attempting to take out the instrument cluster

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SirDan

SirDan

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can anyone help me get this damned thing out? i dropped the colum allitle bit but it still really doesent have room to come out. do i have to pull the steering colum out? if so how do i do so?
 
Just back the steering column bolts out as far as they can go or remove them completly. Maybe loosen the bolts on the firewall also. It takes a little persuasion.
 
Hope you previously removed the negitive battery cable. If not , do so.
You should find 3 nuts or 2 nuts and 1 bolt holding the upper column support to the dash. Completely remove all 3. If yours is a column shift car, set the park brake and lower the shifter to neutral , or even low if you wish.
To pull down on the column while the shifter is in park will alter the linkage requiring readjustment.
 
i finaly got it out. what moron decided to design the cluster to be a PITA to get out!!!! *insert swear words* anyway i took it out to try and get my gauges working. its probaly going to be a PITA to connect everything again a billion times trying to fix my problem. so how would i go about bench testing the gauges? and that resistor thing on the back i read about that converts the 12volts to like 5 volts for the gauges.
 
You can bench test the panel if you can follow the printed circuit board copper trace. Determine which pin feeds which component and test individually. You'll need a battery and a multimeter,
One red wire with 2 aligator clips and an inline fuse,
One black wire with 2 aligator clips ( this one will remain in a chassis ground position throughout testing )
One blue wire with 2 aligators clips.
 
one more stupid question. is there a special tool to remove the "nuts" that hold the wiper and light switches on? what i thought was going to be a half day project has turned into a nightmare.:angry4:
 
needle nose pliers .
you may have to grind the ends a little.
dont use your old mans snap-ons for this.
 
Believe it or not...I got so pi$$ed when I was removing my cluster that I finally gave up an took the bench seat out and only then did I have enough room to get it out hassle free! Man...the factory never figured in removal on hardly anything on these cars back in the day!!!
 
oh dident think of trying pliers. i dont think all that well in the morning. im guna give that a shot on the wiper switch. the light switch i figured out you can stick a flat head in the middle since the shaft comes out. the worst part is the needle on the amp gauge somehow broke off while i was removing the cluster. so now i need to put a new one in from another cluster. luckily i did have one on hand. the even more annoying part is my gauges work when i bench test them. so i might have to chase the wires and find the problem. which is going to be even more annoying!!!! on the bright side i needed to change my wiper seals and the drivers side is easily acessable now :cheers:
 
GGGGRRRRR.... now one of the pins broke of the back of the printed circut board!!! this is a nightmare.

anyway my fuel gauge had no power at the back and my temp gauge had power at the negitive and the positive... im assuming the PO messed the wire ordering up on the back since they dont stay in the harness too well. does anyone have a wiring diagram for it or something?

i replaced the circut board and everything works like a charm! thanks for the help!
 
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