I've got a short or something......What could cause all of my gauges to "max out" when the ignition key is turned to accessory and/or run? Fuel goes to "F", temperture goes to "H", alternator stays in middle, oil pressure goes to "H" and so on... the clock never worked for me. All of the interior lights, dash gauge lights, and signals work fine. Any ideas?

 

Could be a short in the dash cluster or maybe one of the sensors. Disconnect all the sensors, oil, water temp, fuel and amp gauge. The connect one at a time and see if one of the sensors are causing an issue. I would also get wiring diagram from http://www.classiccarwiring.com I got one and its great when you're trying to find a problem. It beats out the OEM wiring diagram by a long shot.

 

It is the constant voltage regulator. The little rectangular box on the back of the cluster with 2 wires going to it. Replace that and I bet everything works.

 

THANKS FOR THE INPUT GUYS! I WILL TRY TO FIX THIS MYSELF, IT SOUNDS PRETTY SIMPLE. IVE GOT A PIC OF THE CAR IN MY PROFILE IF YOU'DE LIKE TO SEE IT. IM NOT SURE HOW TO ATTACH IT TO THE POSTS. THANKS AGAIN FOR THE HELP! I HOPE IT WORKS, I HAVE IT ALL DISASSEMBLED, AND DONT WANT TO PUT IT BACK TOGETHER MALFUNCTIONING. ....UNLESS I HAVE TO. IF ANYONE ELSE HAS INFO, I'LL STILL TAKE IT. ON OTHER POSTS, THE CONSTANT VOLTAGE REGULATOR SEEMS TO BE THE CURE FOR THE PROBLEM I DESCRIBE. I WILL TRY THAT LITTLE DOO HICKEY FIRST.

 

Yup, forgot about that little devil..

 

i bought a CVR from radio shack and soldered it in....

it's still cheesed. i will order myself a facorty CVR from NPD and install that. What i care about most is my temperature gauge...I wont know if im fryin if that doesnt get workin

 

I don't think Radio Shack stocks anything you want to solder into your dash, other than a noise filter.

 

What voltage did you buy? 12 volts? Way too high. The CVR drops the car's 12v down to like 4 volts for the cluster.

Also, this won't fix the clock. The clock has a non-switched lead straight from the fuse box. More likely your 40 year old clock is toast. Someone sells a quartz movement that can be adapted into the stock clock a lot cheaper and more reliable than having the original clock repaired.

 

A similar cvr i put in can be found in NPD's catalog as an electronic replacment of the factory cvr. They charge $59 just because they soldered the wire leads on for ya. At the shack, i bought this puppy for $2 and had the iron and solder around to attach leads. I dunno, i was just tryin my idea and Macgyvering the thing cheap, before i broke the bank and started buying more expensive parts. But hey, if it worked, we'd all benefit. In response to a previous reply, the CVR needs to be rated at 12v input, because the battery puts out 12v. the cvr then drops the current down to 5v for the current regulation. I have to do some other work under the dash anyway, so when i get up in there again, im just gonna put in a factory style cvr. I wont have to wonder if its got the right voltage and output as I do with my home made version...lol. I appreciate all the input from you guys so far. Nice car pics too!! So far my car pic is in my profile to view...I dont know how to add it to the forum messages. Thanks!