PetesPonies Posted October 20, 2017 Author Share Posted October 20, 2017 Those gauge needles look great. I've previously used Testors Model Master, but fine control and coverage with a little brush is always a challenge. Have you used the Painters brand markers before? If so do the treatment hold up well, and is application as easy as it looks? Is that the Painters "Neon Brights" package orange or pink? The paint marker works best. It is easy to use and even spreads across the delicate needle easily. The neon orange is a great color, looks factory. As for how well it holds up . . . who sits their collector cars in the sun 365 days a year? Now here we're talking about trucks . and not so pampered, so I'll be finding out just as anyone else is :) Yes that full printed circuit would be nice. But I made the needed changes, so lets see if it works. I could have run just wires and used the posts to connect on two of them, but since I was soldering anyway, I went and soldered all three. If not, I'd be glad to buy one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted October 20, 2017 Share Posted October 20, 2017 The paint marker works best. It is easy to use and even spreads across the delicate needle easily. The neon orange is a great color, looks factory. As for how well it holds up . . . who sits their collector cars in the sun 365 days a year? Now here we're talking about trucks . and not so pampered, so I'll be finding out just as anyone else is :) Yes that full printed circuit would be nice. But I made the needed changes, so lets see if it works. I could have run just wires and used the posts to connect on two of them, but since I was soldering anyway, I went and soldered all three. If not, I'd be glad to buy one. That should do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford F834 Posted October 20, 2017 Share Posted October 20, 2017 The paint marker works best. It is easy to use and even spreads across the delicate needle easily. The neon orange is a great color, looks factory. As for how well it holds up . . . who sits their collector cars in the sun 365 days a year? Now here we're talking about trucks . and not so pampered, so I'll be finding out just as anyone else is :) Yes that full printed circuit would be nice. But I made the needed changes, so lets see if it works. I could have run just wires and used the posts to connect on two of them, but since I was soldering anyway, I went and soldered all three. If not, I'd be glad to buy one. Green is the 1980 year specific printed circuit film, 81-86 is a reddish color. Are all your indicator lights across the top working as they should? And was it you who was looking for the non-headliner seat belt retractor covers? I found the ones from my parts truck and they are a bit rough... but if they are any better than what you have I will gladly send them your way for the price of shipping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetesPonies Posted October 21, 2017 Author Share Posted October 21, 2017 Green is the 1980 year specific printed circuit film, 81-86 is a reddish color. Are all your indicator lights across the top working as they should? And was it you who was looking for the non-headliner seat belt retractor covers? I found the ones from my parts truck and they are a bit rough... but if they are any better than what you have I will gladly send them your way for the price of shipping. The PO ( who wasn't the most mechanical guy ) got into the dash cluster. He changed the lights across the top, added new lenses for each etc. Not sure what and why he did stuff there. ( you can see soldered wires up there in the pic above ) I'll take a pic of what was done to it tomorrow before I install it. See if you can make any rhyme or reason for what he did :) yes i was asking about the seat belt covers. I'll have to look closely at mine. Mine might be about the same condition. i want to add a headliner, so . . I do have the chrome headliners trim from an older truck I could use and not mess with what I have as far as plastic trim . . or try and upgrade to the plastic pieces. Is the A pillar piece the same for both? Mine was rounded edges at the top that doesn't seem likt it would go with the piece over the door.Thanks for the offer and I will let you know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford F834 Posted October 21, 2017 Share Posted October 21, 2017 The PO ( who wasn't the most mechanical guy ) got into the dash cluster. He changed the lights across the top, added new lenses for each etc. Not sure what and why he did stuff there. ( you can see soldered wires up there in the pic above ) I'll take a pic of what was done to it tomorrow before I install it. See if you can make any rhyme or reason for what he did :) yes i was asking about the seat belt covers. I'll have to look closely at mine. Mine might be about the same condition. i want to add a headliner, so . . I do have the chrome headliners trim from an older truck I could use and not mess with what I have as far as plastic trim . . or try and upgrade to the plastic pieces. Is the A pillar piece the same for both? Mine was rounded edges at the top that doesn't seem likt it would go with the piece over the door.Thanks for the offer and I will let you know. The indicator light mayhem is likely from using the green circuit film. It does not jive with the 1981 and up wire harness or