Factory Gauge Panel maintenance

Evan Dutch said

Hey guys,

I just pulled the gauge panel out of my 1971 Plymouth scamp so I could see why my speedometer wasn’t working. The cable spins freely and the mechanism on the gauge panel works. Perhaps the cable wasn’t clicked all the way in.

Anyway, while the gauge panel is out, I wanted to change my gauge lighting to LED as well as clean up the contacts for the gauge panel. I’ve also noticed my fuel gauge works, however there are times where it will show empty until I hit a bump or tap the dash in the right place (sounds like a loose connection of some kind).

What other beneficial work should I perform on the gauge panel before I reinstall it?

Also, the ammeter is already bypassed, and I have a separate temperature gauge so the factory one is not utilized.

Thanks!

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See those blue diffusers? Remove them, clean inside them thoroughly and seal tightly against the white housing so no light leakage.

Paint the white section of the cluster with high gloss white spray paint to increase reflectivity.

Definitely install led bulbs. Sylvania makes a great super white led.

Clean the gauge faces, markings and repaint the pointers. Testor makes an orange paint that works great.

Make sure to clean the contacts on the bulb holders as well as the circuit board.

You can use a 9 volt battery to test everything before you re-install the cluster.

Connect the negative lead to the cluster frame, then use a wire from the positive side of the battery to contact the positive side of the bulb.

This will ensure you have the bulbs in correctly as they are polarity specific before you reinstall the cluster.

I did all this and what a difference!!