[PDC]

So, I am swapping out the gauges in my 73 Trans Am - somewhere along the way, a previous owner had a 6k tach / 100 mph speedo cluster installed. I found a very clean, very nice replacement cluster and a fuel/volt cluster to go with it.

Today I swapped the fuel/volt cluster and will try to tackle the speedo and tach tomorrow. It was such a challenge. - I swapped the new cluster in and the fuel gauge worked perfectly - but the volt meter was dead. I went back and forth about 3 times: all at once the volt meter was working, but the fuel gauge would sweep backwards to empty (I’ve got a full tank).

FWIW - the cluster I replaced worked perfectly - it just was very faded and old looking. The new(er) one had nice dark black faces and bright orange and yellow marked areas. I ended up disassembling the new(er) cluster, cleaned everything with contact cleaner, reassembled, and both gauges now work correctly (and look a lot better).

This was my first time monkeying around with the small, rectangular ceramic resistors on the back of the gauges. They are grooved so that they only go in one way. These look really corroded and I cleaned them up as best I could.

Am I correct that there is a black ‘contact’ across the face of the resistor that connects the two holes where the threaded lugs from the gauge slide through? Or am I just seeing dirt and corrosion? After disassembling and cleaning everything, it all works - but my resistors look crappy. Do these things typically wear out over time? I am wondering if I should grab a few new ones just to be on the safe side? Or if now that both gauges work, I outta just leave well enough alone.