Dash Cluster Problem

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1970PAValiant

1970PAValiant

master of the break down
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Hey I'm new here so I've got a few questions

every time I drive at night all my lights in my instrument cluster dim, not the headlights or any other lights outside and was wondering how to fix this problem (I also have a AC light that dims too).
I have a 6 month old 100amp Cranking alt. that I got Checked and is good. the belts for her are tight and the engine runs a ok. there's a new battery 2 weeks old, new cables and all too, and I checked my grounds. I also have a non Factory Stereo in, but it's pulling from the fuse box that I added a new line in.

My other questions is there anyway I could turn the incadencent lights to LED's?

the only other problem I also have (yes when will this end I know) is that I know my gauges are saying they're lower than supposed to be, It'll say I'm on Empty and I'll have 5 gallons in my tank, I'll be driving my car for an hr and the temp gauge barly goes into the safe zone, and my Alternator is always low

Oh this is off of a 1970 Valiant

thanks :)
 
Your first question; I had the same issue and one of my boards would not light the speedo lights. I learned here to add a wire to ground the instrument panel. So I ran a wire from the panel to the dash, problem solved.
 
Alt gauge always low is a clue. It isn't driven by the same power soutce as the other gauges. Check the bulk head connections. Bypass that amp gauge atleast temporariily. We need a good 12 volts inside the car.
You probably still have a mechanical limiter on your panel feeding the other gauges. We wont know its faulty until it gets 12 volts.

Headlights use a lot of power. If you think the headlight switch is the culprit you may be right. You could try running just the park lights and see what the amp gauge and dash lights do. Good luck
 
Hey thanks, checked it out and the regulator in the dash isn't doing 12 volts. so I'm reworking it to add LED lights to the entire thing and a new resistor from Rad Shack, I'll take pics in a week or so to show you guys what I did.Hopfully it'll be brighter at night then standard incadencents
 
wait ! I think you may have misunderstood.
The mechanical limiter is supposed to get 12 volts along with almost everything else but it doesn't output 12 volts to the gauges and it doesn't have any bearing on the dash lights. I you checked with a digital multimeter and saw flashing numbers, thats normal.
 
Someone on this thread mentioned placing a ground wire on the dash & frame? Where do you place it on the instrument cluster? (or where?)
Thanks
 
The instrument cluster is grounded by it mounting screws. A ground wire can be added from any screw in the potmetal instrument housing to the dash frame. This wire is just for insurance but is absolutely required if you want to hook up the instrument cluster nd test it while hanging out of the dash.
 
Thanks Redfish. My instrument lights don't work and I've got the larger one (behind the spedometer?) out of its socket. When I check it w/a meter I get no voltage till I ground it on the frame. any ideals?
Thanks=P~
 
almost everything on the car is chassis grounded though the hardware. If the cluster is not screwed to the dash is isn't grounded. So add a jumper wire for testing if you want then just leave it in there. Cant hurt anything. A piece of wire with aligator clip each end atleast.
 
Mopar Action did an article in August 2000 on upgrading the mechanical instrument voltage regulator to a reliable electronic one made with cheap components readily available from Radio Shack amongst others.

Also check to see if the factory printed circuit board is damaged. Sometimes you can bridge the damaged areas by soldering wires across them.

Checking grounds is a great idea, but dim dash lights could simply be the result of a bad dimmer switch (rheostat) or a bad connection to it.
 
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