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  #1  
Old 10-27-2010, 07:37 AM
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Instrument Cluster Grounds

Does anyone have a picture of the ground that connects the three gauge pods together? I removed my cluster to put in new bulbs and to paint the needles and wanted to check the ground, but did not see anything that connects all three pieces together. My fuel gauge is not working properly. When I took the cluster apart I see that the speedometer or odometer was repaired by a speedometer shop. Would any of the gauges work if the ground strip was not re-installed?

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1987 300D 146K Original #14 Head
One eye on the road, the other on the temp. gauge

Gone But Not Forgotten
1983 380 SEL Long gone
1983 300SD Wish I hadn't traded it in on a 90' Corvette
1989 300SE My all time favorite
1995 E420 Went like a bullet
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  #2  
Old 10-27-2010, 11:35 AM
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They ground through the boards and backing of the gauges, where they overlap and are screwed to the cluster. If you look closely where they overlap you'll see metal on metal connections.
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'04 Jetta TDI Wagon
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  #3  
Old 10-27-2010, 11:41 AM
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Thanks. Before I buy a gauge/cluster I was going to see if adding or restoring a ground to the fuel gauge section would fix it.
Do you know if the whole cluster from 94 will fit my 87?
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1987 300D 146K Original #14 Head
One eye on the road, the other on the temp. gauge

Gone But Not Forgotten
1983 380 SEL Long gone
1983 300SD Wish I hadn't traded it in on a 90' Corvette
1989 300SE My all time favorite
1995 E420 Went like a bullet
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  #4  
Old 10-27-2010, 11:46 AM
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Location: Toronto
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i recently found the cluster grounds on an '85 300TD were bad. there is a trace on the PC board that starts at the round plug pin and follows over to a soldered tab on the board, from the tab the ground goes to the speedo pod in the middle. the trace was bad from the pin, and the solders on the metal tab were cracked. this bad ground situation caused all sorts of strange behaviour in the gauge cluster lighting. i ended up running a wire between the ground pin on the round plug and the soldered tab, and re-soldering the tab, and this fixed the issue. something to look out for.
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  #5  
Old 10-27-2010, 12:27 PM
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Thanks, I was looking at the backside of the cluster. The ground is on the printed circuit on the underside. I was going to jump a wire from the round connector ground wire to one or more of the mounting screws that hold it all together.
Now that I better understand how the ground works on the three gauge pieces, I don't think a better ground is going to fix my fuel gauge since the water temp and oil pressure gauges work fine.
__________________
1987 300D 146K Original #14 Head
One eye on the road, the other on the temp. gauge

Gone But Not Forgotten
1983 380 SEL Long gone
1983 300SD Wish I hadn't traded it in on a 90' Corvette
1989 300SE My all time favorite
1995 E420 Went like a bullet
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  #6  
Old 10-27-2010, 02:12 PM
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The cluster from a '94 is an upgrade. The speedometer from the '94 E320 is exact, clock fine, not sure about the left gauges and don't like the unleaded-fuel thing, ... but the upgrade part is the cluster surround that has the revised light-pipes for much better lighting.
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  #7  
Old 10-27-2010, 05:18 PM
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Thanks for the update. Someone one here is selling the whole cluster at a fair price, so I will buy it. I was thinking that I would transplant just the mechanism for the fuel gauge and speedo into mine. I would not like looking at the UPF lettering either. I'll decide which way to go when I get the new one.
Thanks again.

__________________
1987 300D 146K Original #14 Head
One eye on the road, the other on the temp. gauge

Gone But Not Forgotten
1983 380 SEL Long gone
1983 300SD Wish I hadn't traded it in on a 90' Corvette
1989 300SE My all time favorite
1995 E420 Went like a bullet
Reply With Quote
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