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holy shit...I had this crap typed out and the stupid thing says forum not selected and deleted all my crap!

UGH!

short version of what I typed.

8-12 circuits. extras would be fuel pump, fans (car has them now), and maybe accessory for charging phones. use voltadrop to run horns and gauges on 6v. or only run horns on voltadrop, assuming 6amp is enough as that is what the voltadrop does max. and then run under dash add on 12v gauge pod for volt/water/oil. fuel gauge doesn't seem to work right as is now. do all of that for under 250 = perfect


I hate wiring...brain goes blank and doesn't want to work.

Kev wish we were local I'd help with the trans and you the wiring.

Horns will require a direct battery connection. Your 6 amp volta drop is not going to be enough.

(o{}o)

is that based on amps not being enough? cause that link that Howard gave me...they sell a 25amp 12-6v drop.

Horns can run off of 12v relayed from batter as original. Just need to adjust the horns to get the right tone. The same cluster voltage regulator that is in all the 51-56 cars and most fords unto the mid 70s should be used for the guages. The ceramic reducers are crap, the amount of voltage changes based on load. The original 51-56 is a chopper style reducer that converts basically anything between 6 and 15 volts to 5v volts which is what the gurges require.

Just read this thread! Congrats Henry! Very cool that you got the car. Wiring is a pain, but do one circuit at a time, and you'll be fine.

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I know what you are talking about as I replaced that voltage reducer or my 70 Dart Swinger with a digital one that will cut off if it goes bad instead of frying my gauges. it was cheap enough and has an LED light that will blink certain ways to tell you if it goes bad or is working right.

course that vol-ta-drop thing is ceramic, but it is on there already and seems to be working fine. course this is all if I keep the original gauges working instead of for just looks.

I think I figured out what I want. the website Howard sent me to is a supplier for kwik wire. they have a standard 14 circuit unit for 230 and with some looking around may beable to snag that same one cheaper.

thanks for that link Howard, you truly are a forum Ambassador!

Tobs, thanks. I just gotta go slow and I know you guys have my back. I wish I was as helpful to others as some are on here!

Kev, I did not know i could tune them for voltage. i knew they could be tuned, but not for running on 12v. i guess that is the only option as a 6v reducer wouldn't work? will it hurt the horns over time being on 12v?

kwikwire.com/wire-harnesses/budget-harnesses/14-circuit-budget-wire-harness/

One thing I am concerned about if you are thinking of using the later style voltage regulator on the earlier gauge is fluctuation. The later gauges from 51 on used with the chopper style regulator are bimetal. The heater heats, bends a strip of metal connected to the needle and needle moves an amount depending on how much the strip bends. Any fluctuation as the chopper works in turning the voltage on and off to deliver the average 5v is dampened by the slow heater and bimetal response and not seen.

On the 37 I believe the temp and oil gauges are direct mechanical but I think the fuel gauge is magnetic with balanced coils. Normally it is connected directly to the battery and 6v. By using the chopper on and off cycle of 12v if the needle has any kind of system to return to a certain position when off I expect the needle will be doing a dance as the chopper does its thing. If it does return to a home position I really don't know if it could stand the movement or the intermittent periods of 12v for very long

I am not sure if the ceramic regulators mentioned are the same as the Runtz type regulator used on conversions but I think I would investigate more options. Maybe your digital thing has a solid state voltage regulator chip and constant voltage out.

Here is the VR I used in my dart.rt-eng.com/rte/index.php/RTE_limiter

It does cycle 12v on and off the get the gauges working faster at first.

He fuel gauge works now, but it appears it reads 1/4 tank no matter what. It's probably going through the voltadrop unit.

I would think twice about anything that pulses 12v. The one you posted appears to duplicate the mechanical regulator function using solid state components. Here is the Runtz constant voltage out and you can also download a PDF of the instructions which gives a bit more info on the unit.ebay.com/itm/Runtz-12-Volt-to-6-Volt-Red ... f8bcbd8d:g:4P8AAOSwZjJU8pe-&vxp=mtr The unit that is in the car is probably working but anyones guess as to what or how it is doing the job. If it is working though ----?

As to the 1/4 tank all the time reading I'd almost say sender rather than power but with the mishmosh of wires anything is possible. A bad resistance or leaking float are frequent causes of a constant reading.

I can't say for 100 % certainty the 37 is the same setup as the 35 120 but suspect it may be. If it is here is a good writeup on the fuel gauge operation and some troubleshooting info.

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