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Question on Printed Circuit Board Replacement

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XRO

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I need to replace my printed circuit board on my 1983 Jimmy, I just want to make sure I order the correct one - I dont' have a tach so that is easy to rule that one out but I need to verify if I have "with gauges" or "without gauges" - I'm told without gauges means nothing optional/aftermarket/custom, but I've also been told that "with" vs "without" means with dummy lights and without dummy lights.

I have dummy lights and then the large speedometer on the left, large fuel on the right and then on the left side of the dash with the 4 smaller gauges I have voltage, temp, oil press and then a blank one.

Any thoughts are appreciated....
 
Idiot lights (I guess dummy lights is more PC?) refers to no volt, oil, or temp gauges.

If you have volt, oil and temp gauges, it's "with guages, without tach, without clock". Pretty sure the PCB is the same regardless of clock and tach though.

Just to verify, is your PCB actually bad? Admittedly they are a pretty terrible design (that works for 20+ years lol) but other than the connector, they normally hold up pretty well.
 
Makes sense, thanks for the response. I had a mechanic work on my some gauge stuff for me last year and he said one side of the dash had not power... He recommended I search junkyards and swap meets for complete working dashes but I just don't have the time for that...
 
I don't think I'd order a PCB based on that info. The traces are solid copper strips, the only way one half is not getting power is if the trace at the panel connector is not making contact, the PCB trace is physically cut, or the wire that feeds it has no power.

If the trace is broken, sure, replace it. If the trace is not broken, bend it into place and re-insert the connector.

Going to have to tear the dash apart a decent amount anyway, I suppose if you want the PCB handy just in case it's physically damaged when you take it apart so you can slap it back together that makes sense, but I'm sure a new PCB isn't $5, so up to you and how you'll feel if a replacement is not needed.

If you haven't seen one, this is what they look like: http://www.autopartsdb.net/assets/images/ProductImg/2/25017327.jpg Common problem is where those 18 traces come together, they often lift off the plastic there and then don't make contact when plugged into the connector.

yeeouch. If the price is ~$300 for the PCB like classic is showing, I'd buy a complete cluster long before I'd pay that. Older cluster at $50 complete would be high to me.
 
Thanks for the info, i'm going to pull the dash apart and see what I can see before ordering... I was going to order one from LMC for $70
 
It might be easier to repair a damaged trace on the flex circuit (the cluster does not have a PCB) than to get the old one out and a new one in without any additional damage. If there are clips or sockets on both sides of the break, you could solder a wire between them or you could try conductive pen, etc. Or you might just have bad contact at the main connector.
 
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