There is actually a Pontiac dealership bulletin on those amp gauge plug-in tabs. When they went to "color key" the dash bezel at the assembly plant(s) the gauge cluster (including the bezel) came from AC Delco all put together. The assembly plants all had paint rooms and they had a special made 3D paper-mache cardboard "mask" that they used when they would paint the dash bezels. They used that 3D mask to cover over the front of the gauges but the rear, there never was any mask or covering for that. For that reason it is very common on many 1960s Pontiacs to see paint over-spray on the back side of the gauge housing(s).
The bulletin on the '63 Tempest addresses a possible complaint from a new car owner that his or her headlights show up as dim or that they flicker at night while driving at low speeds.
The cure is to remove the dash cluster and flip that upside down on top of 2 or 3 clean shop towels set out on top of your workbench. You are looking for paint over-spray on the back of the gauges, specifically the 2 tabs at the backside of the amp gauge. Those 2 tabs would often be 1/2 way covered over with paint and the connection was not secure. Pontiac instructs that you take lacquer thinner and a shop rag and/or a tiny brass brush, or fine grade sandpaper and clean those 2 brass tabs. Then re-attach the connector.
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Peter Serio
Owner, Precision Pontiac
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