1966 Charger help needed

[57 Fargo]

First of all I’m primarily a C body and A body guy, so be gentle!

I’m working on a ‘66 Charger for a friend, getting things working. None of the gauges work, no 5 volts out of the fuel gauge, I hooked up a later 5 volt regulator and got that going but still nothing. I did try grounding sending unit wires and nothing moves, finally I checked the resistance of the gauges from the 5v post to the sender post and they are all open. I’m assuming the original regulator stuck shut and cooked gauges with 12 volts. Am I missing anything?

Also someone has removed the power pack for the lighting, are they available or search for a used one?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Don Frelier]

Doesn't sound like you've missed anything.

I tried a reproduction power pack off eBay and it worked for about 1 minute.
Maybe I just got a bad one?

 

[57 Fargo]

Doesn't sound like you've missed anything.

I tried a reproduction power pack off eBay and it worked for about 1 minute.
Maybe I just got a bad one?

Next question, are the instrument clusters repairable? Or is it find one?

 

[Don Frelier]

Next question, are the instrument clusters repairable? Or is it find one?

There are a couple people who can repair them.
@Skatpak specializes in them

 

[bcOH67]

Not that I’m the right person to say anything, but just to warn a brother in case you don’t already… unless 66 and 67 are different, that power pack that drives the cluster lights puts out enough juice to give you a good jolt so be careful

 

[twecomm]

Based on your description, sounds like the gauges are toast. When that original mechanical 5 volt regulator goes and applies full battery volts to the gauges that kills them. Contact Todd, he's the guy for restoring first gen Charger gauge clusters. He does excellent work with a great warranty. Home - Todd's Restorations.
Once you get gauges restored, you should get the RT engineering solid state 5 V regulator. Think Todd can do that for you as well. MOPAR Products
You can find power packs, new and used on E bay.

 

[57 Fargo]

Yeah I’m well aware of the voltage, I wasn’t sure if it was something that can be repaired by a reasonably clever guy at home.

 

[RemCharger]

Yeah I’m well aware of the voltage, I wasn’t sure if it was something that can be repaired by a reasonably clever guy at home.

Yes people have repaired them for years. I personally haven't, but I believe it's usually a transistor..

 

[twecomm]

if you are a "reasonably clever guy at home" have a look at this which shows what's involved in fixing gauges..

 

[440 4 speed]

Yes people have repaired them for years. I personally haven't, but I believe it's usually a transistor..

You are correct. I don’t know the correct name, but it might be a capacitor. IIRC it is about the size of a dime. Many years ago it was under 1.00. I had a friend repair/replace it over 20 years ago and it still works fine. I imagine there could be other things go wrong.
Our nephew had a television repairman repair his in the 90’s. 6.00 I believe, still works.
Anyone that has a 2 year technical course in the electrical field ie tech school could easily repair it. Or someone that just has an interest or knack.

 

[57 Fargo]

The power pack is missing completely, I believe I have already tracked one down, the gauges I may pull apart, I can’t make them not work anymore than they currently do!

 

[Davefinan]

I heard many stories about how replacing the capacitor usually fixes the power pack , so I decided to give it a shot.
I went online to find one with correct rating and size. I found one and installed it ( you should be able to handle it) and it worked. Still working.

 

[RedBeard]

The power pack is missing completely, I believe I have already tracked one down, the gauges I may pull apart, I can’t make them not work anymore than they currently do!

Go to Todd: Home - Todd's Restorations He should have all the parts and info you need. Great to work with.

 

[A4GTX]

You are correct. I don’t know the correct name, but it might be a capacitor. IIRC it is about the size of a dime. Many years ago it was under 1.00. I had a friend repair/replace it over 20 years ago and it still works fine. I imagine there could be other things go wrong.
Our nephew had a television repairman repair his in the 90’s. 6.00 I believe, still works.
Anyone that has a 2 year technical course in the electrical field ie tech school could easily repair it. Or someone that just has an interest or knack.

You are correct. It is the electrolytic capacitor that goes bad. Replacement is easy. The unit puts out 240v AC.

 

[57 Fargo]

Next stupid question, when the power pack arrives, do I plug it in and hope for the best? Anything a guy should check before? Remember it was missing, I have no idea if any of the electroluminescent lighting worked before or not.

 

[twecomm]

If you are getting a used original factory type power pack, you could try. Be aware that the dimmer knob on the light switch controls the volts to the power pack. It should be full on, just before the detent position that turns on the interior lights. You might be lucky in that the EL items may be ok, but it quite likely that there is a shorted needle in one or more EL devices that will prevent anything EL from working. The factory type power packs were fairly robust and generally shut down and just won't make output if there is a direct short in any of the EL devices. If they don't light up right away, probably not good to leave it powered up for long. In a 66, EL items are the gauges, radio dial and pointer, A/C buttons if so equipped with A/C, shifter indicator and clock face and clock pointers if you have a clock. There is a fuse for "instruments" in the fuse block that you might want to check as it feed the volts to the power pack.
Good Luck with it...

 

[57 Fargo]

If you are getting a used original factory type power pack, you could try. Be aware that the dimmer knob on the light switch controls the volts to the power pack. It should be full on, just before the detent position that turns on the interior lights. You might be lucky in that the EL items may be ok, but it quite likely that there is a shorted needle in one or more EL devices that will prevent anything EL from working. The factory type power packs were fairly robust and generally shut down and just won't make output if there is a direct short in any of the EL devices. If they don't light up right away, probably not good to leave it powered up for long. In a 66, EL items are the gauges, radio dial and pointer, A/C buttons if so equipped with A/C, shifter indicator and clock face and clock pointers if you have a clock. There is a fuse for "instruments" in the fuse block that you might want to check as it feed the volts to the power pack.
Good Luck with it...

Thanks, I appreciate the help.

 

[MCScott]

Another recommendation for Todd's Restorations - incredibly knowledgeable and detailed. Did great work for me. And he doesn't charge an arm and a leg either.

 

[57 Fargo]

Another recommendation for Todd's Restorations - incredibly knowledgeable and detailed. Did great work for me. And he doesn't charge an arm and a leg either.

I’m going to take a stab at fixing them myself and will reach out to him if necessary

 

[RedBeard]

I’m going to take a stab at fixing them myself and will reach out to him if necessary

Good luck. Be careful not to get zapped.