cluster problems, tacho and fuel

[Huntington]

hi guys.

trying to fix a level two v6 dash cluster

issue is with the tacho and fuel gauge.

both do work, so are receving a signal, but both move very slowly, to the extent that that tacho never goes above 2k as it by the time it gets to 2k, its on its way back down.

and the fuel takes about ten minutes to show a full tank.

I have the cluster out, and in the face off, what should i be looking for?

first thing i checked was that it was a v6 one, and it is. so any advice would be great.

[88GreenVN]

Take the speedo and tacho out and you will be looking at the voltage regulator.

take this out and check the solder joints. very common problem - if this fails to fix it the gauges will be caktus.

[88GreenVN]

other option is to fit a set of VR/VS gauges - will be much smoother with the tacho. (still have to have a fixed voltage regulator)

[Huntington]

can you describe this regulator, I have gone into the cluster from the front, so i have the odometer in front of me now, is it under there? I better search for some pics i think

[Huntington]

ok so it is the top left circuit board, is it the far left black thingy on that board?

[somefool]

The 3 pins/solder joints on the bottom right of the circuit board. use good quality silder and you should be laughin

[88GreenVN]

'Somefool' is on the money. when soldered up if the fuel gauge is still very lazy it could be the sender unit in the tank. this is often shown by the gauge losing fuel for a bit and then going back up. ie you have a full tank andit drops to half then back to full again - this is the sender or the wire from it to the gauge.

[Huntington]

ok its out, lets see how i go, any way to test my work without putting it all back together again and putting it in the car? or is it just try it and hope?

[88GreenVN]

ok its out, lets see how i go, any way to test my work without putting it all back together again and putting it in the car? or is it just try it and hope?

Not really. Unless you are a electronics whizz

[88GreenVN]

I can add here that i do have a test bech setup for this issue of sticky fuel gauges. If the gauge fails to move within 4 secons of giving it power I bin it. I've had some level 3 fuel gauges take upto 8 seconds to move and then it springs to half on the first move. (bin job).

[Huntington]

well all done, better put it back together and see how we went, also the top light, one that shines down on speedo needle doesnt work, and neither does one of the indicator indicators, (green arrow) neither bulbs are blown, any ideas? all other lights work fine, i have cleaned all the connectors

[88GreenVN]

what is the code on the lens? GM part number?

I get the none left blinker when i put a VN cluster into my "VQ2" wired vn.

[88GreenVN]

Is the cluster a BT1 unit with a light at the top of the lens? If so it's the same globe as in the key light in VP's. It is powered from the tacho.

[Huntington]

well i made a difference, but it isnt fixed, it now goes up, but comes back down very slowly, and got stuck on its way down a few times.

[Huntington]

yeah light on top of the cluster, shines down to light up the speedo needle, otherwise its near impossible to see at night... will look for part number

[Huntington]

lens part number 92038488, i think, its faded a bit

[88GreenVN]

lens part number 92038488, i think, its faded a bit

That looks like a VP BT1 cluster number - first letter will be a K. i dont have my CD with parts info at work

All the other gauge lights should work tho - to see the gauges and speedo.

[88GreenVN]

well i made a difference, but it isnt fixed, it now goes up, but comes back down very slowly, and got stuck on its way down a few times.

This tells me that the gauge is on it's last legs or the tank sender unit is about done also or the connector. pull the connector off at the tank and see if the contacts are all good. Watch for dirt in the eye tho

[Huntington]

all other lights work, can see all the gauges fine, except the speedo, it needs a light to be seen, the lights underneath dont illuminate the needle like the other ones.

there is no letters at all in the part number, defidently starts with 9203 no K's,just wondering though, the little light sits in a steel mount, and has a sheet of white plastic under it, and thena hole that it is meant to shine down, i am not convinced in any way, that, that little light is strong enough to shine through the plastic onto the needle, so maybe the light is working and the hole needs to be opened up.... reconnect time to find out.

edit, ok the bulb and the little hole dont even line up, this is weird, there is no way for the light to shine down there, perhaps im not the first person to fiddle with this

[88GreenVN]

The white plastic is fine. The globe will be blown for sure.

Yep your right the BT1 speedo is a solid needle.

to get the blinker working you will need to move a wire in the dash connector. C1#10 (light blue wire) needs to move over 1 or 2 spots.

i'll look up the cluster number when i get home and post up what you can do to get the blinker globe to light up when it's ment to. now that I see you have a VP ute - I suspect you have a VN spec bt1 cluster backing for the left hand blinker not to show. (works on the out side of the car)

[Huntington]

This tells me that the gauge is on it's last legs or the tank sender unit is about done also or the connector. pull the connector off at the tank and see if the contacts are all good. Watch for dirt in the eye tho

i ment the tacho does that, not the fuel, I didnt even put the fuel needle on to check, one thing at a time here getting close to going to the wreckers and getting another one though

[88GreenVN]

i ment the tacho does that, not the fuel, I didnt even put the fuel needle on to check, one thing at a time here getting close to going to the wreckers and getting another one though

Is it VP or VN dials on the cluster?

[88GreenVN]

VP V8 BT1 Level 2 Lens Cover - eBay, Other, Car Parts, Accessories, Cars, Bikes, Boats. (end time 04-Jul-10 11:42:07 AEST)

^^ VP V8 bt1 lens cover with the part number letters on it - just cant read the part number

Part number is 92044657 for the V8 unit.

[Huntington]

dont know if the cluster is vp or vn the large letters on the part number sticker are IS, think i will just replace it, i need the light and i need seeing the tacho not working is driving me nuts, id sooner have a level one over a non working tacho

[88GreenVN]

dont know if the cluster is vp or vn the large letters on the part number sticker are IS, think i will just replace it, i need the light and i need seeing the tacho not working is driving me nuts, id sooner have a level one over a non working tacho

IS is VN cluster in a VP. The left blinker wire would need to be moved over 2 spots i think.

you could just fit a set of VR gauges to the cluster if you want a smooth tacho. just about all vn units are dodgy now - i have about 6 sets of L2 gauges for vn and probably will end up binning the lot of them.