Please Help!!

[MEK-Dangerfield]

These guy have new solid state units for $30.
http://www.gcartrim.com/Instrument%20Clusters.htm

Well, that definitely looks like what he needs. I just brought up the tach. and clock not working to see if maybe the wiring was good. Still, I find it hard to believe these regulators go bad. I'm sure they do... but for someone to have a few of them go bad??? 

  Mike

[hemi71]

If there is a short somewhere in the gage wiring, and I've seen the posts short to the chassis of the cluster, that will crap out the "regulator" fairly quickly. The "regulator" is what they used to call a vibrator, it has a set of contacts that open and close quickly to regulate the voltage down to appox. 5 volts. if you have a partial or complete short to ground, then the contacts will either burn up, or worse, short. If they short, they will put 12 volts direct to the 3 gages and the overcurrent will open the meter movements. I'd check the gage circuit really well if I had just lost 2 or more regulators. You may have a post that is intermittently shorting to the chassis of the cluster. You take the cluster out, the short goes away. Install the new regulator, put it all back together, looks good. Drive down the road, hit a bump, TADA, short is back and the gages stop working. By the time you get home, the short has crapped out the regulator,and the cycle starts again.

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[sleepychallenger]

ok all. The difference between the 2 and three prong regulator/limiter/vibrator is that the 2 prong has 2 male connections and is a push into the cluster type for the ground. the 3 prong has 2 male (one for incomming 12v and one for the condensor) and one female (5v side). the three prong is grounded via being bolted to the cluster. I checked the limiter and it isnt letting the voltage through to the 5v side. My clock IS working but the tach does not. looking at the wiring schematic the tach runs through the ballast resistor. As far as a short, wouldnt that blow out the 3 amp fuse? I did find that solid state one on the one web site for 30 but it has a warning about the calibration of the gauges. Also, from many people that I have spoken with this is a common problem and these limiters were not the best built thing in the world. If anyone else has any input please let me know. If any of my statements are incorrect please let me know aswell, I would like to know if there is anything different. also, quick note, all of these limiters that I tried, only two were known to be bad, the other two were checked with inop guages  and the one was original in the car and the other came out of a 71 cuda guage cluster that was in a car under restoration from a junk yard. Just thought that I would let you know as much info as I can.

[FY1 RT SE]

ok all. The difference between the 2 and three prong regulator/limiter/vibrator is that the 2 prong has 2 male connections and is a push into the cluster type for the ground. the 3 prong has 2 male (one for incomming 12v and one for the condensor) and one female (5v side). the three prong is grounded via being bolted to the cluster. I checked the limiter and it isnt letting the voltage through to the 5v side. My clock IS working but the tach does not. looking at the wiring schematic the tach runs through the ballast resistor. As far as a short, wouldnt that blow out the 3 amp fuse? I did find that solid state one on the one web site for 30 but it has a warning about the calibration of the gauges. Also, from many people that I have spoken with this is a common problem and these limiters were not the best built thing in the world. If anyone else has any input please let me know. If any of my statements are incorrect please let me know aswell, I would like to know if there is anything different. also, quick note, all of these limiters that I tried, only two were known to be bad, the other two were checked with inop guages  and the one was original in the car and the other came out of a 71 cuda guage cluster that was in a car under restoration from a junk yard. Just thought that I would let you know as much info as I can.

1. Clock and tach have nothing to do with the limiter.
2. The $30 "Modern" version is dangerous.
3. The $30 Modern version "calibration" is a rip-off.
4. The fuse will not usually blow as the limiter will usually just shutdown.
5. The limiters are all the same output, just the case bracket and output connections are different.

Just a few of the different limiters.

[sleepychallenger]

the fourth one down looks like mine. If there is a short it wont blow the fuse, just take out the limiter? I appreciate all of the time that all of you are taking to help me with this. Please keep the inputs coming.

I think that I am going to try the one from auto zone, just afraid that I am going to get the one with the wrong connectors.

[FY1 RT SE]

Have you disconnected the gauges one at a time?  What are you using to measure the voltage?  A meter won't give you a reading, you have to use a scope wih a high sampling rate.  Yes, the 2209216 is the E body limiter.

[sleepychallenger]

I was just using a meeter. shouldnt it have some flux in it when reading or does it move to quick. I have tried disconnecting the guages one at a time and nothing changed. the other weird thing is that I accedentally put the oil and temp guages in the wrong location and the car wouldnt start. when I put them where they were suppoesed to go it started right up. is that normal

[FY1 RT SE]

It moves way to fast for most meters to catch any readings.  Do you have any JY's around you?

[sleepychallenger]

what is a JY?

[FY1 RT SE]

Junk Yard

[sleepychallenger]

unfortunately no. there is not one for atleast 200mi for anything old.

[sleepychallenger]

got it, thanks.

[sleepychallenger]

ALCON, (All Concerned)
i found the part at napa
Many Many thanks to FY1 for the awsome info.

[MEK-Dangerfield]

Please keep us updated as to what you find. You have either been dealing with bad regulators all along, or something is blowing them.

  Mike