i replaced my negative battery ground cables, and im wondering if it matters that the cable that goes battery to chassis is much thinner (larger gauge) than the original that i replaced. could that cause any problems? my temp and fuel gauges arent working right now so that may be causing the problem, because i heard that that is where they are grounded.

 

If the ground is secure shouldn't be an issue. That wire would get hotter than a larger diameter wire, thats the only difference. Smaller guage wire can't conduct as much current as larger wire SAFELY. The wire will still attempt to conduct what ever power the devices are drawing, but in doing soo if its not adiquitely sized it can't dissipate the heat as well (smaller surface area) and will heat up and eventually could melt the insulation, or heat / cool the wire soo many times it eventually becomes brital and cracks/ brakes (extreame cases).

Volt meter is your best friend. If you insisit on doing electrical work on your car get a meter or give it a rest please. Simply yanking on wires isn't a good test method to check continuity (how well a wire conducts) lol

With a volt meter though you could remove your cluster and check to see if voltage is at your gauges. Needless to say though I believe theres no power there at the moment. Seeing how you havn't pulled your guages out or touched them at all (to my knowledge) the ground wire is likely the issue as you believe it is. I'll go through the wiring diagrams and see where the grounds for your guages are located. If it is infact at the tranny ground than that "SHOULD" be your issue, but I will confirm

 

use the specified gauge wire that the car was manufactured for if you want no issues down the road.

 

ok, so i pulled the gauges and i have just the piece where it is not lighting up. it smells like its burning at the connector and at the harness and around the gauges them self. how could i check to see if power is getting there? i assume i check the harness and see if there is voltage, but how much voltage should get going there?

this is what i am talking about:

 

Apparently the ground for those particlar guages it at the radiator support. Check your ground there too. Once you do that get back to me.

To check for voltage you must test the male connector from the harness that plugs into your guage connector. Should be 12 volts I would assume. Anybody else know for certain the pin layout too? Bump

 

there are 10 pins i believe in the connector. which 2 would i connect to see if there are 12 volts between them?

the other ground is in nicely. no yanks haha..

i also used the old cable (~6-8gauge) to see if it would make them come on, and it didnt. the new ground is 10 gauge wire.

also notice the silver marks on the right of the screen. does this mean that they are burned or shorted out? plus the smell of the circuit itself...

 

can't see these silver marks sorry. Umm check fuse # 13 in the fuse box. Its a red 10 amp. See if its blown. If it is swap with another 10 amp and see if it fires up. If it blows again report back. I think its the fuse box by your left leg in in the cockpit.

 

yea, that was the first thing i checked, and it was fine.