Does anybody know if it is possible to take the wires from the circular plug in the back of the cluster and just straight wire the gauges? I was thinking it might just blow them out...

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Washington, Jefferson, Twain, Luther, King, Peewee Herman.

Somehow, I'm not following the reasoning here. That plug lets you disconnect the instrument cluster so you can remove it if necessary. How would eliminating it be any benefit? Knowing what car "we're" working on would help to offer suggestions. Thee are lots of WTF?? items in classic MOPARS, but the instrument cluster disconnect plug is not one of them.

BC

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'64 Dart GT convertible, 64 Dart 170 2-door post sedan in faded blue and rust (the Az Dart) & a sixty THREE Dart 170 2-door post sedan in faded blue and rust. (future project)
Early Dart Disorder (EDD) is real, and I've got it!

I think it would blow them out. they run on 5 volts, not 12. that's why there is an instrument voltage regulator.

What are you talking about? What do you mean by "straight wire"? What do you mean by "blow them out"? What do you think will be blown out? The gauges or the wires or both? The instrument cluster voltage regulator cannot be bypassed or the gauges will fry.

A worthwhile modification might be to snip the wires a few inches back from the circular plug on the back of the instrument cluster and install a modern and easier to disconnect quick disconnect to make removing the instrument cluster easier.

What problem are you trying to solve?

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

It's a '66 Valiant.The little circuit board/paper on the back of the cluster is corroded and falling apart. I was thinking if I took the wires from the plug and connected them to the bolts on the backs I the gauges I could get around that issue. The only issue I could see was that the conducting paper had a necessary resistance to protect the gauges from frying.

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Washington, Jefferson, Twain, Luther, King, Peewee Herman.

How much are you willing to spend to get it repaired
http://www.autoinstruments.com/mopar.htm
http://www.moparmusclemagazine.com/tech ... storation/
http://www.instrumentsrus.com/mopar.htm
http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/cc ... opar_dash/
http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/knowl ... ter-Repair

Dave

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86 Miser 170,000+
2 1/4" exhaust
Holley 1920 #55
HEI MSD BLaster 2
17.8 mpg

It sounds like that circuit board is about done!

You mentioned "conductive paper", but I am guessing you mean the copper colored lines from component to component. Those are generally known as "circuit traces.
They're not that hard to repair. Just solder bridges over any breaks you find. Use a small soldering iron, & small gauge ROSIN CORE solder.
I think the best solution would be a new circuit board, they are available from a few sources I've found.
Cutting the wires on that round plug and splicing in a different type of connector is a good option, too. The pins that plug goes on are easily broken loose from the board traces.
I hope you haven't already discovered this the way I did

The "turbo mopar" link (the last one) in xjarhead's post above has excellent repair info.

There are other answers you might get if you told us what year, make and model car "we" are working on.

BC

_________________
'64 Dart GT convertible, 64 Dart 170 2-door post sedan in faded blue and rust (the Az Dart) & a sixty THREE Dart 170 2-door post sedan in faded blue and rust. (future project)
Early Dart Disorder (EDD) is real, and I've got it!

OOPS! Oh, right next to the "conducting paper" part. Gettin' late & I'm tired. G'night all!

BC

_________________
'64 Dart GT convertible, 64 Dart 170 2-door post sedan in faded blue and rust (the Az Dart) & a sixty THREE Dart 170 2-door post sedan in faded blue and rust. (future project)
Early Dart Disorder (EDD) is real, and I've got it!