OK, first post to the forum. I own a 1974 coupe.

So, I have an A/C problem and thought I would pull the controller out of the center console to see if there were any obvious issues. As I undid the four screws to take the cover off, I pulled the cover toward me and saw a spark from the cigarette lighter to the metal plate that the A/C Controller bolts to.

At that point I kicked myself for not following the golden rule of disconnecting power before working on the car...at which point I took the negative lead off the battery

So, I could not get the controller to come out of that hole, so I decided to wait until I had the time to take the entire center console apart. I buttoned everything back up, hooked up the battery and took her out for a run around the block. About half way around the block I looked at the center stack and noticed to water temperature gauuge was pointing at about 5 o'clock. I know it was not overheating, so what happened???

I replaced the 5-amp fuse under the dash (what a PITA), but I had no issues with any of the other gauges, so that was just a prayer for a miracle. So, i have two thoughts -- either I fried the gauge when the lighter sparked, or I accidently disconnected a ground for the water temp gauge while i was trying to get the A/C controller free. I still have an A/C problem and will address that at another time, but would feel better if I could get the temp gauge working again..

So now, I have another item for the Corvette "to-do" list that just seems to continue growing...

Any ideas would be appreciated.

John

 

turn the ign. switch to the on position and see if it drops down to zero.

 

Negative...no matter what you do the guage is pointing to 5 o'clock. I will try disconnecting the battery again when I get home to see if the gauge changes when I do that, but so far that needle has not moved from that position whether the key is off, on, in or out.

 

See if this helps
http://willcoxcorvette.com/instructi...Revised_R3.pdf

and this
http://willcoxcorvette.com/product_i...ducts_id=27603

 

Thanks for the info Roco71, it was very informative. Strangely enough as I was checking the kickpanel vent to see if it was moving when cycling through all the Heat/A/C settings, the water temperature gauge suddenly came back to life...FM, no idea why.

So, at least that problem is resolved...now on to the heat issues.

 

I had all my gauges working except the temp gauge. Willcox's video helped me to get it sorted out.