Guages not working

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Den's Dart

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OK, so after getting the Dart running a little smoother I figured I should slowly start to pick away at the incredible rat's nest that the PO has created with the dash wiring harness.

Currently the only guage that appears to work is the voltmeter. The gas guage and the temp guage are dead as is the oil and parking break lights.

Does anyone have any pics of the wiring in the back? Also, if someone could post pics of the fuse box (ideally both front and rear) I would greatly appreciate it!

This is a (1970 Dart) non-rally type dash and in fact was originally a slant 6 converted to a Swinger clone. MUCH of the wiring is bastardized so I am guessing none of the colour codes even come close to matching so the wiring diagrams I have are virtually useless....

Any help you guys can provide would be great!! Pics will follow of what little I could get to...

Thanks,
Dennis
 
if its really that bad, I would suggest you run a want add for better / complete working harness. cutting and splicing on somebody elses hack job just may make it worse. there is only one fuse box to the left of the column behind/under the dash. just a suggestion, been there done that. there are diagrams around here , im sure someone else will come along and point you to them
 
Just to give you an idea of the fun I am facing....
 

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oh and sorry when I mentioned pics of both front and rear I meant pics of the fuse box from both the front and rear....sorry for the confusion.
 
You need to search up one of my rants on dashes.

1--Check and repair as necessary the dash harness connector, the pins get loose

2--Run a ground wire to a couple of the screws on the dash, and run a 1ft or so pigtail for slack to a bolt in the column support

3--You don't have an oil gauge, do you? But fuel and temp that neither work is often a bad voltage limiter. Gauges nuts can also be loose / corroded

You really should just pull the cluster and go through it patiently some afternoon
 
I thought about pulling the cluster but didn't have any luck getting it out....I pulled the speedo cable and one quick connect but it still wouldn't come free. What all do I have to disconnect to get it out? Oh and I assume it's just an oil light not a guage...
 
Most cars it's easier to drop the column into the seat. Usually if you can get the speedo off, you have just enough slack to reach back and unhook the ammeter nuts, and unplug the harness. PLEASE unhook the battery!!!
 
It may not be as bad as you think but you may want to check all of those taped connections and use solder and shrink wrap to be sure they're solid connections. I only use tape for final wrapping. The best way to fix things is to look at and troubleshoot one circuit at a time but do take 67dart's advice first.
 
Which way I would approach such a mess... I would buy a factory service manual and start studying the wiring diagrams while searching for a good used harness.
Once that harness is in hand the internet can help with minor changes/upgrades to prevent potential failures that are known common. Document changes to suppliment the manual, get happy with the plug and play replacement harness, and then remove the original.
Even without another harness the manual and the workbench are a must.
Working upside down under a dash usually turns out about like what you already have.
 
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