How hard to replace IVR on 67 Valiant?

[73SlantSwinger]

I want to swap the instrument cluster voltage regulator on my 67 valiant. How hard to do it from someone that's done it? Does the steering column have to come down? Can i reach it from underneath dash without moving anything? thanks

 

[67Dart273]

"Here's the thing." You could probably do it in the car, but that might not be the whole story. On my own car, the following was all wrong with the cluster:

IVR was bad, but worse, the spring contacts forming the socket were not making contact with the PC board. Solder jumpers across

The indicator/ lighting needed attention, a couple of "blown" bulbs, corroded PC traces where the sockets connect, bend and clean the socket contacts, etc

The stud nuts on the gauges were loose, causing both to be inoperative, even after fixing the IVR

The harness connector pins were loose or broken. I elected to just do away with the factory connector, and used a pair of Molex style connectors. It is possible to fix the pins, and there are folks making "repop" PC boards.

Also, you should add a pigtail ground from the cluster board ground and bolt this to either the dash frame or the column support.

Read through this, has a lot of good ideas on repair, including the IVR contacts

Printed circuit pins repair

My not so neat IVR socket repair

 

[RedFish]

The limiter has 3 male spades. The middle one has additional male spade poked in that female with it. The additional comes from the noise suppression capacitor also mounted on the back of the panel. I don't have a pic' handy. Folks tend to remove/delete that addition for various reasons. Or when trying to service from underneath ( oblivious to that addition ) they allow it to fall out.
Loose connection can result since that female is stretched.

 

[momoparman]

Does the steering column have to come down?
If you drop it it will make it a lot easier to remove the cluster, and you will have a better chance of not scratching the column.
You really should remove the cluster to get a good look at it and correct any defects listed above.

Can i reach it from underneath dash without moving anything?
Maybe if you are a contortionist. I would say that if your gonna try that, remove the front seat first (4 bolts). It's 100 times easier to work under the dash with it removed.

Good luck!

 

[BillGrissom]

If you want reliability, don't put the original thermal type back. It can die and take out your fuel gage. Search "voltage limiter" on ebay for an adjustable electronic one ~$30.