Early A Body Instrument panel Regulator Repair

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superchargeddrt

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Hi Guys,
Just thought I'd share this. My buddy Larry purchased a '64 Barracuda recently. It needed a lotta love but one thing that needed immediate attention was the fact that the temperature and gas gauges were not working. We had already replaced the tank and sending unit as well as the temperature sensor but still nothing from the gauges. We grounded both sensor wires and the gauges would move VERY SLOWLY to max reading. I suspected that there was an issue with the 5 volt voltage regulator in the dash (built into the fuel gauge). I disassembled the gauge by filing one of the rivets slightly and spinning the face out of the way. There is a bi-metal set of point contacts used to regulate the voltage. I tried filing the contacts and adjusting them but I couldn't get the correct 5 volts. I them decided to replace the mechanical regulator with a 5 volt IC regulator. First I disabled the mechanical regulator by sliding a piece of heat shrink over the point contacts. I then added the regulator IC as shown. After putting the regulator in the gauges still didn't work but I discovered that the new temperature sensor (Chinese) was bad and the tank needed more gas. Here are some pictures.
IMG_20190627_213934645.jpg
And the link for the 5 volt regulator. You get 5 of them for $6.93.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076R93RY6/?tag=joeychgo-20
 
If you want those to survive you need a good sized heat sink. They can’t handle much load without one.
 
If you want those to survive you need a good sized heat sink. They can’t handle much load without one.

It's attached to a big copper sheet.:D
Seriously though, it might be ok like that depending on it's design.
 
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