Dash Problems.... I have 1 out of 7 dependable gauges

[lts70]

My dash started to act up a bit a few months ago and I have not been able to figure out what is going on with it. The fuel gauge works as good as the fuel gauges work in these trucks (fills up to a1/4 past full stays there until its fast move to a ¼ then semi slowly to empty). My oil pressure works as it is a direct connection to the oil system. And that is the good things about my dash.

Which leads me to the stuff that doesn’t work.

1)My TEMP GAUGE is pegged out at hot all the time. I checked my wire going to my sensor but found no cracks where it could be grounding out. I also swapped temp gage and printed circuit with some spares and it did not help. Can a bad sensor do this?

2)INDICATOR LIGHTS, For the most part they work good but there is one glitch. When I turn on my lights my left green signal light turns on solid until I turn off the lights again. Both signals work like normal even when this light is solid lit green the blinker works as normal on the outside of the truck. When the headlights are off the driver side blinker works as normal again. I made sure the gauge panel was grounded good and the printed circuit looked good but have no other ideas as what to check to solve my green arrow problem.

3) My CAMERO TACH works as it is a direct feed as well. But when I got my emissions test and I saw the actual RPM’s on the screen in relation to what my tach was reading the camero tach was about 500 RPM's too high once it got going.

4) AMP METER, Well I did not like my amp meter so I gutted it and but the face plate of the original gauge on a new volt meter and installed one side of the printed circuit and the other pole I grounded to the frame as others have done on the board here with success. Well my gauge does nothing and I don’t get a voltage reading to that part of the circuit board. But there is no brake or corrosion in the path to it.


Any suggestions on things to look for on any of my 4 problems would be great.

Oh yea, my speedo does not work because I installed a NV3500 trany with electronic pulse, but I know how to fix that problem, I just don’t know how to talk my wife into dropping $300 on a cable X converter. And my factory vacuum gauge I installed did not come with the connection tube so I have not got it up and running ether. So the only thing that truly works on my dash is my oil pressure gauge. I guess 1 out of 7 gauges working properly doesn’t say to much about me.

[69GMCLonghorn]

I know about as much about electrical as I do about brain surgery, but here's 2 cents worth for you: On the temp gauge, disconnect it from the circuit board and try wiring it directly to the sending unit with alligator clips. See if it's still pegged when you do that. If it is, I'd think that either the gauge or sending unit is toast. Try doing the same thing with the volt meter. I installed a volt meter under dash and just hard wired it to a switched 12V source and ground.

[VetteVet]

Without getting in depth and being able to see the actual connections you have made, I suspect that the connection you have made for the voltmeter is a contributor to you problems, especially since it doesn't work. I would disconnect it and see if things return to normal. Also if the polarity of the connections is wrong then it won't work because it will try to read to the left below D and you can't see movement.

There are also ground circuits in the printed circuit so you may have the VM double grounded. Here is a CAD drawing of the gauge panel that may be of some help.

[Werewolf]

A temp sender *can* do that. It's possible. Don't know if it's likely or not.

As for the lighting problem, check all of your bulbs - specifically the front and rear turn bulbs on the side affected. I've seen problems where one filament tower somehow ends up crossed with the other, causing the problem that you're describing. Believe it or not, in some cases, this problem can lead to all the lights on a vehicle flashing if the turn signal is turned on.

Here's one for you. My oil pressure gauge stopped working. It's stuck at about 1/3 whether the truck is running or not.

[lts70]

Thanks guys I will try unhooking the volt gauge and putting different bulbs in.