Instrument Problem
05-14-2005, 03:56 PM
#1
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Instrument Problem
When I bought my car, the light for the temperature gauge didn't work. Last week the odometer quit working. So today I decided to take a look. I'd been dreading taking the instrument cluster out because of past experiences with this type of thing. But with crappy weather and having all weekend to do it, I decided to go for it today.
First, I want to thank Clark's Garage for the excellent, spot on directions for removing the instrument cluster. It was a piece of cake. I'd rate the whole process of repairing the odometer a 3 or 4 on degree of difficulty. The most delicate part was removing the bezel from the speedometer.
Anyway, I found that the whole shaft holding the odometer gear had slid over so the worm gear was not engaged. Easy fix. Just moved it back into place. Project complete in about an hour.
The weird part is that the light bulb for the temperature gauge works fine but there are no wires to the light fixture. I looked all over behind the dashboard and didn't find any extra wires. WTF? The bulb holder has a strange base to it. I've never seen any like it. Has anyone else had this problem? Is there supposed to be some kind of connector? I thought of soldering wires on and splicing into the other lights but there's no way to solder the fixture without melting the plastic.
First, I want to thank Clark's Garage for the excellent, spot on directions for removing the instrument cluster. It was a piece of cake. I'd rate the whole process of repairing the odometer a 3 or 4 on degree of difficulty. The most delicate part was removing the bezel from the speedometer.
Anyway, I found that the whole shaft holding the odometer gear had slid over so the worm gear was not engaged. Easy fix. Just moved it back into place. Project complete in about an hour.
The weird part is that the light bulb for the temperature gauge works fine but there are no wires to the light fixture. I looked all over behind the dashboard and didn't find any extra wires. WTF? The bulb holder has a strange base to it. I've never seen any like it. Has anyone else had this problem? Is there supposed to be some kind of connector? I thought of soldering wires on and splicing into the other lights but there's no way to solder the fixture without melting the plastic.
05-14-2005, 04:15 PM
#2
Burning Brakes
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Dan - assuming you're talking about an early car with the three guage pods. If so, the bulbs on the back of the multi-guage make contact on the inside of the back plate as they screw in. When you pull one out, you should see a couple of metal wings that make contact. The bulbs on the speedo and tach have holders on thier own harness.
05-14-2005, 04:25 PM
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Yes. I have an '84 na. I see the metal wings you refer to, but there is no power wire to the temp gauge light. The lights on the speedo and tach just push in and have wires to them. The temp gauge light has tabs that fit into the slots on the back of the instrument. After inserting the bulb, you twist it a half turn to set it in place. But, as I said, there are no wires connected to it, so it isn't getting power from anywhere.
05-14-2005, 04:50 PM
#4
Three Wheelin'
Power for the "Combination Gage" lighting comes through the multi-pin connector. The other gages use a different style lamp, so lighting power comes from taps off of the insturment cluster lighting harness.