Gauge Cluster Wiring Question

[balex]

I have a simple question for some people. I got my gauge restored by Kevin and switched out the altimeter for a voltmeter. Long story short, I had a mechanic remove the gauge and mail it for me. He was kind enough to take a photo of the wiring before sending it off. Now that I have it back, how do I properly hook up the gauge. Does the GND wire that was near the altimeter now go on the voltmeter? Am I looking for another wire to attach. Am I splicing something to add to it? Is there another wire not in the first photo that I should be attaching to the voltmeter?

Thanks in advance. Link to images just in case the other ones do not work. photos

 

[September 1972]

What year is your bronco/

 

[balex]

Sorry should have added more details.

It is a 1969 with an aftermarket wiring harness. Can not remember the brand, but can double check this evening.

 

[September 1972]

The wiring needs to be run out insofar as each wire needs to be traced to it's origin. Don't assume anything or a fried cluster may be your reward.

The cluster is grounded through the attachment screws, a dedicated ground has excessive resistance and may feedback through other devices and cause problems.

 

[66broncoCT]

Volt meter needs full battery power and ground to work. You can tap into the Instrument voltage regulator (little rectangle box at the bottom of the cluster) IN power, looks like the red wire that's zip tied to the orange wire in you first picture. Don't tap into the output side (orange wire) of the IVR as that's lowered pulsed voltage to make the gauges work. and for ground you could probably just ground it to one of the 4 screws that hold the cluster to the dash. On the new gauge you can see its got a + and - denoting which wire is positive and which is ground/negative. Not sure what September 1972 is talking about a dedicated ground causing issues but a lot of people run a dedicated ground to the cluster because it only grounds through 4 sheet metal screws which don't always create the best grounding scheme.

 

[balex]

Thank you for that reply. So I need to either splice the solid RED ("BATTERY +"), add a ring terminal to the new spliced RED wire and attach it to the (-) post on the voltmeter, or find another solid red wire that is not being used (I think there is a tach wire and possible another red one) and attach that to the (-) post on the voltmeter? And then ground to the back of the gauge, or the bolt that holds the gauge in place. The other post (+) for the voltmeter is just as is, or should be grounded as well? Or do I have the (-) and (+) backwards?

Again, thanks for the help.

 

[66broncoCT]

If it were me, splice into the feed wire on the IVR. In your picture it appears to be red but the wire color is insignificant you cant just grab any red wire without knowing its purpose. Put a ring terminal on the end of this wire and that ring terminal goes to the brass post sticking out of the new volt gauge that was the + on it. Then make a wire with 2 ring terminals on it, one end goes on the - brass post of the new gauge and the other end goes to a good ground, such as the cluster mounting screws. Actually just looking at your pictures again, in the first picture with the wiring still attached it looks like your harness has a black wire labeled "GND" or ground on the screw holding the old alt meter in. If this is the case then just make a short wire with 2 ring terminals and go from the new gauge's - brass terminal to that screw with the wire hooked back up.

 

[September 1972]

Here is the painless wiring kit installation instructions.\

http://cdn.wildhorses4x4.com/downloads/WH/6050 01-23-13.pdf

Low voltage circuits are very sensitive to resistance. The 4 screws to the dash complete the circuit IF the bronco has 4 good grounds as required by painless wiring, battery to engine, battery to frame and so forth.

That ground wire on the cluster you installed can be the ground for one of the internally grounded circuits if I understood the directions properly, which I'm not sure I agree with.

Why are the bronco taillights grounded to the chassis 6 inches from the lights? Two reasons. One is a waste of wire if the circuits we're internally grounded and the other is there is less resistance using the body steel.

Unscrew the 2 chassis ground wires behind the taillights, you should clean them anyway and let the lamp assemblies dangle in free air. Hook up a ground wire to both and attach it to the negative of the battery. Turn on the lights and see what the voltage is across the circuit. Clean everything and reattach the taillights and see what the voltage is.

That added ground at the cluster may or may not be a ground target for the various circuits contained within the cluster. Hopefully the screws will be a better ground target because once the current hits the screws it's like a wide open gate to a huge field. The wire is a bottleneck, potentially, which can cause issues.

Read the painless manual and it will help a lot to figure out what's happening.

 

[jim3326]

I made mine a little easier to deal with.

 

[balex]

Thank you for the responses.

66broncoCT, I am an electrical moron, so, you are saying a three pronged wire with one wire each on the voltmeter poles, and then a ring terminal attached to the same screw as where the ground wire is, with the ground wire attached to it, will give enough amp/volts(?) in order to read the volts correctly?

September1972, I actually had looked through that diagram. Not that it matters a whole lot, but I have a centech wiring harness. I know the principles are the same, just colors of wires differ.

Jim, that is quite a set up you got there. That would be much easier.

 

[Jaxgtc]

I made mine a little easier to deal with.

Wow, that is a nice piece of work Jim

 

[904Bronco]

I have done 3 of these conversions now... Looks like a Centech harness...

Take positive power from IVR 12 volt side, which is from the ign side. (power in run only)

Ground the negative side to the cluster, then add a ground wire from the cluster to a solid ground point on the dash or pedal assembly. (Or reuse the provided Centech ground in your 1st picture) Use the same gauge wire that is feeding the IVR (16 gauge?) for both positive and negative. Please use red wire for positive and black for your grounds...

I do not like crimp connectors. Solder the ends to the wires and then use lined shrink tubing on the wires.

Sorry, I could not find any pictures to show you what I mean regarding the terminal ends...

 

[904Bronco]

Wow, that is a nice piece of work Jim

I agree, very clean job.

 

[September 1972]

+1 Jim.

Is there a reason that di electric grease isn't covering the connectors?

It is messy and will collect dirt that may produce conductivity across the grease but the grease itself is non conductive.

 

[jim3326]

Thanks all. Appreciate it.

 

[Steve83]

This shows the easiest voltmeter wiring:

 

[gr8scott]

a dedicated ground has excessive resistance and may feedback through other devices and cause problems.

Strange, my Centech harness has dedicated grounds for EVERYTHING and I've never had any problems. %)

 

[Steve83]

Almost everything he posts is gibberish &/or voodoo.

 

[September 1972]

Excellent point Great Scott and politely stated. May is the operative word here.

I ran into another bronco website and some guy named Steve83 was banned after 43000 posts, 43.000 thousand, OUCH!

Oh my that must have hurt his little feelings but that's what happens when a persons mouth writes checks his brain can't cash. Who is Steve83? 43.000 posts? WTF?

 

[Steve83]

...or off-topic & infantile. %)