The absolute easiest way to test a gauge is to ground the sending unit wire with the key on. Otherwise, a simple AA/AAA battery supplies a safe voltage to test a gauge. A potentiometer is a complex instrument for this technology! lol
@@ayyejustin there's no good way to do that, unfortunately. The best way for you to do it would be to plug it back into your truck (harness only) and test bulbs with the bezel still out of the way. Then you can key off, remove bulb (with harness still attached), make corrections/contact as needed, and reinstall.
@@bjsclassicclusters thank you for being so informative, I just bought my 1985 F150 and have never worked on cars my entire life, this will be my first project so I’m excited for it but it is going to be a big learning curve for me.
When you remove those lights behind the cluster…. if you look carefully under the tabs that touch the instrument panel. You will notice that there is a concave little spot underneath.. what I did to ensure proper contact of those little tabs is to lift them up ever so slightly. Once that is done., then take a hot glue gun and put a little tiny drop of glue under both tabs of the affected lights. Put the light back in and you will notice that your lights will then work properly. Now , I can’t tell you how long this will work, but logically speaking I can’t ever see an issue happen by doing so. I’ve been messing around with this for a couple years now , and finally came up with what I feel is a 100% proper repair. I hope this helps everybody because all the videos online are telling you to check connection, etc. etc. I don’t have any connection issues except for where the light pushes on that electrical circuit . And what’s nice about this repair is that you’re not altering the dash cluster. you’re only putting the glue onto the light behind the tabs and if it doesn’t work, it’s a super easy fix to try again. ( just put a little bit more glue next time if need be.)
Not a bad idea at all! I typically find that just by slightly bending the tabs, and cleaning the contacts, that is enough to make a drastic change in connectivity. I do this with every cluster I lay hands on, to ensure proper connectivity. I never have an issue with a bulb not illuminating after doing so.
Thanks for the video. My cluster is fell apart in my hands this last week as I pulled it out to see why it was not working. My truck is a 77 with the same cluster as the one you bought that didn’t match with the light warnings rather than the gauges. I cannot just buy the same year and plug and play I am guessing from your video. What van did you pull it from, is it the large older Ford vans so I can look in my local pic a part. I may have missed that in your video.
If you're uncomfortable tackling this yourself, I have actually started doing them for others. Check me out on FB/Insta: BJsClassicClusters But, to answer your question, new housings are available for purchase new. They typically run around $100+. You can find a warning light cluster from a 76-79 truck or 76-91 Econoline. Assuming everything on that cluster still works, of course.
when I rebuilt my motor on my 86, I bought a cluster out of a junkyard, I bought 1 that had the tach. I rolled the speedo back to 0 so my mileage will be correct on the motor
I have an 81 f150 and the turn signal indicators don’t illuminate. I’ve replaced the bulbs and nothing. Any ideas? I do hear the flasher and the lights outside work.
Are the bulb contacts touching the bulb socket contacts? I know the 73-79 trucks have an issue where the ground for the turn signal housing at the grille goes bad and you have to replace the turn signal bulb socket. It could also be that... Those are my two best guesses.
Nice work. I pulled my cluster and one of the round pieces that connects the ribbon to the voltage regulator is gone. Any thoughts on how to repair? No idea what that part would be called. Also, what orange paint do you use on the needles?
Chris! Any fluorescent orange should do! Sorry to hear about your printed circuit... Unless you're REALLY handy with a soldering iron (solder 9v battery terminal to board, as that's what those connectors are) it typically needs replacing. If that's something you don't want to meddle with, I have good circuits on hand and would be more than willing!
Culprit is more than likely the headlight switch being turned down all of the way (headlight switch knob turns to dim illumination), or the switch is bad and simply needs replaced. It's probably a $20 part and 15 minutes of your time. For how easily they wear out, it's not a bad idea to replace anyhow.
Do we have front access/pull out of the bulbs from the top illumination line-up with appropriate grip tool. And reinsert from the front also ?! Or do we actually have to spend the time and remove the next layer' of screws, and carefully pull out the inner panel to access the backside lineup of black twist'n pulls on the panel, to then remove/replace the bulb(s) ? Thanks . '82 F100 V6-3.8, 3onT
You could attempt to remove/insert from the front... but I'm afraid you'd break a bulb and end up having to remove the entire cluster anyhow. Also, some LEDs are polar specific, and you will need to see the cluster wiring to determine polarity anyhow.
After my query here, I actually stumbled across existence of bulb gripper pliers within my copy of the LMC complementary Ford parts+ catalogue. Chkd a local (bricks 'n mortar)supplier and surprisingly fd they had a Titan' model, in-stock for $10cdn vs $11us plus S&H from LMC wooow ! And successfully extracted/replaced the 5 bulbs with #194 sylvania LEDs with no breakage, just the LED polarity issue (4 out of 5 in error), so a bit of practice'. LoL Luckily the LEDs had a red microdot on one side of their input wedge' .
I do know the wiring, the tach should be plug and play. I use a bench top power supply to test the gauges, so I know they are good before put into use.
So I got a gauge cluster out of a 1985 econoline van and everything is the same but the wiring in my 79 f150 wouldn’t work because the f150’s plug isn’t as wide as the econoline wiring pigtail
Sounds like you have a 4 gauges vs. 2 gauges/2warning lights mismatch. If you get ahold of me at BJ's Classic Clusters on Facebook, I can hook you up with the cluster you need. I'll even take the Econoline cluster as partial trade.
