Please let it be something stupid
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 23
Likes: 0
From: Eatontown NJ
Please let it be something stupid
Just finished the interior of my 77 when I first fired it up all gauges worked with the exception of the volt gauge (someday I will own a car that has a working gauge) ran good after sitting for a month but upon restart Temp gauge pegged and stayed there. I disconnected the battery as I do every night after any interior work because I don't want to burn the bosses shop down. Any ideas or checks that don't require pulling the dash down again? The only thing I noticed upon tear down was the vinyl circuit board? Where the harness plugs into it all the fingers became dislodged from it? If grounded when power is removed should it not return to zero? So close and now back three steps....
Limping across the line
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 5,299
Likes: 109
From: Peoria Az
I'd try using a Digital VOM and probe the connector at the dash for the Volt meter. See what you get.
temp gauge pegging indicates that you have a bad or incomplete ground at the dash and the cluster is using the Temp guage as its ground
temp gauge pegging indicates that you have a bad or incomplete ground at the dash and the cluster is using the Temp guage as its ground
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 23
Likes: 0
From: Eatontown NJ
But if i dissconnect the battery ground should the gague drop to zero degrees? I just don't want to tear the dash apart again
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,995
Likes: 110
From: Garland Texas
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 23
Likes: 0
From: Eatontown NJ
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 3,235
Likes: 658
From: Thunder Bay
I think you're going to be pulling the dash apart again. If its any consolation to you, I had mine apart five times this winter before I got everything working at the same time. I ended up replacing the printed circuit board which solved a lot of the problems. I still ended up taking it apart one last time to get the vacuum switch on the heater control working properly. Welcome to the wonderful world of Corvette ownership! 
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 803
Likes: 4
From: Christchurch, New Zealand
As I understand it, if you disconnect the wire to the temp sender, it will go to zero, and if you ground the wire, it will peg. Willcox has info on how to read gauge symptoms, and there's plenty of subject matter here on the forum as well. Search is your friend!
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