66 fury gauge cluster woes(voltage limiter)

[Labradorian]

Hello

i actually have a 66 monaco with fury dash and gauges(Canadian car)

The setup for this gauge cluster is that 12V is fed to the fuel guage where the voltage limiter is located(inside gauge) and both the fuel gauge and temp gauge operate from the 5V from the voltage limiter.

1. Are the voltage limiters repairable or replaceable in the fuel gauge?
2. How reliable are these voltage limiters, because this is the second fuel gauge I have replaced recently. see story below.
3. What would cause the voltage limiter to go bad? bad fuel sender?
4. What are everyone else's experiences with this gauges.

this is winded.....
When i got the car from my father last year I decided to fix the gauges. the fuel gauge was not working and the temp was intermittent. I bench tested the gauge cluster and the voltage limiter was bad,. I replaced the fuel gauge and fixed a bad connection which made the temp gauge work properly.

so all that above took a little while to troubleshoot, The fuel sender in the tank is not working properly(measure 25ohms at harness in dash). Im replacing the fuel sender this spring. The fuel sender has been buggered for a while.

So all of this was a month ago i had the gauges working and simply shut the car off and never touched anything. At the time I started the car several times and temp guage rose to normal but because of the fuel sender, the fuel guage went to full.

I start up the car yesterday and temp and fuel gauges not working. I took cluster out and bench tested them and see the voltage limiter is bad?, instead of 5V on the "A" terminal Im getting the full 12V.

I'm ready to throw in the towel on these gauges.

I happen to have 2 spare gauge clusters with gauges and bench tested both units and the fuel gauge voltage limiters are bad. One of the gauges was the first bad one i took out of the car. so now i have no spare. I hate to buy another fuel gauge if something else if causing the voltage limiter to go. Either it's a coincidence that 2 gauges went bad on me or some electrical issue. i ohmed out the temp sensor(250ohm, cold) and fuel sender(25 OHM) circuits. seem ok to me.

I do have an aftermarket gauge cluster with water temp, oil pressure. so I do have a backup temp gauge my father put in cus he had the issues with stock temp gauge.

I just might put in an aftermarket fuel gauge and just leave these alone. please see questions in red above. any advice is greatly appreciated.

cheers

Glen

 

[Labradorian]

Found some info on this forum and others.............im going to either build an external voltage regulator or buy one. places like RTE engineering sell solid state external replacement also.

Update: Sorry for the first post, it is rather long but I guess I was venting and frustrated with these gauges lol

after doing some research i ended up ordering a VRC601 voltage regulator.

I found a 5V computer power supply to bench test the gauges and the temp gauge was fried, out of the three gauge clusters i have, i managed to find a good temp and fuel gauge. the voltage limiter in all 3 fuel gauges were bad but only 1 good gauge.

the fuel sender circuit in the car measured about 40ohms. the temp sender signal is measuring (Cold) about 400ohms but I benched tested the sender with a heat gun and it works.
I know the fuel sender is not working properly, either stuck or what not. i don't plan on hooking up the new regulator untill i replace the fuel sender.

cheers

 

[grimley]

Found some info on this forum and others.............im going to either build an external voltage regulator or buy one. places like RTE engineering sell solid state external replacement also.

Update: Sorry for the first post, it is rather long but I guess I was venting and frustrated with these gauges lol

after doing some research i ended up ordering a VRC601 voltage regulator.

I found a 5V computer power supply to bench test the gauges and the temp gauge was fried, out of the three gauge clusters i have, i managed to find a good temp and fuel gauge. the voltage limiter in all 3 fuel gauges were bad but only 1 good gauge.

the fuel sender circuit in the car measured about 40ohms. the temp sender signal is measuring (Cold) about 400ohms but I benched tested the sender with a heat gun and it works.
I know the fuel sender is not working properly, either stuck or what not. i don't plan on hooking up the new regulator untill i replace the fuel sender.

cheers

i had the same problem, with the cluster receiving 12v and burnt out my gauges.

i had some help on here and was able to have an idea of the circuit. i ordered a 5v electric regulator and chased down new fuel and temp gauges.

i now get 5v at my gauges with the temp gauge working. i just received a new fuel gauge to try, i believe it works as i only had little fuel in the tank. went to go for a drive so i could park it on an incline to watch it move only to find that my brakes (or handbrake) are stuck on (all fun and games!!)

sounds like you have worked out how to replace/incorporate the reg into your circuit. my reg was in my fuel gauge so just beware that some had a mechaincal reg before the circuit board.

if you need any questions answered just ask mate.

