Need help replacing voltage limiter.

[LovetheA's]

Ok so here is the deal. I'm in the process of doing some work to my 67 dart and one thing is to replace the voltage limiter on the back of the gauge cluster So I pulled the gauge cluster and just plug in the new voltage limiter bought from real time engineering right? Well not so simple I guess the problem is that the original limiter I pulled off the back has three prongs just like the updated one but on the backside of the old one there is an additional prong that I had to unplug when taking out the dash. The new one from real time has the same bottom three prongs but doesn't have the top prong on the backside? What is the back prong on the old limiter for and can I still use my new one from real time engineering?

Carl

 

[375inStroke]

Don't worry about it. Some cars may have had an extra ground wire running to it. All the Mopars I've worked on just have the three yours has.

 

[67Dart273]

You would do well to "go through" that cluster some. There was a considerable amount of things wrong with mine....... 1....Pins on connectors were loose or broken. You can repair them, or buy repop PC boards

2...On mine, the springy fingers that make contact with the IVR were NOT making contact with the board traces. I had to solder jumpers across

3...The IVR itself was bad

4....The gauge stud nuts had loosened or corroded. Consider installing real nuts. Loosen tighten several times to "scrub" them clean

5....Install a ground pigtail so you can bolt it to a good ground such as column support

6...Get some resistors and test the gauges. You need three resistors to test for full scale, empty, and "middle" or 1/2 scale http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=179517

7....Take some time and attend to the lamp socket positions. Use an eraser or other abrasive to clean the copper. Replace, inspect, clean, bend the lamp socket contacts, and of course replace the bulbs

On mine, I actually abandoned the original connectors and used Molex style connectors. The blue / white in this photo is switched 12V coming in. The black is a ground pigtail, and the IVR contacts have been jumpered across

 

[LovetheA's]

Thanks everyone for the help. I really appreciate the advice. Yes 67273dart I definitely plan on going through the entire gauge cluster carefully. When you added the ground pigtail did you just solder it onto a copper area of the circuit board and then connect to a solid ground? Why did you solder two wires instead of just one? How was the board originally supposed to be ground? I'm pissed at myself because when I was pulling off the wired connections on the back of the board I broke the release tab on my clip on speedometer cable. Totally sucks. I carefully removed the plastic end and cable only to crush the release tab and snap it off when working my hand back behind the cluster to remove some plug ins. I pushed the plastic piece up against a bracket and then heard a snap. Anyone have any suggestions other than buying a new 67 clip on cable?

Carl

 

[LovetheA's]

After looking through a few of the forums I think I just realized that the correct speedometer cable for 67 a body should be a screw in on both ends. The one that is on my 67 dart is a plastic clip in at one end. Someone must of changed it at one time. I think that is a 68 and up? Do I have it right? Is there a way to switch the connection to the screw on type. I have multiple guage clusters and one has a screw in back. Can I just pull out that speedo setup and swap in the screw in back?

 

[67Dart273]

I believe you have a 68 / later. From what I recall this should not cause any real problems, so long as you have the right cable

The original cluster is grounded "with luck" via the mounting screws The boards are screwed to the metal casting. The reason there are two is to jumper over to the second board. If you look carefully you can see the board traces and follow just where they go.

I just used a sharp xacto and or sharp screwdriver to scrape through the PC board coating and soldered right to the traces. For ground you can also use one of the mounting screws holding the board(s) to the casting.