Having some dash cluster issues

[justtime520]

Ok so i pulled the dash cluster and found these two random wires on the fuel gauge side, can any one tell what they are for and were they go thanks one wire is white and is and the other is black none of these wires are attached to any thing. 71 chevy c10

[michael bustamante]

is there anything attatched to the black wire like a metal clip of plug in of some sort?

[67chevemall]

pic?

[justtime520]

No its just got blue tape on it, i have pictures but i cant get them to format

[justtime520]

And the white wire is soldered in about an inch away from the black one

[justtime520]

here are some pics

[monte0185]

Originally Posted by justtime520

here are some pics

The White is a power wire to something and the black is a ground. THey are not factory. Looks like something someone rigged up to light something. The power wire is running off of the dash light circuit. In other words when you pull the light switch on it turns something else on. Id just get rid of it.

[justtime520]

I look at some other clusters and the wire that is held down by the screw looks like it is supposed to be there. the black one is soldered and i will get rid of it

[monte0185]

Yes the screw are supposed to be there. Looks like someone just added the wires to power something.

[Longhorn Man]

neither of those wires are needed.
Whoever installed that shoulda looked at the fuse box, there's a terminal that would have done the exact same thing as what those wires were doing.

[justtime520]

I will get rid of both of them asap. i thought that it had some thing to do with my fuel gauge being at the 3 o' clock position with key in start. kinda was hoping it was the ground because i cant find the ground wire for the fuel wires

[monte0185]

There is only one wire that hooks to your sending unit on the tank. Your guage is grounded by the printed circuit board on the back of the guage panel. Sorry if im not being clear. More than likely your sending unit is bad.

[justtime520]

Thanks i appreciate the help. Just wasnt sure

[monte0185]

Im pretty sure the point thats circled is the ground for the guage but Id have to look at mine again to be sure.

[justtime520]

with that is it an additional wire from the circuit board to be grounded or does it ground when the cluster is mounted. sorry for all the questions but wiring is not my things so iam kinda lost

[monte0185]

No need for any additional wire. All the wires you need are in the connector that plugs in the back of it. Just take them off. The ground wire if its soldered you can just clip it at the screw and it will not hurt anything. Make sure you remove the white wire. Wiring is not most peoples cup of tea dont worry. I hated it till a very good friend of mine taught me how to figure it out and the principles behind it all and how everything connects together. Now I can wire just about anything given a schematic. I can wire just about anything gm related without anything nowadays. Good luck and by all means ask if you have any questions.

[justtime520]

Thanks monte I appreciate all the help. look forward to seeing you on the forums

[elkynova]

The fuel gauge works off of ground. The printed circuit provides power to the actual gauge. There is a light brown wire that comes from the gauge to the sending unit in the tank. The sending unit is a ground reostat. As the fuel level changes how much ground is sent to the gauge which changes the fuel level on the gauge. I can't remember if full ground causes the gauge to read full or empty, but if you ground the light brown wire, your gauge will go all the way, one way or the other, an easy way to tell if you have a bad gauge or sender...