Reassembling instrument panel and gauges - am I missing something? | FerrariChat

Reassembling instrument panel and gauges - am I missing something?

Discussion in '206/246' started by HMB-Dino, Apr 21, 2011.

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  1. HMB-Dino

    HMB-Dino Formula 3
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    #1 HMB-Dino, Apr 21, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Still trying to decide what kind of lighting to put in my freshly restored gauges before final assembly into the instrument panel. While testing different types of LED bulbs in different gauges, I think I may have screwed up during disassembly of the instrument panel.

    I'm unclear of the correct connections for the end gauges...the clock and the ammeter. These are the only gauges that do not use a wire connection block (probably wrong term for the plastic connector that wires insert into).

    Ammeter:
    - positive and negative cables are obvious and I did mark them accordingly during disassembly
    - there's a White wire that I had marked "Alt Light", but there's (2) spade connections on gauge; one on the gauge body itself and one on the lightbulb holder that inserts into the gauge...does this white wire connect to the lightbulb holder spade?
    - what is the spade connector on the gauge body for? I can't find any accounted for wires, so what am I missing here?

    Clock (mechanical):
    - has (3) spade connections, one of which is on the lightbulb holder itself.
    - the enclosed spade connector on the clock body holds (in my case) the red wire (which happens to be connected to a green wire within the dash)
    - there's also a white wire and seems to need to be connected to the clock body spade connector for the clock to operate.
    - I can't find any accounted for wires, so what am I missing here?

    In looking at the wire connection blocks and the associated blocks that attach to the gauges themselves, it appears the white wires daisy-chain between the gauge connection blocks and always feed into the general gauge illumination lightbulb. Using that `logic', the clock and ammeter white wires should connect to the lightbulb holder spades, leaving the gauge body spade connection empty. But that doesn't seem correct.

    I should point out that I've only driven the car at night once and the lighting was so poor, I didn't even notice if these two gauges were illuminated (I was more focused on the tach and speedometer!).

    Obviously I need help and what better place to seek it than this forum!
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  2. alhbln

    alhbln Formula 3
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    The spade connector on the body is for the ground connection, the corresponding ground wires are marked white/black.
    The connector on top of the lightbulb holder is for the positive connection (+12V if the light has been switched on), those are white.

    The the connector on the instruments body is for ground again (white/black), and the connector on top of the lightbulb is for +12V when light is switched on (white wire), as with the Amperemeter.

    Good luck,
    Adrian
     
  3. HMB-Dino

    HMB-Dino Formula 3
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    #3 HMB-Dino, Apr 21, 2011
    Last edited: Apr 21, 2011
    That follows (my) logic based on solid white always `feeding' the lights. But it appears I'm missing those two ground wires since I can find no unaccounted for ones of any color, let alone white/black. Dumb question, but can I just split a new ground wire off an existing one, say from another gauge harness?
     
  4. alhbln

    alhbln Formula 3
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    #4 alhbln, Apr 21, 2011
    Last edited: Apr 21, 2011
    That should work nicely. I wonder what happened to the original ground wires though, nothing left which is currently not connected to anything? The aluminum instrument panel might have provided the required ground in the past, might be worth a try if the light now works with the instruments installed.
     
  5. HMB-Dino

    HMB-Dino Formula 3
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    Well the clock didn't work, but not for lack of ground, but the ammeter did work. So perhaps they `adopted' ground thru the instrument panel facia by the properly grounded gauges. Since I've been trying out various gauge lighting in the absence of the panel facia, that would make sense. But I think the prudent thing to do is to run a ground wire from the nearest gauge connector block's white/black ground wire. Do you know what gauge wire is used?

    I feel better now and thanks so much for the quick response!
     
  6. alhbln

    alhbln Formula 3
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    Ron,

    AWG15 (1,5mm2) would be equivalent to the original wiring.

    Looking forward to your LED test results,
    Adrian
     
  7. dignini

    dignini Formula 3

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    I though Dino clocks were for decoration only. Mine still reads 4.55 :)
    they seem to be somewhat fragile. For interest you can find a relevant saga in Corbani corner
     
  8. HMB-Dino

    HMB-Dino Formula 3
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    I think you missed the part about sending my gauges out for a refresh and to get the clock working again, which is now does.
     
  9. dignini

    dignini Formula 3

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    That's good news. So the clean was not just cosmetic.
     
  10. rwk360

    rwk360 Formula Junior

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    They can be made to work. I had mine redone several years ago by Palo Alto Speedometer, who replaced the innards with a quartz movement. Not cheap (about $350. as I recall), but no probs with it since.
     
  11. synchro

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    #11 synchro, Apr 22, 2011
    Last edited: Apr 22, 2011
    Want to know how to do this for a fraction of the cost?
    PM me your email and I'll send you to a link of my photo tutorial
     
  12. HMB-Dino

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    #12 HMB-Dino, Apr 25, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    So I'm ready to reassemble my restored gauges into the new instrument panel, but I have a few questions regarding indicator lights to make sure I don't have electrical connection issues before completing the install. A couple gauges were missing ground wires (apparently relying on other gauges grounding the instrument panel to which they're all attached in the final install).

    On the Speedo, the center indicator light is the "Side Marker Light Warning". Under what situation should this be on? When I connect up the speedo and turn on my lights, this indicator light is always on. Is that correct or is this indicator light supposed to be indicating an issue? If so, what specifically could this be indicating so I know where to start (both side marker lights are on)?

    On the Tach, after hooking up the gauge, I can't get the Main Beam (center blue indicator light) to come on. Any idea what might be causing this to not come on when I engage the high beams?

    The definition of these indicators are according to my 1971 Dino Owners Manual, but there's no description of their operation or expected behavior in the manual...just a title on an illustration of the dashboard controls.
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  13. alhbln

    alhbln Formula 3
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    The center indicator is wired to the sidelights, so it will be on when any of the lights (side/park/main/dip) are switched on, this is normal.

    Hmm, the wire for the main beam light goes to the light stalk switch and is wired directly to the main beams. Does the blue indicator work when you flash the main beam? You probably need to recheck the wiring trunk on the back of the Tach, if you have a test light, connect it to ground and check out the corresponding wire at the white Tach connector coming from the car trunk.
     
  14. HMB-Dino

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    Speedo center indicator light for side lights only lights when I turn on lights with steering column stalk...good. It's been so long since I've driven the car, I couldn't remember if that was correct behavior.

    I will check Tach main beam wire in wiring trunk tonight. Perhaps the connector isn't making contact there...I've noticed some aren't firmly held in place in those plastic connectors.
     

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