Gas gauge and temp gauge dont work

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1973dusterkid

1973dusterkid

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OK so I took my dash out because my gas hand and temp gauge were not working I found out some wires were lose hooked them up and the gas hand worked but temp did not work all others gauges work the gas hand read 1/2 tank which I think was right well one day someone stole my gas and the hand read 0 fuel so I put gas in and it did not move I took the dash back out and every thing was tight so I could not get the gas or temp gauge to work o well.well I went to put gas in the car thought it was low only help 4 dollars but gas hand read zero so I look and fount some plugs in the floor and side were the petal's are were unhooked but cant figure out were they go here are some pics this is a 73 duster and the wire coming from the fuel tank is blue.Also the fuse box is not labeled so I don't know which is which.I dont kniow whats wrong with temp gauge.

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You need to use real sentence structure with periods (.) so we can follow what you're trying to convey. It really helps us to help you.

That being said, I think your problem is with your dash voltage regulator and probably not with your wiring or your sending unit. The buzzer circuit has nothing to do with anything other than the buzzer.
 
I checked advance but I really dont know what I am looking for, is it the silver box on the back of the cluster.
 
There was a thread on here that I used to make an electronic voltage limiter with parts you can get from you're local electronic store.Works real well.
 
Ok thats Great!! You should be able to find the voltage limiter/regulator at you local auto parts store .I think what it does is regulate the voltage to your gauges to about 5volts.OH buy the way I went through the pages of the wireing in my manual until the pages fell out.Just take your time
 
mopardads67 said:
Ok thats Great!! You should be able to find the voltage limiter/regulator at you local auto parts store .I think what it does is regulate the voltage to your gauges to about 5volts.OH buy the way I went through the pages of the wireing in my manual until the pages fell out.Just take your time
Click to expand...


thanks
 
It IS a possibility that the temp sender is bad- the temp/gas gauge circuit grounds through the temp sender. No ground through sender no temp fuel level readings. The push-on connector at the temp sender tends to dry out and break with age and heat. Just athought...
 
Some of the info at the DeMonIVR website might help you. One of the early field test vehicles was a 73 Valiant.
Their isn't a fuse in the 12 volt supply to the instrument panel other than the fusible link at the bulkhead connector.
The liniter and gauges will not function properly while the instrument panel damgles from the harness connectors unless you attach a chassis ground wire from the potmetal housing to the dash/chassis. adding a dedicated ground wire is recommended.
Hope this helps.
 
Big Jim said:
It IS a possibility that the temp sender is bad- the temp/gas gauge circuit grounds through the temp sender. No ground through sender no temp fuel level readings. The push-on connector at the temp sender tends to dry out and break with age and heat. Just athought...
Click to expand...

The fuel gauge will work just fine whether the temperature sender is connected or not.
 
Big Jim said:
It IS a possibility that the temp sender is bad- the temp/gas gauge circuit grounds through the temp sender. No ground through sender no temp fuel level readings. The push-on connector at the temp sender tends to dry out and break with age and heat. Just athought...
Click to expand...

Sorry none of this is correct

This circuit path is:

Power from the ignition switch --to instrument limiter-- (drops effective voltage)-- to both gauges

From there EACH gauge is separate on the sender side. They work identical. One goes to the temp sender, other goes to fuel sender.
 
1973dusterkid, Good photos, and your typing & language is improving.

You can measure your existing voltage regulator fairly easy with a multimeter. If you don't have one, Harbor Freight has sale coupons for $3 and sometimes free. You should see a slowly pulsing ~3 to 5 V, relative to ground. It is the outer spade, opposite the long spade welded to the case. If you remove it to test, connect +12V to the center spade and gnd to the case.

If bad, people are starting to charge a lot for the factory regulator (>$30), and it is a primitive design that some claim can kill your fuel sender. Another idea is the above-referenced electronic replacement. I bought one recently for ~$22 on e-bay. They will ship with whatever connectors you need. For 1973, should be 3 spade lugs. It attaches w/ velcro strips.
 
I have the dash sitting on the table is there anyway to test, to see if the regulator works with the dash out. I also have a multimeter.
 
I stand corrected- must have been thinking about my old Mach 1...
 
Well I cleaned up the regulator, and put it in then put the dash back in still dose not work.How do I check to see it is working right with a multimeter with the dash in the car hooked up.Some one told me in a above post but I don't under stand how.
 
You cannot "exactly" check an old style factory gauge limiter

See the new replacement "electronic" or the do it-yourself "from the web" use an electronic 5V regulator chip. In other words, it brings the 12-14V in your car down to 5V

The OLD style "acted" like that by PULSING the 12V supply just like a flasher at approximately 50%. In other words it was "on" half the time and "off" half the time, feeding "half time" so to speak voltage to the gauges. This pulsing is NOT SEEN by you looking at the gauge, because they react so slowly.

SO about all you can do with a meter is hook the meter from the "hot" side of the gauge to ground and see if the meter goes up/down at about a half-half rate.

NOT difinitive by any means
 
Were can I get a new regulator thats now 45 dollars.

I'm using the DemonIVR and have no issues now, you can find it at DeMonIVR.com . The guy is really helpful and easy to deal with.
 
I to have bought one from RedFish. Great guy to deal with and a good product. He is one of the most knowledgeable people on this site and is always helping others by sharing his knowledge.
Plus for the price the Demon IVR is a good deal. Shipping was fast which is always good.
 
RedFish said:
Well, that snot excatly correct either. When the limiters contacts are closed they send full system voltage to the gauges. .
Click to expand...

So what's not correct? The original limiter pulses on/ off, so of course it sends "full voltage" to the gauge. I was trying to give the OP an idea of how these work. The pulse action IMITATES less than system voltage by using duty cycle.
 
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