Leem

Hi all,
Bare with me as I have many questions and am pretty much an idiot when it comes to wiring issues.
Just resolved an issue with my speedometer by replacing the whole gauge cluster...had a couple extra lying around. Now, however, dash lights don't work and neither does gas gauge. I replaced all bulbs as well. Now, this stuff worked on the other cluster and I suppose I could just open up both clusters and swap parts. I hate removing these clusters because of those stupid pins though. They break so easily. Just a question as to why lights and gauge would not work? Is it something simple or should I just move parts around?
Next question: I have seen replacement bezels online that look like they are the same size as the non rallye cluster in my Duster. Hoever, they have the tach and speedo like the rallye clusters. However, they look the same size. Does anybody know if these bezels would fit?
If they do, what wiring changes would I have to make? Would I still need a circuit board if I went with mechanical gauges? What comes into those pins that would need to be rewired if I didn't need a circuit board?
Lol...I know...probably pretty simple questions for some of you, but like I said, I am pretty green when it comes to wiring. Just want to get everything working right. Any thoughts or suggestions would be most welcome.
On a side note, started up the Duster and Roadrunner yesterday after their long winter hibernation. Absolutely purred. Ahhhh...I luv the smell of high octane in the morning.

Marty

PK1

I prefer to work my electrical parts with a known ground and solid power source.

Let me explain: I have a marine battery on my bench that I charge occasionally. I have test leads, plugs, etc.. that allow me to test items before the go in a car / truck or i replace. And I do test new parts because I'm not happy with some producers / manufacturers quality wise.

So if i suspect a power door motor is bad I can test the unit outside the cars environment and determine if the item is bad or its not getting power or ground. This way you can bypass harnesses and factory wiring which does go bad.

I do the same with gauges, bulbs, injectors, sensors etc...

You can even get a 12v power drill battery with custom leads for junk yard excursions.

I would bench test your lights in the new cluster. Check for bent or pulled out pins..

Good Luck!

440roadrunner

You need to either resolve to do more than just "replace the whole cluster" or else find someone who can spruce up one of 'em for you. There's at least one outfit who sells repop circuit boards

http://www.classicindustries.com/mop...ts/mb2014.html

http://www.chargerspecialties.com/gauges.htm

In GENERAL terms, here are some of the troubles with Mopar clusters:

You've already discovered "the pins." These break, come loose, corroded, and need to be replaced, re--soldered. One guy detailed that he found a gauge wire the same size as the pins (as in solid house wire) and used short pieces for replacement pins, another stuck smaller gauge wire inside the pins to sort of bolster the pins

On my 67, the pins were BAD. Broken, loose, a mess. I elected to simply solder wire leads to the board traces, bring them out and put Molex style connectors on 'em which I bought at Radio Shack.

GROUND. It is VERY important for the board to be grounded. I soldered a wire lead to the board(s) ground traces, brought it out, and bolted it to the column support

VOLTAGE LIMITER (for the temp, fuel, oil gauge) On some boards, the springy brass fingers which form the "socket" for the limiter do NOT make good contact with the board traces. You must solder short bridging wire from the spring contacts to the board

If you still have a stock pulsing limiter, it's probably a good idea to buy one of the aftermarket solid state limiters out there.

GAUGES On many clusters, the gauges are hooked to the board with "fake" nuts. Replace these with real nuts, and scrub the board clean. Sometimes, all you need to do is loosen/ tighten the nuts several times to scrub the board

Don't forget the SENDER path. If you have an oil gauge, BOTH the oil and temp senders run through the bulkhead connector, which is a top no1 suspect for many electrical troubles.

You can TEST the gauges by hooking the cluster to 12V for the voltage limiter (get out your diagram) to ground, also for the limiter operation, and by substituting known resistances for each gauge. Fuel, temp, and oil gauges ALL use the same sender resistances. They are:

L = 73.7 Ohms (empty)
M = 23.0 Ohms (1/2)
H = 10.2 Ohms (full)

You can buy some resistors from RadShack, but their selection is limited. You can order them from places like Mouser Electronics or Digikey, both "on the web." I'd get 2 watt or larger and watch them for heat while using.

What you do is, hook the 23 ohm to one of the gauge sender terminals to ground, and wait for the gauge to stabilize. With good power, good voltage limiter, and if the gauge is good, it will read 1/2 scale, right in the middle.

LIGHTS Sometimes the board is dirty/ corroded, sometimes the lamp sockets have lost their "spring" or are dirty. Do what you must

bremereric

Simple thing to check is a broken solder connection around the pin to the back of the circuit board. That will make stuff stop working in a heartbeat. I gun soldering iron fixes those very easy.

Leem

Thanks for the replies and suggestions. One thing I won't do is send the cluster out for repair. I did that with the original cluster I had and when it returned, the speedometer still bounced around and the coiled spring on the light switch popped out. Was a waste of good money. Won't mention the company.
When it comes to wiring, like I said I am not very knowledgeable, not do I have a lot of patience for finnicky work. I had contemplated getting a whole custom cluster made up when it goes in for body and paint...hopefully next year. But, I am sort of leaning to a replacement cluster with all new gauges. Located some nice ones at www.fastlanewest.com. Don't know if anybody has tried any of their products, but it leads me to more questions.
Going this route, what wiring would be required to make one of these clusters to work? Would the circuit board be needed? If not, what about the stuff that comes into the board from the pin connector?

Marty

Leem

Thanks for all the advice. It took me a little while, but I think I have the issues solved. Gas gauge and dash lights now working. Last thing to check will be the speedometer once i get it insured...in about a weeks time.

Marty