Power up the car with parts missing

[Dino]

I 'know' what I need to do but I'm tired and burning the candle at both ends and I need someone to tell me it's alright.

I finished upgrading all the electrical which includes a new bulkhead connector, custom wiring, headlight relay upgrade and more.  Before I finish the cluster and stick it back in the dash I want to test it out AND test all the lights including the cluster lights.  I just want to make sure everything works as it should as I don't want to remove the cluster yet again.

The red and black ammeter wires are gone so no problem there.  The cluster wiring is hanging out of the dash and I think they won't light up unless I ground the metal tabs on the sockets.  Does anyone see any issue with me sticking alligator clips on each independently to see if they work? 

Regarding the cluster itself, I have an RTE limiter and have continuity through all pins on the circuit board.  Can I stick 12 v on the pin (2nd from somewhere) to see if the bulbs and gauges work?  Ie, how do I test the cluster on the bench?

Is there anything else I need to check before I hook up the battery?  I have all the fuses in place and everything should be fine, but after all this work and my burnt brain, I'm just really doubting myself and want to be safe rather than sorry.

[MaximRecoil]

You can test out the dash lights without the cluster in the dash; you can even drive the car around without the cluster in the dash, as long as the ammeter is bypassed. You can use alligator clips to ground the bulb sockets like you said, or simply hold them against the chassis of the car. Without the cluster in there, you don't have a light switch of course, so you'd have to short the relevant terminals together on the light switch plug to turn the lights on; or, if doing it before you have the battery connected, you need to provide each bulb individually with 12V and ground, but that will only tell you that the bulb works, and nothing about the car's wiring to the bulbs. You could also provide 12V at the relevant headlight switch plug terminal, which would at least tell you something about the wiring from the headlight switch to the bulbs (but nothing about the wiring from the battery to the bulkhead connector to the headlight switch).

Regarding the cluster itself, I have an RTE limiter and have continuity through all pins on the circuit board.  Can I stick 12 v on the pin (2nd from somewhere) to see if the bulbs and gauges work?  Ie, how do I test the cluster on the bench?

In addition to the regulated power from the RTE limiter, the gauges also need the signals from their relevant sensors (fuel sending unit, oil pressure sending unit, temperature sending unit) in order to see if they are going to work properly (you can briefly connect each of the three gauges to e.g. a 9v battery to see if they work, but it won't tell you whether or not the gauges will work in the car with their sensors). Those signals, along with power, come from the 5-pin connector near the gauges and limiter.

I'd just connect the battery, set the cluster into the dash enough to plug in the 5-pin connector, the bulbs, and the headlight switch plug. You may also need to run a ground wire from the aluminum frame of the cluster to the car's chassis, because the cluster frame is normally grounded through the screws which hold it in the dash (or you could just temporarily screw the dash in place; it would only take a minute).

Is there anything else I need to check before I hook up the battery?  I have all the fuses in place and everything should be fine, but after all this work and my burnt brain, I'm just really doubting myself and want to be safe rather than sorry.

Well, you can double and triple check everything, but at some point you just have to do the smoke test, that is, hook up the battery by pushing the negative terminal clamp onto it (but not tightening it down yet) and look/smell for smoke. If there's smoke, pull the negative terminal clamp off.

[Dino]

That pretty much confirms what I was thinking.  I thought about sticking the headlight switch in place but you're right, it's easier to just set the cluster in.  Thanks.