Hello I have recently bought a 1985 Ford F250. None of my gauges work on the Cluster except for the MPH. I took it apart and the circuit board seems to be fine but there is one spot where the copper seems too be dirty. my Question is could this be causing my gauges to not work and if so, how should i go about cleaning this/ fixing it. I will include pictures

 

You could google how to clean copper, I found several methods. I personally have never had a problem with the main plug connections. Except I have had problems with the copper coming loose from the clear plastic. That is why I hesitate to recommend a pencil eraser, incase it comes loose. If it does come loose, superglue works well to glue it back to the clear plastic.

On the lighting, 90% of the time the bulbs are good, all you have to do is un twist the black sockets, take them out and then take the bulb and plug it in and unplug it several times. Then when you twist the black socket back in, twist it back and forth a couple of times.

I would do some testing after you put it all back together. The fuel sending units have a nearly 100% failure rate after they get old. And the sending units for the temp and oil can have wiring problems or the sending units go bad also. There are some simple tests you can run when you get it all back together and they still don't work.

 

Well I dont know the "proper" way to clean them off, however I used ultra fine steel wool and had good results after.

 

I would pull the printed circuit board part off and lay it flat on something.
Get some 1000 or better 2000 sand paper and lightly sand all the connections.
Be careful at the plug area as said they like to pull off. If this happens you can try the glue DaveF said but LMC also sells the printed circuit board.
I cant remember if I cleaned the plug wire side or not now? I think you can get the sand paper on each contact to clean.

Once all the connections are nice and shinny on the printed circuit board you can try and do the same on the lights sockets.
Do where they contact the board and clean the bulbs the way DaveF said, in & out a few time.
Also don't forget to clean the nuts that hold the gauges in as they are the contacts for them.

I did that as part of the rebuild of my truck and everything worked as it should.
I year later I do have 1 upper left dash light that flickers and the right turn light sometime stops working so need to pull it a part for them 2 things.

Also note I replaced all the dash lights with LEDs.
For the gauge lights I went with green as it was a close match to factory, you remove the green covers if you still have them, and they match the other dash lights like the radio, HVAC, wiper / head light and clock.
For the warning lights across the top & went with white. now if you use your high beams a lot you may want to use a normal bulb as the LED is bright!
Just note if you go with LEDs some bulbs can only be installed 1 way to work. If testing they don't work turn them 180* and try again.
Dave ----

 

Thank you for everyones help and suggestion I really appreciate it. I did as Fuzzface2 said and took some 1500 grit sandpaper and sanded down the copper. Then as recommended by a guy at the local auto parts store I added a little dielectric grease to the copper area where the plug connector plugs into the back of the circuit board. Now my oil pressure is ALIVE and so is my battery, but my coolant temp and fuel gage still don't work. I believe the fuel is related to my fuel selector valve which I will be replacing. I also believe I know the problem with the coolant temp too, I don't believe it is related to the circuit board. But my RPM's still don't work and I am not sure what the problem is there. Again thank you so much for every ones help it is greatly appreciated!

 

On the fuel and temp gauges if you can ground the wires to the senders and with the key on see if they move.
If so the wiring is good and the senders bad.
I think I saw a post on the fuel side is that you?
Dave ----

 

Anyone know the difference between a G and an E?
Getting the right fn part for your truck. AAAARRRRGGGHHH I was so excited to finish the dashboard and now I have to wait

 

On what part are you talking of and a full part number might also be helpful?
Dave ----

 

It was the flexible circuit board. I was venting because I messed up. I found the right one. At a glance they look the same and the specs seem to match so when I followed a link to it I ordered too quickly. I have the right one on the way.

 

OK IIRC there are only 3 different ones
warning lights
gauges
gauges with tach.
I dont know if they make one for the 80's truck as it would be different than the 3 above
Dave ----