Paul

What a day.

Before I get started, let me say up front that I'm an idiot. I already know that.

Ok, here we go.

Pulled by gauge cluster last night and carefully labeled everything to exactly where it went and such. Took my time and got it out. Took it inside and cleaned up the cluster. Noticed that the Ammeter was fried. AH HA! I have a spare. While I have it out, I'll swap the dead gauge for my NOS. No problem. It is then that I notice that on the back of the cluster the fuel, oil and temp gauge all have a thick strip under both contacts. The Ammeter has a old ratty piece of cardboard that goes to pieces when I take off the nuts. No problem. Those strips are just to help hold the gauges in and give more aread for the nuts to bite into. Mistake Number 1

Get the cluster cleaned up, new lense, new anti-rattle kit. It is really looking good. Put in the new Ammeter and decide that I don't need the cardboard piece as the nuts will have enough area on the back of the cluster to bite into. Mistake Number 2

Go out this morning, turn on the radio and get ready to install the cluster. Cover up the steering column to protect from scratches. Carefully attach all of the leads back. No problem. New Intrument Panel Voltage Regulator. All contacts nice and shiney. The sun is shining and I'm in a stellar mood.

I figure that I'll reattach the battery to see if the gauges read correctly. Mistake Number 3 I put the negative back on and I immediately smell burning wiring. I run to the driver's seat to see smoke POURING out of the dash, just like someone had set fire to a stack of newspapers. I panic. Mistake Number 4 I look and try to see what the heck is happening. I run back and pull the negative battery cable and then back to the driver's seat and try to put out any fire I see. I suddenly realize that I don't have a fire extinguisher handy. Mistake Number 5 A BIG MISTAKE THAT I WILL RECTIFY TOMORROW.

The smoke subsides and I survey the damage. Burned ground wire back from the Instrument Panel Voltage Regulator all the way to the Starter solenoid. I can't tell the damage under the dash. Looks like it got at least one of the oil pressure leads. I'm hoping that I only fried the gauge harness and the engine harness, not the complete under-dash harness or my original rally pac.

I'm mystified. Once the smoke clears and I calm down, I recheck everything. All is correct.

While I'm taking a shower to get the burned wiring smell out of me for the party my son is to go to, it hits me. It had to be the ammeter grounding out on the back of the metal cluster. The piece of cardboard wasn't there as a spacer, it is there as an insulator. Big AH-HA moment 1 By forgetting/neglecting to put an insulator behind that one gauge, I probably burned out four gauges, and, at least, two wiring harnesses.

So, today's lessons are:

• Always have a fire entinguisher handy in your garage
• Make sure your electrical connections are properly gounded/insulated
• Don't let an English Professor do your wiring

Just thinking about it makes me want to puke all over again.

--Paul
(Who hasn't had the guts to go back and look at his poor GT.)

Paul

Update:

Got back from the birthday party Adam was invited to. I had a good time as I was able to play with him in one of those bouncy-castles that are filled with air. All three of us had fun. Excellent cake--bluebell icecream. Adam laughed harder than I have seen in awhile in the bouncy castle. It was what I needed.

After dinner, I summon enough courage to go out and survey the damage. What I can see is that I fried the HECK out of my gauge panel ground wire. It is naked wire almost all of the way back to where the ground attaches to the metal dash. The engine wiring harness has split where the wire was wrapped, but the wire at the end by the starter solenoid isn't burned, so it may not have gotten that hot.

My rally pac wiring seems intact, too. I was worried about that.

I don't see any damage to any wires other than those who were in close proximity to the, I'm sure, red hot ground wire. Fortunately, the oil pressure wire, Instrument panel voltage regulator and attaching wires seem to have taken the brunt of the current.

Q: I see that VA Mustang sells a firewall to gauge wiring harness. Is that what I burned up? I can't seem to figure out the differences between the FW to gauge harness and the whole harness. Anyone know?

I've learned my lesson. No more electricity for me. I'll get people who know what they are doing to do this kind of work from now on.

Monday morning, I'll get a rollback to carry the GT to the mechanic. I'll let you know what I find out. In the meantime, if anyone knows about the FW to gauge harness, I'd love to hear.

Immediately after church, I get a fire extinguisher for the wall.

Do you have one?

mr-mstng

Thanks for the story. I'm sorry to hear about your mishap. Maybe one of the regular guys from the classic forum here can help you out a little more than I.

BTW, yes, I have 2 extinguishers on either side of the garage, just in case one doesn't work.

Paul

Thanks, Rob. I realized that I was very lucky. It wouldn't have taken much for the whole thing to go up in flames and I'd be standing there able to do nothing.

I just realized that I misred the VA Mustang catalog. The Firewall to gauge cluster is for a 67+, not my 66. Looks like I drop the big cash on a new harness. Well, guess new wires are always a good thing.

future9er24

wow that stinks. and i really did type 'stinks'

electrical stuff scares me too. alkmost as much as Englsih Class

hiznherponies

Hey Paul, Glad to hear the GT is ok, 'cept for a few wires. Kinda reminds me of what I did last year when I was changing my tranny. After getting it all back in and everything together, I was filling it with the engine running (C-4 auto) and realized that I had forgotten to move the cheap oil-pressure gauge line back to its safe location behind the master cylinder. Of course, I only realized this when it caught fire. Needless to say, it was very nerve wracking. I was extremely lucky that I didn't lose anything but the gauge. Could have lost the whole house, if I hadn't got it put out!! Anyways, good luck with fixing your GT!!

jblynch1

Well buddy, we're all allowed one mistake in each area of endeavor. You now know all about guage clusters, eh? :bang: .... and thanks to you, so do I!

Thanks for pointing me to this great forum!

Paul

Welcome aboard, John! You can read all about my goof-ups here!

Talked to my mechanic this AM. The GT goes in Friday.

Cross your fingers.

--P

Jay

So for the replacement are you going to use a Painless kit? I'd recommend replacing the whole harness if a fire took place. I learned this the hard way, you never can chase out all the shorts and melts.

pakrat

Total bummer sorry man, that stinks, but glad it was not the worst case for you. Don't be afraid of electricity though, it really is not that hard or dangerous to wrk around. I still think anything dealing with gas maintanence is always more of a fear than electrical where fire is concerned, for me anyway. Just always remeber that Ford did not leave a single penny on the table when they built these cars. If they had not really needed or had use for something even as simple as a thin layer of cardboard, then it would not have been used to begin with. My motto is everything that was removed gets put back no matter what it was or how insignificant it looks.

Paul

Pak--Words of wisdom. That's what I get for thinking! I've learned my lesson, I hope.

pakrat

Well, that is what it's all about. Making mistakes is part of life, it's not learning from that is the real mistake. I should technically be a genious for all the learning occasions I've had with my car but I still constantly find new ways of messing up each time I do something.

I am anxiously awaiting for friday to find out the results and hoping for the best for ya. Good luck.