Pulled my gauge cluster... now what?

[Bmallett]

So I finally got around to pulling my gauge cluster in my 50 Champion. My speedometer and odometer are both fouled. My lights don't work. I figured I would be better off to pull the cluster, go through the gears inside the speedo and odometer, clean it all up, shoot a fresh coat of paint on it, and rewire it all while I'm at it. I have a schematic so I can remake all the correct colors, gauges, and fuses. However, is there anything that provides required lengths for the wires? It would be nice to have a rough idea of lengths needed so I don't end up with a lot of extra waste wire. :)

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[Jeffry Cassel]

It is far better to have a little extra wire to give yourself a little room to work. The makers tried to save every inch they could to save$. I hope you labelled everything; color coding has long been but a memory on these old cars.

[Bullet]

Also be careful when putting the cluster back in with the glass. When I did mine years ago I broke the glass at a diagonal when I tightened everything back in. No fun like doing thing twice!

Mark

[Bmallett]

Thanks guys. I pulled the schematic from the manual and am redrawing it in CAD all color coded properly so I can just order the proper colors/patterns and rebuild the harness myself. This way I can just add more wire to have more room. I looked, and I think it would be better to run it tied to the top of the underside of the dash and drop what's needed when needed. It will definitely make it easier to trace and find things. It looks like there are a lot of similar wire colors in different gauges. Could I not just use the larger gauge wire and not worry about the amperage to save on bulk purchases? I don't see any need in having 10, 12, 14, and 16 gauge. Just use 10 across the boards and be happy.

[Bmallett]

Does anyone have any information on lengths needed, etc? I really didn't want to "guesstimate".

[bison]

well in regards to the wire sizes , yes you could go with the larger wire , BUT i don't think it would be a good idea, first it will cost more and it will take up more room ( you did mention room ) , but mainly the connectors are sized for #16-#14 wire and #12-#10 wire and the larger sizes take up more room. So with that i would just follow the schematic and go with the sizes stated ( always a good idea ) . As for wire lengths what i do is when i am working on the electrical and am pulling either a single wire or a harness , i use string and put it up against the wire or harness i pulled out to give me the measurements i need . it is also helpful ( if you are doing a harness ) to leave the string in the route that you removed the wire from , that way you can route the wire back in the same spot and you don't get it hung up somewhere where it is not suppose to be ;)

[Bmallett]

Good advice. Thanks.