 

[66/440]

BE VERY CAREFUL! The Voltage limiters are known issues and are fires waiting to happen. There is lots of info on how to change the system to eliminate the dash voltage regulators. All power , ignition included goes through this and is why the wiring harness needs resistor wires built into it to limit voltage to various components. I will look and see if I have any of the tutorials on how to make the changes. In the mean time I have used the DEMONIVR regulator in two of my cars and it works great.

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=247241

http://www.bigblockdart.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-6520.html

http://www.allpar.com/history/mopar/electrical2.html

http://www.moparts.org/Tech/Archive/elec/11.html

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=75065

This should get you on the right track.

 

[Labradorian]

BE VERY CAREFUL! The Voltage limiters are known issues and are fires waiting to happen. There is lots of info on how to change the system to eliminate the dash voltage regulators. All power , ignition included goes through this and is why the wiring harness needs resistor wires built into it to limit voltage to various components. I will look and see if I have any of the tutorials on how to make the changes. In the mean time I have used the DEMONIVR regulator in two of my cars and it works great.

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=247241

http://www.bigblockdart.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-6520.html

http://www.allpar.com/history/mopar/electrical2.html

http://www.moparts.org/Tech/Archive/elec/11.html

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=75065

This should get you on the right track.

thanks for the links. never can have to much info on this subject. Like I mentioned I ordered the VRC601 regulator. Once I get the fuel sender replaced and working I will install the regulator.

Thanks

Glen

 

[66/440]

thanks for the links. never can have to much info on this subject. Like I mentioned I ordered the VRC601 regulator. Once I get the fuel sender replaced and working I will install the regulator.

Thanks

Glen

Replacing the factory instrument panel regulator (VRC601) may get things working but the regulator it's self is what is at issue.
The factory engineering on this is faulty given the availability of replacements using todays technology. The VRC601 is really 30's or 40's technology and is highly susceptible to failure and shorting, which can easily lead overloaded wiring that melts its cover and the covers of those around it. It is an easy and CHEAP repair and could save a wiring harness or a car.

 

[mr. fix it]

The biggest issue is the Canadian cars use the internal limiter in the fuel gauge.

Not like the ones that the links are posted above here show how to fix.

I have been researching this fix as well for my Polara and have not dove in yet since I have yet to find a good solution for the Canadian Fury style gauges...

 

[Labradorian]

Replacing the factory instrument panel regulator (VRC601) may get things working but the regulator it's self is what is at issue.
The factory engineering on this is faulty given the availability of replacements using todays technology. The VRC601 is really 30's or 40's technology and is highly susceptible to failure and shorting, which can easily lead overloaded wiring that melts its cover and the covers of those around it. It is an easy and CHEAP repair and could save a wiring harness or a car.

Like Mr. Fix it said. We don't have an external voltage regulator in the Fury dashes. It is built into the fuel gauge. my understanding of the new VRC601 that I ordered is that it has Solid State technology that was not available in the 30's and 40's. My understanding is that the case of this VRC601 looks the same as the stock units but with solid state electronics internally. Correct me if Im wrong. I was going to build one myself but surely standard motor products can do it better than I can

The biggest issue is the Canadian cars use the internal limiter in the fuel gauge.

Not like the ones that the links are posted above here show how to fix.

I have been researching this fix as well for my Polara and have not dove in yet since I have yet to find a good solution for the Canadian Fury style gauges...

