Electrical Problem in Dash

[TrcksR4ME]

Here is what it does, the temp gauge, fuel gauge, and volt meter gauge have a tendancy of just going off. To get them back on I have a little trick, take a hammer and smack the parking break a few times...not real hard or anything. It sounds funky(and is) but it works, they come back on, for a while anyways. So I know this is some kind of short somewhere, any ideas? The dash is a hard area to find shorts in, and for whatever reason, giving the barking brake pedal a smack or two does the trick of bringing them back to life(temporarily).

 

[tagurit]

Sounds like it may be something in the fuse box as you are "jarring" the area near it. Have you tried wacking the fuse box instead of the brake?

Also, I'd like to know how you came up with that trick?? LOL

 

[SkulzNBonz]

Up behind the speedometer, near where the speedo cable attaches, is the plug-in for the instrument cluster. Try reaching up there and pushing the plug in. I just fixed my problem which is very similar to yours a couple of day's ago by doing this. For some reason (like bouncin' around like a rubber ball), these plugs like to work loose.

 

[TrcksR4ME]

hehehe, the way I figured out the trick was by accident and isn't really anything special, I noticed it worked when appling the parking break, and they came back on.

My initial thought was that it was a short in the ground, but maybe it has something to do with the power going to the gauges grom the fuse block??

 

[reddog64]

make sure you have a ground from your battery - term right to the body like 10 inches away...

 

[Leadfoot]

If I remember correctly there is a ground strip with several tabs located on the parking brake assy (at least in my 78 and 80) and the bolt that grounds it may be loose or give a poor contact. If the cluster is grounded there, it may be the reason why whacking/applying the parking brake temporarily fixes it. May not be the problem, but definitely worth lookng into as it takes little time (and should probably be checked/cleaned anyway). It's just a pain to get your head in there to see it.

 

[83K5BLZR]

Attached to the parking beak foot pedal assembly on my 83 is a circuit ground. It has 4-5 wires going to it. It is held on with a screw and if the screw is loose you may be loosing the ground. Its located near the top of the assembly.

 

[TrcksR4ME]

Ill try those ideas and see if it fixes it

 

[sunco_breather]

I need some HELP! i got a 74 blazer and i went to put gas because i thought that i was empty but no, guess again. I started the truck up again and then it said that i was still empty. whats the deal. I checked the ground on the gas tank and then there was nothing i checked the wires and nothin. please help.