Instrument cluster connector terminals

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Map63Vette

Map63Vette

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Does anyone happen to know what barrel terminals are used on the instrument cluster connector for A bodies? Several years ago I rebuilt my entire interior harness from scratch using a scrap harness I got from work. I wanted modern wires with good insulation and new terminals on everything to try to eliminate any issues with flakey wiring. Generally speaking I had great success and stuff like switches work way better now. However, I never actually found any terminals for the pin style connectors on the back of the instrument cluster. I happened to have some Deutsche terminals that worked fairly well and were of similar size and fit over the pins, but they don't fit in the stock connectors that well as they are too big of OD. I 3D printed some similar pieces to try to do the job, and they kind of work, but still really don't fit super great. I'd really prefer to get the original style terminals if possible so I can use the OEM connector body as well. Most of the rest of the car was Packard 56 style terminals, but I haven't had much luck finding any reference to the pin and barrel style ones. Curious if anyone has ever sourced some themselves. It looks like some companies make aftermarket harnesses for the car, so I assume something like them still exist.
 
Okay, did a little more digging and found some threads that reference Molex 0.093 connectors as well. Looks like I can get a set from Amazon cheap enough to try them at least. Will check out Connector World as well, thanks!
 
Thanks for posting this question. I am looking for the same connectors. Also thanks to the people who responded.Always good info here..!! Swingn’
 
For what it's worth, at least in pictures the Molex stuff isn't even really remotely "original", but based on the design I think they will work okay. The original ones almost remind me more of the typical barrel type connector you can get at any hardware store (the kind with red/blue/yellow insulation). It's a simple rolled piece with no locking features or anything like that, they just sort of friction fit in the housings. The Molex stuff actually has little locking tangs that could make them a little more interesting to install, but if they are smaller OD than the Deutsch stuff I have then hopefully they will fit the original housings. Should be showing up today, so with any luck I'll finally be able to get my fuel gauge reading correctly. Have tested everything from the sender to pretty much the back of the cluster at this point, and everything seems to read within spec, so thinking I might just have a bad connection somewhere on the cluster, either one of the connector pins or maybe a nut on the gauge stud or something. Will probably yank it out this weekend and do some bench testing on it to see if I can finally track it down. Reads fine when full, but just seems to read empty way earlier than it should.
 
Thanks for the info..!! Yes I have some uninsulated barrel terminals that are close to the pin size. I need to build a barrel plug for a rally cluster. Need come up with a straight 3 pin plug for I believe the fuel gauge as well. I have brand new circuit boards to work with. This is a bit of a long term project…Thanks again Swingn’
 
Swingn’71 said:
Thanks for the info..!! Yes I have some uninsulated barrel terminals that are close to the pin size. I need to build a barrel plug for a rally cluster. Need come up with a straight 3 pin plug for I believe the fuel gauge as well. I have brand new circuit boards to work with. This is a bit of a long term project…Thanks again Swingn’
Click to expand...
Swingn', I've read in a thread here on FABO that new Rallye Dash circuit boards and original barrel type connectors have a very snug fit. Maybe a little extra test fitting will be helpful to you.

A member on the board named Dennis did a detailed thread of a Rallye cluster rebuild in which he ran into this issue. I don't remember his screen name, and I can't find the thread. That's not unusual, I can never find anything on FABO.
 
The OEM female terminals in the inst' panel connectors were not round but oval shaped. A close look at the round pins reveals only 2 thin lines where female contacted male. Better plan is soldering wire copper pads where the male pins are removed and use modern connectors slightly farther away from the circuit boards. For thosee with male pins far too close to top edge of board, the male pins are too easily damaged anyway. Factory service manual states to pull the inst' panel outward and tilt it face downward to access and disconnect harness connectors. Just asking for trouble. We dont need to be as short/stingy with wire length as factory was.
 
Dependant on year, there's one of those, - fold over insulated straps securing the harness to the dash frame, above the steering column, that when released/unfolded, allows dash and harness to pull out somewhat farther, with speedo cable undone, of course.
Good luck
 
I did a little more digging on what I used before as well as putting my cluster back together this morning. The terminals I used before were Deutsch size 12 contacts designed for 0.093" pins. They worked really nicely because they have a small spring inside them, so they slip over fairly easily, but have positive pressure for the contact. The main issue is they don't fit in the factory plugs and they are really meant for a larger gauge wire. I 3D printed some connector housings to work with them and folded the wire over on my new harness to build up a little more thickness at the crimp section. I know that's probably not "proper" from an electrical standpoint, but they are also interior connectors and I'm not as worried about corrosion and other issues because of that.

The Molex pins I bought the other day to replace one of terminals I was missing I was not as happy with. Maybe I just got a bad set or maybe I didn't order quite the right thing, but out of the package they were way too tight to go over the pins without far more force than I was comfortable using. I ended up pushing the smooth shank of a drill bit through the terminal, going up in size gradually to open them up to the point they would slide over the pins with some pressure, but not excessive. They will definitely grab and make pretty good contact I'm sure, but it would be a hassle to do that on 10 separate pins. The Deutsch ones are a nicer "out of the box" terminal in my eyes, but have their own problems since they are on the bigger side.
 
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