It's been a.long winter. Waiting for parts on my 8N tractor. So, now it's my 51 ford F3. I got the pan cleaned out , horn button fixed, let tire rubbing solved. Now I would like to re do some of the wiring. I can handle the lights and blinkers, brake lights etc. How about that instrument panel. Does it come out from underneath? If so, can I leave the wires hooked up and still pull it down a bit so I can see the wires and replace like , ok this one goes from here to there? Thanks guys.

 

I am not sure on the 51s, do you have the manual? I think there should be a few layouts and the whole electrical system fits on one page, not like today's cars!

 

I am not really worried how many wires, I have a schematic. What I wanted to know is how much of a c#/^€ s $@%£r it is to pull the left side guage cluster out

 

I can't speak to the 51s, but the 48-50 gauge cluster has mounting tabs on the back side of the unit that attach to posts on the dash with nuts from the rear. The 51s look to be the same.

Removing the seat gets you more room to maneuver. I would suggest using a small mirror and a light to get your bearings before using a nut driver. Forehead head lamps are handy for this task as well. There likely will not be enough wire slack to pull the unit completely out. You should be able to rotate it a bit to access the back.

On a scale of crumby things to do, this is one of them. Still, it beats chasing electrical issues while on the road.

This might help:

 

Thank You. that's what I needed to know. What started all this was this. All my gauges were working just fine. Even Temp gage. then one day when I started it up the gas gauge wouldn't go above empty and the temp gauge started doing goofy stuff. So I rewired the gas gauge all the way from tank to gage, new wire from ignition switch to back of gauge cluster. Still no power to gas gauge. Like you said , its a dirty job. But I was looking things over last weekend and I noticed I had some other wiring things to repair/ replace correct. I thought better just get after it. One question is this. Will the inductive pickup on the amp gauge work as well with modern plastic insulated wire? I was going to use #10 size for that?

 

Yes the gauge will work fine if you use modern insulated wire.

 

Between the Shop Manual and the Operator's Manual there are good diagrams that include the wire gauges.

 

See if this helps. Yes it is not a fun job.


Use this picture for when you put it back in. It can get confusing when you are upside down and backwards under the dash.