My father in law has a 1977, we took out a cluster from the 1978 model and unfortunately it has the actual gauge not the light style that he needs, can't find anything in Canada 🤷♂️
I have a 1981 bronco with factory tach looks like the wiring is correct do you have a video that shows bench testing a tachometer? Or know where I can send mine out for rebuilding?
Hey TJ, unfortunately bench testing a tachometer requires a signal generator or oscillator of some sort. The best way to test a tach before installation is to hook it up directly to the battery/ground/distributor under the hood using a few jumpers with alligator clips.
I have a '78 F250 and had the cluster out for dead lights. I tried swapping to LED but in the process noticed several burned areas on the printed circuit. Have you ever seen that, and any idea what can cause that? I'm unclear if it's a printed circuit problem or something elsewhere in the truck meaning a new printed circuit will also burn. I also have a turn signal that comes on steady with headlights on so I was thrilled to see your comment on the turn signal socket replacement under another comment! I'll check that out.
Hey Rob! I've definitely seen burnt circuits on the printed circuits, and 95% of the time it's always on the ALT circuit. As far as a cause goes, I'm not sure why that is. The ALT circuit is the only one that sees a constant 12 volts. Maybe if the alternator overcharges, its too much for the printed circuit? I'm not sure. But I do have extras and spares if you're in need of one. Just let me know and best of luck! I'm glad you found the video helpful! Check my page out on FB @BJ'sClassicClusters!
Hey I just discovered your video and I love it. I also just got a 75 f100 (custom) and discovered that when you activate the high beam lights, both headlights turn off. When you go back to low beams, they come back on. Any idea what it could be.
Hi very nice video!!! I need a circuit board like yours for a 1986 e-150, from the video I believe it looks like the one I have! Do you know if your circuit board would fit mine? The part number of mine is D6TF-10C956 Also do you know who else might have a BRAND NEW circuit board? I called Dennis carpenter and green sales, also jegs might have it
I’m sure I have a circuit board laying around that would work for you. They’re also available on eBay brand new at: www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_dkr=1&iconV2Request=true&_blrs=recall_filtering&_ssn=psquare&store_cat=0&store_name=psquaresstuff&_oac=1&_nkw=73%20ford%20led%20truck I’ve actually started rebuilding these clusters as a side job. You can check out my page at: www.Facebook.com/BJsClassicClusters
Bj i have searched and am having a bear of a time finding a newer replacement for my dummy light cluster. I had pulled it to check the lights and now well my gas gauge no loner works, my temp gauge has a loose nut so no lights there and it's missing a couple of the bulb holders lol. it's a 1979 F-100 Ranger.
Awesome video by far one of the best ive senn for this stuff.. I am going through something pretty similar. All new wiring harness because the guy before me melted everything. Anyways. I didnt even know my cluster was to a econoline. Anyways, the one I bought is allegedly all good. Anyway i could see your cluster harness pinout? Because ive tried all of the different ones with little success.
Great informative, thorough video. Bought a 73 a couple weeks back and only the speedometer works. Ordered a circuit board as I could see damage on it. Going to test my gauges tomorrow using your method. New gauges are pricy, might have to find some used if they don't work.
Awesome! I'm glad you found so much valuable information from this video! If you end up needing a gauge by chance, look me up on the Dent Nation group on FB! Best of luck!
Nothing on the gauge cluster worked on mine so I looked up in the dash and went “Why the hell did all the bulbs fall out?” and then realized that the gauge cluster sockets came out with them 😂
Awesome! I’m glad it helped! I’m actually going to be doing this same replacement again on one of my other trucks, so I’ll end up watching it again myself! Haha
Not off of the top of my head! Are you looking for the socket size or the thread and pitch of each? I’m assuming the latter of the two could vary. Especially with aftermarket parts.
On your steering box you have a lock nut on the top with a flat blade screw in the center of it. Loosen the lock nut and turn the flathead screw a 1/4 turn, it will tighten the steering box up a decent bit. Your steering box is worn out a bit lol. I've had a 69 short bed and I have a 71 long bed now. Whatever you do don't sell your 69, I did and regret it all the time.
Don’t worry, the 69 isn’t going anywhere! Too many memories with it! The lock nut adjustment is in another video I did. That still didn’t resolve the issue. I have to replace the box yet.
@@natesv04 hey, no problem! Yeah, I need to make a video of the steering box removal/replacement when I finally get to it. It’s been too long since I’ve made a video.
One of the biggest problems on these trucks are the king pins and bushings. A good reputable front end shop can do this for you. The last one I did ,I bought the parts and the shop charged with labor and alignment about 300.00. A major improvement.
Mine is probably way overdue. Before spring/summer I would like to replace the steering box before bringing it out of the garage. I hope that will take out most of my steering slop.
You can purchase everything online for the gauge clusters. I got a 79 F150 with a newly installed gauge cluster with led lights. The old bulbs didn’t light up very bright as the led now
The symptom of a bad/failing rag joint would be freeplay in the steering. Luckily the rag joint is pretty exposed inside the engine compartment, so if yours is going bad, you would probably be able to tell from a visual inspection.
