1969 Dodge Charger wiring issues, no brake lights, bezel lights, flasher, dome

[Dino]

I will.  There's a few pics of it in the "what did you to with your Charger" thread, but I will start a separate thread on it soon.  I did some repainting today and I should be able to spray the low luster clear tomorrow.  I had to buy an extra can of trim black to do one of the headlight bezels and I think something was wrong with the paint as it turned out really dull compared to the other pieces.  I may need to redo that one, I don't know yet.

I had to do extensive repairs to this grille so I'll do a thread with a step by step how to from plastic repair to paint.

[rikubot]

Dino, I just had a thought:

The previous owner had after market gauges in my ride, and I'm pretty sure those ran on 12v instead of the 5v from the regulator. Would this mean he had to change the sender as well to sync it with the new fuel gauge? If that's the case, I need a new (old style) sender, right? And maybe that would explain why my fuel gauge barely moves when Christine is full of gas... Just a theory haha, it's been too cold to do anything in Colorado :/

[Dino]

Christine huh?      

The voltage doesn't matter in this instance, but the resistace does.  If that 12 volt gauge runs on the same resistance as the stock gauge then the sender is fine, but if it's different then the sender may have been changed.  Pull the sender and measure the resistance to make sure of what you have there.

On a side note: I finished my grille today and will bolt it into the frame tomorrow.  Pics and thread to follow.

[rikubot]

Hah yes sir. People ask me why I named her after the car from the movie, and I tell them all the same thing: i didn't name her, she is just "Christine"... 

I see, I just need to drain that tank and yank it out any test it.

Damn brother, I can't wait to see it. You're car has some majorly awesome things happening to it lately!

[Dino]

I guess your car must've spoken to you then, mine does that as well.   

No need to drain all the fuel from the filler neck.  Once you have about half out you'll be below the sending unit hole and can remove the sender.  You can drain the rest of the tank from there if you want, or just measure the resistance and stick the sender back in place.

Yeah lots of work has been done and lots more needs to be done!  The grille was supposed to be done last but my budget ran dry and I had pretty much everything I needed to restore the grille without spending a bunch of money.  I should have the grille thread up Wednesday if nothing else comes up.

[Dino]

The grille is done: http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,121524.msg1510027/topicseen.html#msg1510027

[rikubot]

Dino, I'm having the issues with the back lights on the right half of the cluster. Just like you said, the bench test shows connection, but in the dash I get no right side lights. I soldered that pin to the board but it looks terrible. It does seem to work better, but I won't know til I put it in and we are getting 8 inches of snow overnight supposedly. Is there anything else you think it could be if this doesn't fix it? Also, if I can't save this board, where would I get a replacement that won't cost an arm, leg, and testicle? Also pt2 did you find out if you are getting into grad school

[Dino]

If you get power throguh the wiring and connectors then all that is left is the circuit board or the bulb sockets.  If the sockets are loose they may cut out.  You can wiggle them around a bit and look for fluctuations.  I think you can still buy the sockets if needed.  You could use a drop of glue to hold them in place, but I've never tried that. 

If the solder looks bad then don't take a chance and redo it.   Solder needs to be done right or it can fail.  Use a solder wick and remove what's on there now.  Clean the pin and board, put some flux on the joint if needed, heat the pin and hold the solder to the joint.  It'll flow right in there, only takes a second or two.  Once you get the hang of it do all the pins.

You can test the circuit board with the cluster on your bench.  Trace the bulbs to the pin that needs power, forget which one it is now, and hook it up to a 12v battery.  Don't forget to ground the cluster.  Bulbs should all light up.

My school of choice's admission committee is meeting on Tuesday so I should know before long.

[rikubot]

Ok cool. I redid the solder and it looks a lot better. I'm thinking about getting a repop circuit eventually, though. Hopefully this will work for now. I also plan on getting as many new harnesses as they make, and make all new ones for the ones they don't. All this old electrical stuff worries me.

Here's the circuit board I was looking at, what do you think of it?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mopar-Rallye-Dash-Cluster-CIRCUIT-BOARD-68-70-B-Body-NEW-PDD-028-/331746199345?hash=item4d3d9d4731:g:phYAAOSwDk5UEaVO&vxp=mtr

Says soldered pins. 

[rikubot]

On a side note, what is your opinion on the odometer decals? I'm thinking about doing them since I've got it back out and the yellowing kind of bothered me once I put it all back together. I thought I saw new odom wheels somewhere too but I can't seem to find them. I do remember them being a little pricey.

[fy469rtse]

Look up rt speciality's or charger speciality's
They have the curcuit board and the much needed and sometimes the reason your gauges aren't working
Voltage reducer that fits into that board,
You can put original or modernise it with digital modern resister,
Yes the gauge decals are a good budget way to make gauges look fresh ,
I don't have the money to get them screen printed either

[Dino]

That board would work, but as long as your board isn't cracked it'll work just as well with soldered pins.

Yeah get the IVR4 solid state limiter to keep those gauges safe!

I used Performance Car Graphics decals on my cluster including the odometer and it was an easy install and it looks great!

[rikubot]

I put my cluster in today and it worked 

I guess the pins just got a little loose from me pulling it out over and over haha. I got my new speedo cable in too so all I have to do now is get a new fuel sender, hook up the cable and swap the pinion gear, re-wire my washer motor, and put my sway bar brackets on. I took some pictures of the LEDs again with the new faces and I'm super happy with it. Thanks Dino  I can't wait til it warms up!

[Dino]

You're almost there!  Do you have any pics of the car somewhere?  I don't think I've ever seen it.

[rikubot]

That's largely thanks to you, sir. I do, I'll have to upload them when I get off work, or if you have Facebook I have quite a few on there

[Dino]

I'm glad to be of help.   

I do not have Facebook.

[rikubot]

I got my engine side tach harness in the mail today and found that the far right pigtail is the running lights circuit. Which is weird because numerous people on here are saying it could be used for the feed of the tach. I hooked it into that and the tach only worked when the running lights were on 
I was actually the second peg over? but it was on the battery side of the fuse which scares me a little. I could be wrong, but it's what I used. Here's the link:

http://www.1970chargerregistry.com/mboard/index.php?PHPSESSID=f4a86fb79939cd9e382548a7458146b2&topic=40.0

I rounded up a few photos for ya, too. She's not perfect, but she's tough!!

[rikubot]

another

[rikubot]

Dino, I'm not sure how to get a hold of you, but which HP manifold did you need? Found somethin on Craigslist not too far

[Dino]

Damn I thought I replied to this!  Good looking ride you got there, nothing wrong with it in my eyes!   

I need the passenger side #2806900 or #2899879.  I'm not sure what the difference is between the two but if the angle to the pipe is different then I should probably go with the first one.  I have a 70-71 left side manifold but I think those are the same as earlier ones.

You can pm me.

[rikubot]

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