Electrical/ Gauge problem

[TXFJ40]

Replacing the stock cluster with Auto meter gauges, using a Painless wiring harness. Using a diagram I found here on mud to determine what wire goes to what on the stock round plug for the stock gauges, I cut the wires needed and installed them in the new plug.

Now.... everything plugged in and the truck won't start

Any ideas?

 

[TXFJ40]

BTW.. The truck has a chevy 5.3l Vortec. I can hear the fuel pump come on, etc when I turn on the computer, so I think it is dash wiring related. Especially since that is the only thing that has changed since it started fine just a few days ago.

 

[mmw68]

Did you disconnect the battery before you did all this? And if you did not... Did you blow any fuses when you clipped the wires? What town are you in?

 

[Pin_Head]

The important wire in the gauge cluster is the amp meter wires. If they aren't connected, there is no power to the chassis. The starter motor won't run.

 

[TXFJ40]

Going to check fuses in the morning. Amp meter wires are connected to the voltmeter gauge, but not sure they are right.... will connect them back to the original cluster and see what happens.

Any suggestions to what I need todo with the Amp meter wires, if they don't go to the volt meter???

mmw68. I am in Orange, so a good 5 or 6 hours away from you

 

[Pin_Head]

The three wires that hooked to the amp meter will need to all be connected together if you don't have an amp meter. All of the power to the truck (besides the starter motor) goes through these wires.

 

[honk]

The three wires that hooked to the amp meter will need to all be connected together if you don't have an amp meter. All of the power to the truck (besides the starter motor) goes through these wires.

PO, you say that you're now using a voltmeter in place of the OEM ammeter? That's what I take your "Amp meter wires are connected to the voltmeter gauge" to mean.

Pinhead's right in that the ammeter wires will need to be connected together. A voltmeter connected to them in place of the ammeter, in series, won't work. The juice doesn't pass through a voltmeter as it does an ammeter so you want the voltmeter to be wired in parallel to the previous wiring.

The simplest way would be to wire the oem wires together, connect one side of your voltmeter where the ammeter wires join and connect the other side of your voltmeter to some point of connection along any one of those wires. Any wire carrying full battery/charging voltage will do.

 

[TXFJ40]

THANKS Guys!!! It is running again! I tied the amp wires together and it fired right up! Now... to figure out why the rest of the gauges don't have power. Breaking out the multi meter again to chase that down....