Left side of cluster not working

[97_281gt]

Left

Don't mind the tap just used it to see if it would fix it lol

Right

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[mcglsr2]

Awesome, thanks. I'll use this to compare to mine and see if I can't dig up something on the interwebs to help me understand what's going on here.

 

[Thomas_W]

Wiring diagram:

http://diagrams.hissind.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Instrument-cluster-Wiring-Diagram.gif

the red/white wire you grounded is the signal wire to the temp sensor, why your fuel gauge began working at that point is beyond me.

What i would do, is test the resistance between the red/white wire and ground (with it Not grounded as you have it now). This Should give you a resistance value. Then start the car and allow it to heat up (or turn it off and allow it to cool down) the resistance value Should change as the coolant temp changes. If it does, you can eliminate the wiring frok the cluster to the temp sensor, temp sensoe and the wiring from the temp sensor to ground as the problem.

Then i would test the orange/yellow wire from the pin to ground for continuity.

The temp gauge i believe works from a variable resistor (temp sensor) with a known resistance (a value built into the gauge itself) as the coolant temp changes, the gauge changes due to the temp sensor value changing.


*update-

i believe i know why your fuel gauge now works and the temp gauge doesnt.

If you added the ground wire between the red/white wire at the cluster (with the blue splice) then it uncovered your problem!

if you have a break in the ground After the point where the orange/yellow and black/white wires come together, then neither gauge will work. By placing the ground on the red/yellow, the temp gauge wont work properly bc the ground for it is on the wrong side of the temp sensor BUT the fuel gauge will now be given a ground path to work through.

So based on that, i would test for continuity on the orange/yellow wire to chassis ground.

 

[97_281gt]

If I trace the wire on the back of the cluster the 3rd spot where the plug goes is the ground for the cluster witch is the red and white wire did some one repin the plug and got them mixed up or something?

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[97_281gt]

Ha ha I figured it out apparently my cluster was from a 98 and to put a 98 cluster in a 96 or 97 you have to swap the second and third wire on the left connector to make it work on the 98 because apparently they swapped it on the back of the cluster in 98 switched the two wires and BAM just waiting for the car to warm up to see if the temp gauge is readingnow

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[97_281gt]

Thanks again everybody wish one have us would have ran into the site I found earlier

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[Thomas_W]

You must mean the accutach website. I saw that site but didnt think it was relevent. Glad to hear you potentially found the problem!

 

[97_281gt]

You must mean the accutach website. I saw that site but didnt think it was relevent. Glad to hear you potentially found the problem!

Yes that site and yea it fixed it all together

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[mcglsr2]

Okay, so you are good now? So the issue was that you had a 98 cluster, and the wiring harness is a 97 - thus it didn't work because of wiring changes between the two years? Does that sum it up?

 

[97_281gt]

Okay, so you are good now? So the issue was that you had a 98 cluster, and the wiring harness is a 97 - thus it didn't work because of wiring changes between the two years? Does that sum it up?

Pretty much just swap two wires and a 98 cluster will work in a 96 97

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[97_281gt]

Good to go now

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[mcglsr2]

Booyah. Alright, well that's good to know. File that tidbit away for the future. So I guess, sort of in a weird way, the issue was the cluster *and* it was your ground. The cluster did work, however it didn't work on your car, and your car wasn't going to work with the cluster as it was. Who knows why Ford made the 98's so different.

Whatever. Glad that it's solved then :thumbsup:

 

[97_281gt]

Yeah I don't know what was in here originally it could have been a 98 cluster to who knows

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[evilcw311]

Glad you got it figured out!!!


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