the '81+ Instrument bezel lens order. Since he did all the other odd things, I will assume he did not re-pin the plug in which is the less invasive way to deal with it. If you use a red circuit film it should correct the lights *unless* he switched the lens order around by gluing in different lenses. On 81+ the lens order from left to right is: (Blank)/upshift/emissions Left turn arrow Seat belts High beam Brake Right turn arrow 4x4 Edit: yes, the headliner A pillar covers are different. Instead of the rounded end they have a square end that mates with the trim piece that goes above the door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetesPonies Posted October 21, 2017 Author Share Posted October 21, 2017 The indicator light mayhem is likely from using the green circuit film. It does not jive with the 1981 and up wire harness or the '81+ Instrument bezel lens order. Since he did all the other odd things, I will assume he did not re-pin the plug in which is the less invasive way to deal with it. If you use a red circuit film it should correct the lights *unless* he switched the lens order around by gluing in different lenses. On 81+ the lens order from left to right is: (Blank)/upshift/emissions Left turn arrow Seat belts High beam Brake Right turn arrow 4x4 Edit: yes, the headliner A pillar covers are different. Instead of the rounded end they have a square end that mates with the trim piece that goes above the door. So here's a pic of the wiring the PO added. Also there are some black "modules" he added as well. So I hooked it up and the left and right turn signals work as they should.However, to the left of the left turn signal light ( which is supposed to be black ) and to the right of the right turn signal light ( again should be blank ) these LED MODULES ARE INSTALLED. aND THEY ALSO WORK WITH the TURN SIGNAL AND ARE GREEN COLORED on their own. Where the seat belt light is . .it comes on when I turn the key. I don't have the headlight switch installed to see about the high beam light. The bad news, no tach yet. I have continuity from the connector slot to the tach connections. So either I have a bad tach or the wires feeding the connector are open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted October 21, 2017 Share Posted October 21, 2017 So here's a pic of the wiring the PO added. Also there are some black "modules" he added as well. So I hooked it up and the left and right turn signals work as they should.However, to the left of the left turn signal light ( which is supposed to be black ) and to the right of the right turn signal light ( again should be blank ) these LED MODULES ARE INSTALLED. aND THEY ALSO WORK WITH the TURN SIGNAL AND ARE GREEN COLORED on their own. Where the seat belt light is . .it comes on when I turn the key. I don't have the headlight switch installed to see about the high beam light. The bad news, no tach yet. I have continuity from the connector slot to the tach connections. So either I have a bad tach or the wires feeding the connector are open. The modules are just lights? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetesPonies Posted October 21, 2017 Author Share Posted October 21, 2017 The modules are just lights? Here's the money shot: Yes Gary, I believe so. All they do is light up with the turn signal. Could they be part of an alarm ???? The PO had an alarm installed.I've never seen anything like them. It appears to be LED. To get the tach working, couple things. First and foremost, although I had the picture of what wires to use . . I attached the ground wire to the wrong terminal . . .duh. Then, the battery pin t the connector, slides out slightly as you insert the plug. I had to push it back all the way in, once the connector was in. And thirdly, the face of the tach was crooked and the needle touched, making it stop moving. Fixed those three things and it works, as the pic shows.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted October 21, 2017 Share Posted October 21, 2017 Here's the money shot: Yes Gary, I believe so. All they do is light up with the turn signal. Could they be part of an alarm ???? The PO had an alarm installed.I've never seen anything like them. It appears to be LED. To get the tach working, couple things. First and foremost, although I had the picture of what wires to use . . I attached the ground wire to the wrong terminal . . .duh. Then, the battery pin t the connector, slides out slightly as you insert the plug. I had to push it back all the way in, once the connector was in. And thirdly, the face of the tach was crooked and the needle touched, making it stop moving. Fixed those three things and it works, as the pic shows.. Congrat's! Tach looks good. 👍 As for the LED's, I suspect he was just fixing a known problem - the turn signal bulbs are frequently directly behind the steering wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetesPonies Posted October 21, 2017 Author Share Posted October 21, 2017 Congrat's! Tach looks good. 👍 As for the LED's, I suspect he was just fixing a known problem - the turn signal bulbs are frequently directly behind the steering wheel. All back in, so getting here.Still much to do to finish the interior. as for the LED modules . .well the turn signal bulbs light . . . they both come on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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