guage problem,this is gettin old

[boggerless]

so my guages work fine for afew years. one morning i drive it to the store,still good. later that day i run to get my son and they are acting weird?going from one end to the other. then they all bottom out,so i stop slam it into park and the go back to normal??the gas guage was showing less than i ad but still showing fuel.so i pick up my son and as i accelerate the guages go up the dial. but when i slow down they go back down to read nothing.but the gas guage still sorta works.a few days later i get in JR and none of the guages work??then a few days later i notice the oil pressure guage is reading 60lbs,then it creeps down to 30.IT'S NOT EVEN HOOKED UP?????i have a seperate one.the ground under the dash on the kick panel works fine,and i checked the connactions on the back of the guages and they are good.WTF?any ideas? it's a 79 jimmy with a 86 chevy pick up cab for those that don't know. thanks

 

[dyeager535]

Sounds like a problem with the instrument panel connector.

I'd ensure the board itself is grounded well. All the gauges get their feeds from separate sources, if the gauges are acting in concert, it's likely either the 12V that feeds them (I can't recall if ALL the gauges on that year cluster share the same 12V) or the ground for the board.

 

[burban89]

Ah who needs gauges Daryl?

 

[KGsK5]

/hijack on

Ever since I installed my manual GP switch in my blazer my guages are all over the place. Is there too much of a draw or something going to the GPs that is fokking up my guages? Or maybe they arent even connected. I just noticed it happened at the same time and havent had a chance to figure it out.

/hijack off

Sorry boggerless for the hijack but I do like the pick of you rig

 

[boggerless]

Sounds like a problem with the instrument panel connector.

I'd ensure the board itself is grounded well. All the gauges get their feeds from separate sources, if the gauges are acting in concert, it's likely either the 12V that feeds them (I can't recall if ALL the gauges on that year cluster share the same 12V) or the ground for the board.

thanks bro.the ground is good,i have checked other things on it since and it works. there is an orange wire comming out of the same plug that goes through the firewall.maybe i should trace that?

 

[boggerless]

Ah who needs gauges Daryl?

GAS CRAIG GAS!!! i'm to old to keep stopping to put $15.00 in the tank.

 

[burban89]

GAS CRAIG GAS!!! i'm to old to keep stopping to put $15.00 in the tank.

Get you a Jerry can. Thats 5 gallons, where you live it could get you to the nearest gas pump.

 

[boggerless]

/hijack on

Ever since I installed my manual GP switch in my blazer my guages are all over the place. Is there too much of a draw or something going to the GPs that is fokking up my guages? Or maybe they arent even connected. I just noticed it happened at the same time and havent had a chance to figure it out.

/hijack off

Sorry boggerless for the hijack but I do like the pick of you rig

ain't no thing bro. and thankswhen i got this cab the guy told me if the head lights don't work it's just 1 wire.well the head lights work but everything else has been a pain.my block ground is to a hood hing bolt(it used to work on the firewall).the negative on the battery isn't on the alt bracket anymore,it's on the frame......it's frustrating cuz it all USED to work where it's supposed to be.if it keeps going at this rate i'm gonna have rear wheel steering with a flat windsheild.

 

[boggerless]

Get you a Jerry can. Thats 5 gallons, where you live it could get you to the nearest gas pump.

but i'm sure bolting up the mount for it would somehow mess up the wiring.

 

[burban89]

but i'm sure bolting up the mount for it would somehow mess up the wiring.

It could.

 

[dyeager535]

thanks bro.the ground is good,i have checked other things on it since and it works. there is an orange wire comming out of the same plug that goes through the firewall.maybe i should trace that?

You are sure that the ground at the instrument panel is good though? (actually on your year, I think there are multiple at the IP connector)

Those printed circuit board connections are pretty flimsy, I don't even think the copper is glued to the printed circuit board plastic. All it takes is one disconnect of the IP connector and they can get bent out of the way. Same with any of them really, but power and ground are the only two shared for all the gauges. Not all the things on the PCB share the same 12V and ground, the gauges are mostly, if not all, ganged up on the same 12V and ground, but things like the lightbulbs and so on aren't necessarily using the same circuit.

 

[boggerless]

You are sure that the ground at the instrument panel is good though? (actually on your year, I think there are multiple at the IP connector)

Those printed circuit board connections are pretty flimsy, I don't even think the copper is glued to the printed circuit board plastic. All it takes is one disconnect of the IP connector and they can get bent out of the way. Same with any of them really, but power and ground are the only two shared for all the gauges. Not all the things on the PCB share the same 12V and ground, the gauges are mostly, if not all, ganged up on the same 12V and ground, but things like the lightbulbs and so on aren't necessarily using the same circuit.

i was thinking about the cicuit board.and your right its not glued. the other thing i just thought about was me taking the plastic kick panels off.i'm never gonna reuse them so i broke them off. when i did the passenger side a peice flew over to the drivers side. i heard it hit.i never found the peice.the guages started acting weird after that. i wonder if i didn't break the copper?