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Paul Van Benschoten

520H volt meter removal

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Paul Van Benschoten

The volt meter on my 1995 520h does nothing but occupy space. The charging system works and there is voltage present at the terminals. 

 

I have removed the clip that holds it in place and loosened the plastic dash cover but the speed control and hydraulic lift levers are in the way to completely remove the dash. I can't bend the dash far enough to get the old volt meter out of the way.

 

What else do I have to remove to gain access to the gauges ? I hope I do not have to remove those two levers!

 

I will need another meter and a few bulbs for the gauges, most are missing.

 

Next up, find out my my gas gauge always show full when the key is on.

 

 

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WVHillbilly520H

You can get the plastic up enough to clear the gauge it just has to be really warm, I did mine with the sun shining on it at around 72° about 2 years ago I think I had the warning light cluster loose too when I did this, Jeff.

IMAG2103.jpg

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chev0545

did you take the screws out of the dash?it takes alot of bending but it will come out.

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Paul Van Benschoten
42 minutes ago, chev0545 said:

did you take the screws out of the dash?it takes alot of bending but it will come out.

I did remove the 4 screws, two of which are shown in WVHillbilly's picture.

 

I will get out the heat gun and warm that area. 

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lynnmor

Whoa! that heat gun might be too much, use a hair dryer, it worked for me.

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Paul Van Benschoten

Lynnmor,  I used the lowest setting on the heat gun and kept it moving over the plastic. That worked and I was able to get the old volt meter out.

 

I bought a new meter with a large bezel that will sit on top of the plastic dash instead of under it like the old one. However, when I tested the new meter before installing it, it did not work either. Arg, back to Advance Auto this morning.

 

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WVHillbilly520H
3 hours ago, Paul Van Benschoten said:

 

I bought a new meter with a large bezel that will sit on top of the plastic dash instead of under it like the old one. However, when I tested the new meter before installing it, it did not work either. Arg, back to Advance Auto this morning.

 

I bought the "Bosch" unit from Advance then used a "hole saw" to slightly enlarge the hole in the plastic so it would fit under like the stock unit, so far (2years) it's held up quite well, Jeff.

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Sarge

How well do those Bosch meters seem to be built ? Cheap, or decent quality ? I'd prefer the SW gauges , but their price tag for sending units and such gets pretty high.

 

Sarge

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WVHillbilly520H

@Sarge, like almost every thing else these days ,made in China, this one is better than some other brands it's within 1/2-1 volt of my multi-meter but the needle "jumps" a lot, but not as good as of some of the cheaper "Summit Racing" branded stuff, I just wired it directly to the original 520 wiring so no sending unit, now in my old street car I use "AutoGage" liquid filled (Autometer) and Summit gauges, Jeff.

Screenshot_20180217-110405.png

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Sarge

That's why I like the SW - they won't bounce their needles and their air core movements seem to withstand vibration far better than others. I'm keeping an eye out on some NOS older ones, when they were made back in the day there was no substitute. I'd hate to find out if the newer ones are the same old quality - or like so many others, just living on their old reputation and selling junk for higher profits, almost can't trust anything anymore.

Channelock is a great example - I will never buy another one of their tools , the quality left years ago despite still being made in the US.

 

Sarge

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squonk

Funny to me anyway story about SW gauges. Yes they can get pricey. Anyway back about 20 yrs. ago there was a co. down the street from my house that built seaweed harvesters. The only co. in the USA that did this. They bought several items from my employer at the time, (Napa) The bought all their SW gauges from us. 

 

They supplied us with all the part #'s they wanted. A bean counter there didn't like how much the SW gauge cost so they gave us a new #'s to get them. They were VDO gauges. All was well until they went to connect the fuel gauge. It read empty when there was 500 gal of diesel fuel in the tank. The machine was built around the tank and it was filled to check for leaks before it was enclosed. The VDO senders worked opposite the SW so the machine had to be taken apart before the sender could be changed. 

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Paul Van Benschoten
2 hours ago, WVHillbilly520H said:

but the needle "jumps" a lot,

 

Mine jumps a lot also. I thought it was something I did wrong.

 

 

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cleat

The volt gauge on my 520HC (original SW) also was bouncing.

 

I could make it do it with the machine off but key on by wiggling the harness to the ignition switch.

 

I replaced all the contacts in the ignition switch connector with new Packard ones.

 

All bouncing is gone and machine seems to run even better as well.

 

Cleat

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