EA electics problem

[Eu-GenixX]

hey guys.. i'm at my wits end with this one...

i had this problem before..but it seemed to go away... and now it's back again..

ok.. the issue i have... is the temp light comes on.. the temp guage goes to mex... and all the other guages are dead... except for the tacho...

and all this happens as soon as i start the car... so it's definately not hot...

i had first fixed the problem by jiggliing a couple of wires in the engine bay... but have recently had to replace the alternator.. and now the problem is back.. and i can't seem to get rid of it...

has anyone heard of this before?.. and is there an easy fix for it?.. or does it look like i may need to get some or all of my car re wired?

any help would me very very appreciated...

thanks
Trent

[The Goodz]

Check your earth leads first, make sure you've got a good connection to the engine block, and check that the earth lead going from the trans to the body is good too. Perhaps even add a third earth lead like I've done from the battery to the body really close to the battery.

Alex

[Eu-GenixX]

thanks.. i'll see what i can do today...

everyone has suggested an earth leak.. but haven't suggested any possible fixes for it... just bad timing with this thing.. was just about to install my extractors and stuff next weekend... should have mentioned it was a 5 speed.. but i doubt that would have anything to do with the problem..

[EL_futura]

also check your wires that plug into the actual instrument cluster. I had a similar problem in my EL, but because the tranny gets info from the cluster, my car would pretty much stop dead in its tracks - not fun! Turned out the be a connector was half in/half out.

[Eu-GenixX]

hrmm... well i've had the intrument cluster in and out.. and i think i can rule that one out... thanks for the feedback ... i will check the connections on the intrument cluster

the problem came back after disturbing the wires in the engine bay when changing the alternator..

[The Goodz]

When we say check the earth connection, that means check to see how good the connection is between the end of the cable and whatever it is bolted to. Ensure the surfaces are clean and they're done up tight. Ensure that the connections from the positive lead coming from the alternator is on securely and check the connection on the other end of that lead as well.

Alex

[Eu-GenixX]

does anyone have any other idea's for this.. i'm desperate now...

i just checked all the earths.. i checked the fuseable links near the battery.. i don't know what else to do... the plugs are in the cluster properly.. i do not know what could be causing this wierd problem... does anyone know where the cluster gets it's info from?.. wiring or anything.. i'm prolly gunna have to bite the bullet and get someone to re-wire the car.. which i really don't wanna do.. :(.. very expensive..

[fmc351]

Know anyone with another cluster you can swap to test it?

Are you sure the alt wiring is good, correct alt etc?

[Holbrookau]

Disconnect the wire from the temp sender on the motor. If the light goes out you have a crook sender, however if the light stays on then you have a short to earth somewhere between the sender and cluster (or the cluster itself given the other symptoms).
Disclaimer - I'm not an auto sparky, just thinking logically (I hope )

[Eu-GenixX]

hehe.. thanks.. i'll try both those things...

well actually i got a second cluster.. and it does the same thing... so it's not the cluster...

[89 S-PACK]

do have high tension spark???? if not try wiggling the wires in the block of 4 of em behind the inlet manifold... ive just had to replace this area in mine and the wires do break. cos mine was stalling and refusing to start particulary on bumpy roads

[Eu-GenixX]

thats the thing.. the car runs beautifully otherwise...

doesn't miss a beat... just the guages are all whack... such a frustrating problem...