2 replies to this topic

[grande_guerre]

The battery gauge in my bronco seems to be broken. It always reads a normal charge, smack dab in the middle. Even when my battery was dead. Is the gauge itself dead?

[sweepersrgr8]

Disassemble your gauge pod with it still connected(you don't even have to take it out of the dash). Take the trim off, then the clear protector, then the black trim, and the section with the volt meter should pull out(may have to lift another section a little). You will see where the two prongs of the volt meter plugs into the case. Turn the key on, and probe these with you test meter, if you have 12 volts, your gauge is bad. If you don't...then you have a wiring issue or the Trace Board on the case is bad, or you could just have a bad bulb(some of the bulbs on the case route ground to other areas of the Trace Board. If it's the Trace Board This is a easy fix if your handy with a soldering iron. A bulb is even easier. If it's the gauge it self, it's BROKE.

Ford wanted $167 for mine(Volt & Temp on same panel, both broke). So I called AUTOMETER, and ordered the 1" electrical gauges, drilled my existing panel out, and wired them to the case, installed their sending unit for the temp, No wires to run, no tubes to break. It looks great too. I am planning on doing the whole cluster in the future, but will have to make a custom panel first, since AUTOMETER doesn't make a 1" fuel gauge for our sending units, only 2".


Hope this helps.

[Seabronc]

What year truck do you have. If it is a gague system like I think you indicated, they work on a shunt system. The shunt is a little wiring magic done between the alternator and the battery terminal of the starter. If your battery is being charged current runs thru the shunt in a direction to cause the meter to deflect in the charge direction. The amount of deflection depends on the amount of current being run thru the shunt. If your battery is having to supply current vs your alternator, current runs in the opposite direction thru the shunt deflecting your meter in the negative direction. If no charge is required by the battery and the alternator is keeping up with the electrical demand the meter will read in the middle.

Yads, yada, yada. that all means that the failure could be in the shunt system.as well as some of the other fore mentioned items.

If your truck is in the 80 - 86 range the meter doesn't plug in to the couster, it is bolted on from the back with two spring nuts that make contact with a mylar printed circuit strip. The contact could be bad at that point.

Good luck,