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1992 VP Cooling Problems

Discussion in 'VN - VP Holden Commodore (1988 - 1993)' started by Darcy Warhurst, May 11, 2020.

  1. MikeC

    MikeC Active Member

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    It won't have a speedo cable. The speed sensor is a round black plug thing at the back of the transmission with three wires coming out of it, make sure its white plug is plugged in to the wiring harness. The plug connectors are 3 sets of plugs at the back of the dash cluster- to remove the cluster you need to follow the instructions on this forum. You have to be methodical and careful of the old plastic.
    I have a level 3 cluster and i find I don't have to remove the steering wheel if I turn the wheel so it's pointing down from its normal position and the bevel on the hub is at the top. The cluster can then be slid over it and out to the left.
    Break, clean with contact cleaner and reconnect all the cluster plugs. Make sure all the plugs are re fitted tightly.

    Don't worry about the questions- we all had to start somewhere with our first cars.
     
  2. Darcy Warhurst

    Darcy Warhurst New Member

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    Thanks, i already know about the old pastic, I went to take the radio out and to take it out you have to unscrew the climate control knobs, the plastic broke the moment I turned the screw
     
  3. MikeC

    MikeC Active Member

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    If you pull the cluster out you may as well touch up the soldered joints in the voltage regulator board with a fine pointed soldering iron- see the link above, and carefully lube the gauge spindles with silicon spray- don't overdo it and keep it away from the trip meter if you have one.
     
  4. gtrboyy

    gtrboyy Well-Known Member

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    Old diy trick for temp/oil/fuel gauges is to earth the wire out then see if gauge goes to highest setting then back to lowest when unearthed..if it tests out ok then get new sender unit.

    Dry solder fix works for awhile,expect issue to come back after a year or two...while your there replace odometer cog if plan on registering it.
     
  5. Darcy Warhurst

    Darcy Warhurst New Member

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    Ok, thanks, i dont wanna break that or the odometer cause they still both work.
     
  6. Darcy Warhurst

    Darcy Warhurst New Member

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    I might send some photos of the car so you can see what we are working with (Warning she looks very sad on the outside but runs ok)
    Also could the speed sensor be fine if the odometer and trip meter are still working or is it run of a wheel hub ?
     
  7. MikeC

    MikeC Active Member

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    If the odometer and trip meter are working the speed sensor must be working. On mine the speed sender sends the same signal to the speedo and trip computer.
    My speedo gets the following signals from wires to the cluster;
    speed-violet/white wire
    power-pink/black wire from fuse 10
    earth-black wire
    If everything looks good have a look at the plugs and the PCB on the back of the cluster for small cracks across the tracks, especially where it's bent or been rubbing.
     
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  8. Darcy Warhurst

    Darcy Warhurst New Member

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    Thanks a lot! i can't do anything until the weekend really but thanks very much for ya help, the commodores a bit weird TBH, theres no key hole in the passnger door jam for the anti theft and when i went looking for the ALDL once i couldn't find even after i removed the kick panel, i'll just look harder. Neither does the lock unlock feature, the doors just lock for a second and then unlock, but know it doesn;t work at all.
     
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  9. Darcy Warhurst

    Darcy Warhurst New Member

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    What could cause the lock function to lock and unlock withing a second, and how can i remove it or turn it off cause it is very annoying having an unlocked car in the backyard.
     
  10. MikeC

    MikeC Active Member

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    Door locking wiring may take a bit of sorting out like the cluster. In the meantime can you deadlock the driver's door by turning the key until it is flat- this should mechanically lock the drivers door and electrically lock the other 3.
     
  11. Darcy Warhurst

    Darcy Warhurst New Member

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    When I do that, it locks the drivers door, but the rest lock and unlock. I was speaking to my uncle today and said i should get a new gauge cluster, is it possible to put one in that has a tacho etc, or does that require different wiring? In the meantime i'm gonna try to resolder the gauge cluster.
     
  12. MikeC

    MikeC Active Member

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    It is, the best cluster is called the level 3. What's your present cluster got? You need to to look into the how to's on this forum to see what's involved. Be careful , level 3 clusters are getting expensive as you need to find one with all of the LCD's along the bottom & the trip computer working. These are expensive to fix unless you know what you are doing- a bloke on ebay used to charge around $ 400 to fix them.

    If you just want a tacho maybe settle for a less expensive , lower spec'd cluster- it should just plug in.
     
  13. Darcy Warhurst

    Darcy Warhurst New Member

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    Its just the stock executive cluster (temp, fuel, speed), i have about 250 bucks to fix as many problems as i can, i will just try to get this cluster working. Also here is a photo of it.
    [​IMG]
     
  14. MikeC

    MikeC Active Member

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    The body looks good- that's what costs real money to fix. You want to check out the nearby wreckers for parts- to get an idea of where best to spend your $250 on parts. And a good wrecker can give you free advice- try and find one with gray hair.
     
  15. Darcy Warhurst

    Darcy Warhurst New Member

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    I know a good one, but he treats us young guys like ****. The only body related parts that are missing is the funny plastic thing in the centre of the front grille, the rear bumper, muffler, the rear right tail light (Dad reversed it into an orange tree :/ ) and the parts of the front headlights.
     
  16. Darcy Warhurst

    Darcy Warhurst New Member

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    Update, I took the dash out and did the regulator fix, that didnt work, im going to try and get a new cluster.
     

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