Edited: another fuel/temp gauge thread, but turns out the harness is melted together
You need to think of this as an "end to end" problem
The cluster gets power thorugh the key switch, but is it "correct?" In other words does a voltage drop cause problems?
The cluster connector pins are/ can be a problem, they were crimped/ riveted to the pc board traces. Clean and solder them, and check the harness connector
The gauge regulator / limiter/ IVR may be/ gone/ going bad. Get a modern solid state one like from RTE
The IVR contact fingers in the pc board may not be making contact with the board. Solder jumpers across
The gauge studs / nuts may be corroded where they contact the pc board. Twist the nuts loose/ tight several times to clean and tighten connections
The gauges may be damaged/ out of cal/ bad. Test them using test resistors
Again to the cluster connector pins, the sender connection pins at the connector may be loose, see above--solder them, and check the harness connector
The temp/ oil (if used) goes through the bulkhead. Check those terminals
The fuel goes through the rear harness/ kick panel connector. Check that connector
All senders have a wire end terminal, which can be loose/ corroded
The senders can be bad/ out of cal, or poor grounding to the sender at the tank
:
There are hundreds of threads on this board about testing and fixing gauge problems:
67dart273, gauge tester - Google Search
CHECK CALIBRATION with resistors:
Bench Testing a gauge cluster
You need to think of this as an "end to end" problem
The cluster gets power thorugh the key switch, but is it "correct?" In other words does a voltage drop cause problems?
The cluster connector pins are/ can be a problem, they were crimped/ riveted to the pc board traces. Clean and solder them, and check the harness connector
The gauge regulator / limiter/ IVR may be/ gone/ going bad. Get a modern solid state one like from RTE
The IVR contact fingers in the pc board may not be making contact with the board. Solder jumpers across
The gauge studs / nuts may be corroded where they contact the pc board. Twist the nuts loose/ tight several times to clean and tighten connections
The gauges may be damaged/ out of cal/ bad. Test them using test resistors
Again to the cluster connector pins, the sender connection pins at the connector may be loose, see above--solder them, and check the harness connector
The temp/ oil (if used) goes through the bulkhead. Check those terminals
The fuel goes through the rear harness/ kick panel connector. Check that connector
All senders have a wire end terminal, which can be loose/ corroded
The senders can be bad/ out of cal, or poor grounding to the sender at the tank
:
There are hundreds of threads on this board about testing and fixing gauge problems:
67dart273, gauge tester - Google Search
CHECK CALIBRATION with resistors:
Bench Testing a gauge cluster
