Printed Circuit

[theaddictedchef]

I've got a printed circuit from an '82 cluster and want to know if I can use it on my '73 K10?  I have looked and I don't see anything that would tell me that I can't use it.  If I use my wiring harness from my '73 and plug it into the printed circuit from the '82 - use my gauges from my '73, why wouldn't it work?  I think I might just have to break down and buy a new one, but I'm going to at least try to find out.

Thanks!

[KWKENUF]

No you can't use it.  The biggest thing that sticks out to me is your 73 is an AMP system,  and an 82 is volts.  Totally different systems.  Some can better explain it than me,  but you need to use the correct printed circuit for your year truck.

[theaddictedchef]

Good Morning Fellas,

I've spent the night thinking about this, and I came up with my solution.  Should any of you decide that you need to do this, I am posting pictures. 

First, I took the cluster out of my truck.  I found that the gauge housing was broken and I need to install a new (used) one.  I have spent the past week posting a bunch of questions and I thank all of you for your input/advice.  Here is what I did:

Took old cluster out, searched ebay and Craigslist for a used cluster housing. 
Found an '82 that a guy was parting out and went and picked up the gauge cluster (with gauges that I can't use) bezel, and steering covers. 
Cleaned everything gently and took the printed circuit from my '73 off and put replaced the '82 PC with my old one.  When doing this, be very careful with the pins that the PC (printed circuit) is attached to from the rear and the gauges clip to inside the housing.  If you take those out you can mess up the PC.
Replaced the pins in the correct order, and made sure that everything lined up.  An interesting note here - the gauge housing is exactcly the same from at least '73 to '82.  I looked at this carefully and lined all the screw holes up to make sure before buying it.  Also, if you have a gauge housing that has a clock, you can place any gauge there you like, you will just have to gently drill an access hole in the housing and obviously hardwire an aftermarket gauge.

A side note here - I really like this idea, but I will wait for a while before I tackle this http://73-87.com/7387garage/interior/gauges_recessed.htm

After doing all of this here are the pics so far.

Again, thank you for all your comments.

[theaddictedchef]

Thanks KWK.

Just put another post up with pics. 

[theaddictedchef]

First problem.....

I didn't notice this at first, but the '82 housing does NOT have the mounting moulding for the mechanical oil pressure gauge like the original.  I am in the process of putting epoxy on the '82 housing and mounting the oil pressure gauge.  Here are some pictures to show you what I am talking about.

I figure with a little fabrication this will work.  I think it's better than spending $149 bucks on a new housing. 

[bake315]

I think it's better than spending $149 bucks on a new housing. 

Where were you able to find new housings?  Been shopping for a while for one.  Trying not to go the route you're going - if I can help it!  Those old ones are really brittle.

[theaddictedchef]

Bake,

I got the new (used) one from a guy parting out an '82.  I took the housing and just swapped my printed circuit and gauges into the new housing.  It was exactly the same - minus the mechanical oil pressure gauge hole that I showed in the pics above and one of the backlights.  One of the backlights is at a vertical angle while the one on the original '73 was horizontal.  It took a little work, but I got it to work. 

I have extra gauges, printed circuit, and some other odds and ends - backlights, etc. that I can't use due to the ammeter/volt issue.  I talked to Kapt the other day and I am sending my yearly dues here in a few days so after I am a paying member we can discuss anything I have that you may need. 

Like I said, the stuff I took was out of an '82 so there were some compatibility issues, but only the electrical side.  The housing, lens, and bezel are the same size and fit perfectly.  The housing is still brittle, but with some careful screwing and unscrewing, there is no reason someone parting out a squarebody wouldn't be willing to sell you the housing.  I paid $80 for the whole deal and can get $100 for the speedo alone, thus making my $$ back in one transaction.  Just some thoughts for you if you are looking for the housing. 

I looked for a while for this stuff and looked online for the housing.  You can get them, but they are expensive.  Also, I like this idea http://73-87.com/7387garage/interior/gauges_recessed.htm  If you like this, I am sure they would give you some feedback.  I will do this at some point, but I'm not ready to dump $$ into gauges just yet. 

Hope this helps.

[bake315]

Oh, I gotcha.  Yeah, I actually already have a couple of older housings, but they're a little bit rough.  I was just curious as to where, or if you were able to find them brand new - pricy though they may be.

Thanks!

[Captkaos]

There are differences in the gauge mounting as you have found with the 73-77 setup, but the actual cluster opening overall is identical.  This is what Dakota Digital uses for their digital setups.

If you have the circuit and the willingness to mod one as you have done a great job at, you are set.

[theaddictedchef]

Thanks Kapt.....

I have spent a lot of time on this and I posted some pics in the "Interior" section.  I worry that I am posting way too much.  I always try to include pictures as I think this helps members see what I am looking at. 

The dash on my truck is a mess.  The wiring harness has been spliced into numerous times and this little cheesy alarm that was installed when right into the harness as well.   For a couple of weeks I had a horrible time with the ignition and finally just dc'd the alarm all together.  I need to take it out, but I don't know what else is attached and I don't want to run into problems.

Another issue - my cigarette lighter hasn't worked (which started this entire project) and I have tested it a number of times.  No power to the end of the wire.  Any chance  you have a schematic of the fuse box for a '73 so I can see where the lighter is running?  Another problem I found is that when the truck was painted, they just decided that painting over the fuse box was a great idea so I have no idea what the original labels are.  I looked at the tech pages but couldn't find what I was looking for.  Maybe a link?  Once the lighter wire goes into the harness I lose it and have no idea where it comes out at.  I can always hard wire it so it's hot all the time (maybe it is anyway).  Just not sure where to proceed from here.

Thanks for the input as always......

[bake74]

     It is on 2 pages, start with this page.

http://www.73-87chevytrucks.com/techinfo/wiring_diagrams/73-76_cab_inter.jpg

     Shows lighter, wire # 16 or 140 goes to the left onto this page.

http://www.73-87chevytrucks.com/techinfo/wiring_diagrams/73-76_instrument.jpg

      ( the easiest way is from the top left of the page, count down 9 lines, this is the lighter wire ).  On this page it goes to the top of the fuse box ( just left of the middle ), to the bottom of the fuse marked 140.  ( has same numbers on wire on top of fuse box, 16 or 140 ).  This is where you should start to see if you have power.

[theaddictedchef]

Thank you!  I am going to look at this as soon as I get home.

[Kefo]

I just did gauge restoration with new gauges, speedo cable and printed circuit, found a housing in great shape at a local junkyard, everything works just as it should no more noisy gauges and bouncing needles. Went by the guidelines shown from the article in the 73-87.com interior garage, one tip learned from that website was I painted the inside of the housing with chrome bumper paint HUGE improvement the lights in my 78 dash are now brighter and more vibrant than the wife's 2012 traverse! It really works!

[theaddictedchef]

Kefo - any pictures?  I would like to see that.  I am thinking of different options and seeing that might help!

Thanks

[Rickster]

I made the mistake of buying a housing cluster on eBay without studying the picture closely.
The speedo cable on my truck did not match the speedo in purchased cluster.  The cable tang on my cluster is mounted to housing and tang on one purchased is on speedo housing.  So just hoping the cable can hang on without tang.
My other mistake was not checking the cluster housings more closely.  Looking again later, noticed the 83 cluster looked like the '79.

Just my two cents worth.