Hey mr Fix it. we are in the same boat. I will try this VRC601 out and keep ya posted. Im simply going to mount this somewhere behind the dash or on the back of the gauge cluster and by pass the 12V connection(I Terminal) on the fuel gauge and connect the 5V from the regulator to the (A Terminal) on the fuel gauge. this bypasses the voltage limiter of the fuel gauge. 5V will also be send to the temp gauge via the circuit board on back of gauge cluster.

With a 5V computer power supply I have bench tested the gauges and bypassed the internal voltage limiter in the fuel gauge and the gauges worked fine. 12V is normally connected to the (I) terminal on the fuel gauge and the the internal limiter will give you 5V on the (A Terminal). So all ya got to do is connect the 5V to the A terminal and that by passes the limiter.
cheers


Cheers

 

[Labradorian]

i had the same problem, with the cluster receiving 12v and burnt out my gauges.

i had some help on here and was able to have an idea of the circuit. i ordered a 5v electric regulator and chased down new fuel and temp gauges.

i now get 5v at my gauges with the temp gauge working. i just received a new fuel gauge to try, i believe it works as i only had little fuel in the tank. went to go for a drive so i could park it on an incline to watch it move only to find that my brakes (or handbrake) are stuck on (all fun and games!!)

sounds like you have worked out how to replace/incorporate the reg into your circuit. my reg was in my fuel gauge so just beware that some had a mechaincal reg before the circuit board.

if you need any questions answered just ask mate.

Hi Grimley

Just curious. What regulator/limiter did you use?

cheers

 

[66/440]

I need to say "I have had no experience with the gauges with the built in regulators"However I have had quite a bit of experience with the dashes that use the bi metal VRC601, most of it bad. I understand you are trying to solve your gauge issues but I really hate to see you use the regulator you are proposing. If you take time to read the Allpar link I believe item 7. Addresses your possible problem.What ever you decide I wish you the best.

 

[Labradorian]

I need to say "I have had no experience with the gauges with the built in regulators"However I have had quite a bit of experience with the dashes that use the bi metal VRC601, most of it bad. I understand you are trying to solve your gauge issues but I really hate to see you use the regulator you are proposing. If you take time to read the Allpar link I believe item 7. Addresses your possible problem.What ever you decide I wish you the best.

thanks 66/440 for the wishes and advice. I read the reference #7 on the allpar site. I completely understand what you are saying, your experience is with the bi metalic style regulator. The new VRC601 doesn't have the bi metalic configuration. Like you said I'm trying to avoid this old technology also and understand that this new remanufactured VRC601 is fully electronic and not electro-mechanical like the old styles. by passing the voltage regulator in the fury dash is pretty easy actually.

Thanks again, i appreciate all input and advice on these old cars.

Cheers

 

[Labradorian]

I was Wrong VRC601 is electro-mechanical

I need to say "I have had no experience with the gauges with the built in regulators"However I have had quite a bit of experience with the dashes that use the bi metal VRC601, most of it bad. I understand you are trying to solve your gauge issues but I really hate to see you use the regulator you are proposing. If you take time to read the Allpar link I believe item 7. Addresses your possible problem.What ever you decide I wish you the best.

Hello 66/440

ops:I must apologize for thinking this unit was solid state. I was sure i read it somewhere... I still have not got around to installing it and it was bugging me what was on the inside of i so I took it apart. and yes the VRC601 is electro-mechanical.

Thanks for your advice, I should of taken it, but i just couldn't believe that they still would make this electro mechanical and not solid state.

I'm not going to use it, money wasted, lesson learned

Cheers

 

[mr. fix it]

Resurrecting a very old thread, did you solve the problem and what was the solution?

 

[Big_John]

Resurrecting a very old thread, did you solve the problem and what was the solution?

Wow, the voltage limiters are co-conspirators in the Lindberg baby kidnaping!

 

[mr. fix it]

Wow, the voltage limiters are co-conspirators in the Lindberg baby kidnaping!