rally pack idea

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79cutlasssalon442

Master Mechanic
Jan 25, 2012
282
0
0
My '79 salon has the rally pack gauges. None of them really work in the cold. But my main concern is the fuel gauge. Could i just run a wire from the #2 connector to the fuel gauge and bypass that printed circuit crap? Like they have power but are way off. So if i ran a jumper from the connector to the back of the gauge. It should work right? And just use the power and ground of the cluster? Please tell me if im wrong but think it could work. Thanks
 

bigblockfrank

Greasemonkey
Mar 24, 2009
208
4
18
mt.vernon, ky
im not saying it will not work,idk. i have came across a few that the ground was the problem. have you cleaned connections, and tighten up the nuts on back of the pak. sometimes they will get loose. how does your gas hand act? erratic, stay past full, stays below empty?
 

79cutlasssalon442

Master Mechanic
Jan 25, 2012
282
0
0
It's kind of a hit and miss. Most times it'll say a quarter to a half of a tank. Right after i fill it. And sometimes after i drive for about 20 minutes they all start twitching and reading right and then all of a sudden they're gone again. I already pulled it apart and cleaned everything, re-tightened the nuts, made sure the circuit was okay, and straightened out the tabs on the connector in the car.
 

bigblockfrank

Greasemonkey
Mar 24, 2009
208
4
18
mt.vernon, ky
how are the other gauges acting?
 

79cutlasssalon442

Master Mechanic
Jan 25, 2012
282
0
0
They're all off. 260 degrees driving in 25 degree weather? Dont think thats right lol. Then it says im not charging any volts and almost no oil pressure. But they are getting power because they go back to 0 when i shut the car off.
 

jociha

Master Mechanic
Oct 16, 2012
279
1
18
Not sure if your car is like my 85 but I had similar issues, when you pull the gauges out you have 2 connectors mounted still in the dash, try to bend each little brass prong down a bit so when you install the gauges they make a tighter connection, hope that helps.
 

79cutlasssalon442

Master Mechanic
Jan 25, 2012
282
0
0
jociha said:
Not sure if your car is like my 85 but I had similar issues, when you pull the gauges out you have 2 connectors mounted still in the dash, try to bend each little brass prong down a bit so when you install the gauges they make a tighter connection, hope that helps.
My dash only has one connector. I thought it was weird that it did but it does. The only idiot light i have is "fasten belts"
 

GT_80

Greasemonkey
Apr 23, 2013
240
7
18
Massachusetts
Bad ground on gauges, bad gauges, bad ground on body to block, bad ground on engine block, bad sending units... could be a host of things. Adding grounds is easy. Get some heavy gauge braided ones from NAPA. Bolt one from the frame to the engine block, from the body to the frame, and you can have the ground from the battery to the frame or to the motor, and everything is grounded together. Many times the factory tiny braided grounds have long broken off the body. Add some heavy ones back on, and it will only help. Check the voltage at the bettery when the cars running or have a auto store like NAPA or autozone do a load test on your charging system- maybe you have low voltage causing issues. If they still act up, check your sending units - the Water temp and oil pressure are cheap enough. If the grounds don't fix it, and the sending units don't, maybe a bad cluster or loose wires in the harness.
 

79cutlasssalon442

Master Mechanic
Jan 25, 2012
282
0
0
GT_80 said:
Bad ground on gauges, bad gauges, bad ground on body to block, bad ground on engine block, bad sending units... could be a host of things. Adding grounds is easy. Get some heavy gauge braided ones from NAPA. Bolt one from the frame to the engine block, from the body to the frame, and you can have the ground from the battery to the frame or to the motor, and everything is grounded together. Many times the factory tiny braided grounds have long broken off the body. Add some heavy ones back on, and it will only help. Check the voltage at the bettery when the cars running or have a auto store like NAPA or autozone do a load test on your charging system- maybe you have low voltage causing issues. If they still act up, check your sending units - the Water temp and oil pressure are cheap enough. If the grounds don't fix it, and the sending units don't, maybe a bad cluster or loose wires in the harness.
I dont think its the charging system. Alternator has 14.4 volts at the back bolt. And the gauges just randomly stopped working after being fine for months.
 

79cutlasssalon442

Master Mechanic
Jan 25, 2012
282
0
0
So im almost positive it is the alternator. When i stop at a stop sign my heater almost dies, the lights dim bad, and the turn signals dont flash. But i also filled it tonight and the gauge is reading half.
 
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