front of you, it's readily apparent how things work.
When I say old school, I literally took my jumper cables and connected them to the battery still in the car and clamped the other ends to my wooden work bench, then took test leads from my volt/ohm meter from them to test various lights and circuits/gauges and such.
When I couldn't get something to work, I used an ohm meter to find the break/short and fixed it.
New bulbs and sockets, a little repair soldering here and there, using a pencil eraser and some really fine sandpaper to clean up contacts, stuff like that.
When everything worked on the bench, back in the car it went once I was happy with it cosmetically as well.

They really are simple, but I wanted it in my hands for diagnosing as opposed to trying to figure out all the issues with it still in the car.

Your mileage may vary. Offer void where prohibited.

 

[Cornpatch MO]

I had to do a ton of repairs on mine and I did it "old school" - I took the cluster out of the car and worked on it on my bench.
Once you have it in front of you, it's readily apparent how things work.
When I say old school, I literally took my jumper cables and connected them to the battery still in the car and clamped the other ends to my wooden work bench, then took test leads from my volt/ohm meter from them to test various lights and circuits/gauges and such.
When I couldn't get something to work, I used an ohm meter to find the break/short and fixed it.
New bulbs and sockets, a little repair soldering here and there, using a pencil eraser and some really fine sandpaper to clean up contacts, stuff like that.
When everything worked on the bench, back in the car it went once I was happy with it cosmetically as well.

They really are simple, but I wanted it in my hands for diagnosing as opposed to trying to figure out all the issues with it still in the car.

Your mileage may vary. Offer void where prohibited.

Very good info, thank you. I had my instrument pod out, cleaning it, new bulbs , etc. during the build on this project. I wish I had the for-thought to do what you did. Visual inspection looked good. . I am getting ideas on how to trace these things down..............................MO

 

[moparedtn]

Very good info, thank you. I had my instrument pod out, cleaning it, new bulbs , etc. during the build on this project. I wish I had the for-thought to do what you did. Visual inspection looked good. . I am getting ideas on how to trace these things down..............................MO

My pleasure.
I'd seen someone else take one of these out of the car before, so that gave me just enough nerve to try it myself.
It was honestly more of a pain in the arse to get it out of the dash than anything else - once out, life got easier. If I can do it, anyone can, trust me.

 

[Cornpatch MO]

My pleasure.
I'd seen someone else take one of these out of the car before, so that gave me just enough nerve to try it myself.
It was honestly more of a pain in the arse to get it out of the dash than anything else - once out, life got easier. If I can do it, anyone can, trust me.

Anyone know what it takes to get the instrument cluster out the front of a 64 Dodge? I will give it a shot................................MO

 

[MoparWI]

I just pulled the cluster out of a 66 coronet. Remove the screws around the cluster. Take off heater knobs. Drop steering column. Speedo cable needs to be pulled thru the firewall a little and heater controls disconnected from back of cluster. Slide the whole thing to the right a little then pull it out

 

[moose1]

I've had the cluster out of my '66 twice. Didn't need to drop the steering column and found it easier to remove the heater control knobs (small set screws) & leave the heater control in place.

 

[Cornpatch MO]

I just pulled the cluster out of a 66 coronet. Remove the screws around the cluster. Take off heater knobs. Drop steering column. Speedo cable needs to be pulled thru the firewall a little and heater controls disconnected from back of cluster. Slide the whole thing to the right a little then pull it out

66 is different from 64. That would be good if speedo cable can be screwed on with cluster part way out, as it is a bi***trying to get it on from the back...........................MO

 

[moparedtn]

66 is different from 64. That would be good if speedo cable can be screwed on with cluster part way out, as it is a bi***trying to get it on from the back...........................MO

Pretty much true of any of them, I'd guess. Not much slack in that cable, period.
We're fortunate with the newer ones in that the cable just pops on, at least.

 

[Bb70charger500]

I think I have the parts your looking for I have a 65 gauge cluster and two oem boards maybe something will work

 

[Cornpatch MO]

I think I have the parts your looking for I have a 65 gauge cluster and two oem boards maybe something will work

I appreciate it, I decided to forget about trying to test and just put it all back together. PTL it works !! but the needle wavers a lot......................................MO

 

[Bb70charger500]

Ah OK well if you need I can look if not its all going to the local mopar swap meet in January

 

[threewood]

It will be readily apparent if there is a break to the circuit. The brass strips that are glued into the board can and will break or burn. The one on my 62 was repaired by bridging the break with a thin gauge wire soldered to the connections. It was this way when I bought it and had ran that way for 10-20 years. Finally found a good one on ebay, but nothing wrong with the repaired one except for looks.