more guage trouble
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,009
Likes: 0
From: St. Charles MO.
more guage trouble
ok so for those who remember I was having some trouble with my speedo/tach not lighting...well a little solder after finding a tear in the circuit fixed that right up, now I cant get my gas guage/water temp/oil temp guages to work. They light up when I turn the lights on, but no reading on the guages, they just sit all the way to the left. Any clues?
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,496
Likes: 1
From: Lafayette Louisiana
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 21,234
Likes: 19
From: Freestate Corvette Club! Elkridge, MD
St. Jude Donor '17
I am in a similar boat, no gauges work. My tach is mechanical and that is easy - I have a non mechanical support HEI (fine I will get a 75 Tach). The others just go after them 1 by 1. The Chevelle Fuel link is great - and that gas gauge is the toughest to fix - so that link is a huge help! The others are easy with a multimeter (my water temp one is not even hooked up for example....). Using the meter you can power out through (or measure resitance of depending on the gauge) the sending wire to make sure the gauge is actually working, once you see it is, check the sending units. check the service manual so you do not send too much current to the gauges.
**EDIT** OR you can just do what six footer says and probably de done ....... Note to self - Try the EASY stuff FIRST!
**EDIT** OR you can just do what six footer says and probably de done ....... Note to self - Try the EASY stuff FIRST!
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,009
Likes: 0
From: St. Charles MO.
thanks guys...my electrical system just sucks period. I've got no functional cruise control, ac, or stereo at this point. I'm thinking it may just be time to take it up to this place by my house called "Just Corvettes" in st. charles missouri and let them fix it all. I'm gonna try to tackle the guages myself but the rest I don't care to mess with. I hate electrical.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,740
Likes: 3
From: Aurora Ontario
Guys,
If the fuses are good and the wiring hasn't been tampered with there isn't much that can go wrong.
The most common problem is bad contact of the plug at the rear of the center cluster. The circuit board over time shifts. To test this remove the center cluster and unplug the harness.. Get a test light...the cheap screwdriver looking type. Find a good ground somewhere on the car and attach the black wire. The plug at the end has a bunch of contacts. Withe the igntion on probe each one with the test light. It verifies each circuit is working. If all is well there Eyeball the printed circuit board. Its easy to trace which strand goes to each guage. Plug the harness back in and probe each copper strand with the test light close to the plug. Igntion in the on position. Once again confirming the power has travelled through the plug and onto the copper strand. Continue testing the stands as the approach each guage.
Chances are merely unpluging and repluging the harness will revive some if not all the guages.
See the red and or blue insulators one each guage below???Make sure they were not removed by a previous owner.
[IMG]
[/IMG]
If the fuses are good and the wiring hasn't been tampered with there isn't much that can go wrong.
The most common problem is bad contact of the plug at the rear of the center cluster. The circuit board over time shifts. To test this remove the center cluster and unplug the harness.. Get a test light...the cheap screwdriver looking type. Find a good ground somewhere on the car and attach the black wire. The plug at the end has a bunch of contacts. Withe the igntion on probe each one with the test light. It verifies each circuit is working. If all is well there Eyeball the printed circuit board. Its easy to trace which strand goes to each guage. Plug the harness back in and probe each copper strand with the test light close to the plug. Igntion in the on position. Once again confirming the power has travelled through the plug and onto the copper strand. Continue testing the stands as the approach each guage.
Chances are merely unpluging and repluging the harness will revive some if not all the guages.
See the red and or blue insulators one each guage below???Make sure they were not removed by a previous owner.
[IMG]
[/IMG]
Last edited by jdp6000; Oct 22, 2007 at 11:33 PM.
