New member, first post regarding instrument cluster

[Xela.zue]

hi all,

I'm new to the forum but not to mopars, My dad and I have been restoring a 67 dart gt for the last 10 years... slowly but surely. Recently the gas and temp gauge quit working and after looking on this and other mopar forums, we went through the test steps recommended and came to the conclusion it was the IVR. We replaced it today and it seems like it sort of worked. The instrument cluster is out and resting on the steering column where we connected all the plugs, hooked up the battery and turned on the ignition. The fuel gauge slowly moves and stops at half a tank which is pretty close. The temp gauge pegs all the way to the right so there's an issue there. After spending an hour trying to figure out what was causing the temp gauge to malfunction, we gave up and decided to do without it for now (we have an aftermarket mechanical gauge set up). We placed the cluster in position and before placing the holding screws gave it another check... there's something contacting the housing because there's an audible clicking and now the fuel gauge isn't working. How can it be it works outside the dash but not inside? And what can be making contact causing a short? I tried taping the studs behind the gauges, the back of the ivr and the speedo thread just to narrow it down and I'm still getting the short

 

[67Dart273]

Yikes, not sure. The cluster needs to be grounded to operate the IVR and gauges. They were a "poor ground." You would be wise to add a pigtail to a groundpoint on the cluster and bolt it to the column support bracket or other good ground, dash framework

A "quick test" on the temp would be to go out in the engine bay and pull the wire off the sender. It should drop back to the "cold side" peg. If not the wire is shorted or other problem.

Next identify the sender connection on that gauge. This is the trace that goes to the connector pin. Undo that nut and see if the gauge drops. This will tell you if it's in the wire. With both ends of the sender wire disconnected, you can check resistance with a meter.

Most likely cause is bad sender or wrong type sender.

You need to be careful working around that in and out of the dash. Disconnect the battery. The ammeter leads, and in fact other circuits are not very well fuse protected in these old girls

There are other things to check. On my own 67........

Several connector pins were broken or loose. Resolder or repair

The "socket" where the IVR plugs in, the brass terminals were not making contact with the PC board reliably. I had to solder jumpers across.

On mine, a couple of the gauge studs were not making contact. "Work" the nuts loose/ tight/ loose to scrub them clean

 

[Relax360]

Greetings From San diego, I agree with 67Dart double check your grounds. Those printed Circuits definitely aren't the most reliable. I actually hard wire my stock gauges to ensure good contacts. took awhile but then again I do it for a living.

 

[RPMagoo]

WELCOME -- From Pa. -- Hope You figure out the gage problem.