Feeling a little braver today, Insturment panel removal.

[yellow98cobra]

I have read everything I could find about this.

Can i just remove the speedometer and remove the speed nuts to pull it out the panel enough to get a look at the CVR and the wiring?
If I have to remove the panel completly from the car do all of the switches and gauges have to come off?
How do I remove the light switch with out the special tool?

Thanks, Eric

[LuckyJay]

Don't remove the speedo, just the Temp/Fuel gauge. The CVR should be at about the 1 o'clock position on the back side of the cluster.

[yellow98cobra]

??? will I be able to see well enough inside there. or are you saying that I can reach the speenuts to remove the whole insturment panel from there?

[LuckyJay]

I have big hands, I can reach inside the opening for the Temp/Fuel gauge. But, you don't really have to because the CVR just sets on a small peg to ground it. Be sure that if you disconnect any wires that you first label everything. Also, it's very wise to disconnect the battery while you're working in there. Don't take out the whole cluster, just the gauge combo which will have some instrument lamps that just friction fit into the holes on the back of the gauges.

[YellowRose]

Filling a little braver today, Insturment panel removal.

Eric, read my post in the other thread you posted regarding your Temperature gauge reading. You may NOT have a CVR problem, IF you are getting a good reading on that Temp gauge. If, when you turn the key on, the Temp gauge needle goes up a bit, that should tell you that you have voltage to that gauge. If, when you start the engine and let it run for a bit, the needle goes up further to the right side of the letter T, that is good. If you have voltage to that gauge, you probably have voltage to your Fuel gauge also. Read that post and check things out further, before you try to pull the instrument panel or the gauges out...

[jopizz]

The easiest way to check your CVR is to take the wire off the temp sender and put a test light on it. Turn the key on. If the light pulses off and on then your CVR is most likely good. If the light is solid or you get no light then it could be defective. I wouldn't go through the trouble of removing it until you test it first.

John

[YellowRose]

Filling a little braver today, Insturment panel removal.

Hi John,

Thanks for that tech tip! I did not know that you could check to see if the CVR unit was working correctly by doing that test! You learn something new every day on this Forum! Do you mind if I add that to the Technical Resource Library? What an easy way to check the CVR unit without having to take the gauge out to get either to the dash post it is grounded to, or to the CVR unit mounted on the back of the instrument panel!

[jopizz]

Ray,

Normally I use a voltmeter but for a novice it's a much easier method and it's always proven accurate for me whenever a voltmeter wasn't handy. If you think it's worth adding go right ahead.

John

[YellowRose]

Filling a little braver today, Insturment panel removal.

Thanks, John. I will add that later on tonight. I hope Eric has not torn into his instrument panel or taken out his gauge yet. It is a good idea to wait a bit, it looks like, before you start a project until you get more input from the membership. John just gave us a great tip that I did not know about, or think about, regarding how to check your CVR unit without getting into it!

[Dakota Boy]

yellow98cobra,

You are in the exact same position as I was three summers ago.

This site, as well as a copy of the Ford Shop Manual (gold-mine of information) for your car, will be all the help you need.

Your 'Bird looks very nice by the way

[yellow98cobra]

John, I think iam one rung below novice. With the test light I clip the alagator clip to the wire and touch the other end to the sending unit?

The easiest way to check your CVR is to take the wire off the temp sender and put a test light on it. Turn the key on. If the light pulses off and on then your CVR is most likely good. If the light is solid or you get no light then it could be defective. I wouldn't go through the trouble of removing it until you test it first.

John

[jopizz]

No, you ground the alligator clip (the negative terminal on the battery is best if it will reach) and put the point of the test light on the sender wire.

John

[simplyconnected]

The TEMP and FUEL gauges are nearly identical in the way they work. They each have a movement inside that is spring loaded. Current acts against this spring to make the needle move.

With no power (key is off) the TEMP gauge should 'rest' at or below 'T', and the FUEL gauge at 'E'. If they don't, the movement itself is meeting mechanical resistance and should be cleaned and lubed (like the clock).

The sending unit's job (on each) is to send current through the gauge for the appropriate reading. The TEMP SENDER, when hot, should short to ground sending the most current through the gauge. You can test this by temporarilly grounding the sender's wire to ground; the dash gauge should steadily climb to, "H". With the wire completely removed from the SENDING UNIT, the gauge should slowly return to, "C".

When Squarebirds left Wixom, MI, all the gauges worked properly so there is hope. After fifty years things change but they can be brought back to proper working condition.

There are only three components in dash gauges; the dash Constant Voltage Regulator (or power supply), the dash gauge, and the sending unit.

If you know what readings to expect, each can be tested for proper function while they are in place using simple inexpensive tools, like the 12-volt test light and a jumper wire. A volt meter is helpful but not absolutely necessary. (Harbor Freight usually offers digital volt meters for under five bucks.)

The volt meter's OHM scale may be used to test the SENDING UNIT resistance with the wire disconnected, by putting one lead on ground and the other on the UNIT's exposed terminal. Watch the meter as the engine warms up. Normal readings should go from "~" (infinity, or over 100-OHMs) to around five when the engine is hot.

A low-OHM SENDING UNIT reading, when the engine is cold, indicates a bad or shorted SENDING UNIT. The Shop Manual should have proper reading numbers to expect.

IMPORTANT*** If your CVR has been replaced with a solid state model, your meter should see constant SIX volts, not pulsating 12 volts. Also, if your engine is poorly grounded, the temp gauge will give a false reading. I harp on bad grounds A LOT because they are equally important as power wires. Consider this: If your starter current cannot follow a copper wire back to the battery, it will go through transmission and U-joint bearings because this now is the easiest path.

Please ask questions because sometimes I wrongly assume some information is known. - Dave

[jopizz]

Here are pictures of my ground wire in the original location.

[yellow98cobra]

Thanks John. I dont see anything like that on my fire wall or fender. I checked for a wire coming from the heads There is no wire contected to it and the firewall for that matter no where on the engine I can see any ground wire going to the firewall. The batterys negative wire is connected to a bracket off of the water pump. the the positive wire runs to the starter solonoid on the fender the wire from the starter runs down under the exhaust and then up along the fender to the other side of the solionoid. there is a small wire attached with the batterys negative wire that goes no where.



I dont know where it is grounded at. Would having more than one ground wire be a bad thing?

here are a few pictures of what it looks like under my hood. http://s943.photobucket.com/albums/ad275/yellow98cobra/