i am new to cars and have had no gas/battery/oil/temp gauges working an was wondering what it could be, when i tap the dash the batery gauge works a little and was wondering if it might be the wireing or a fuse?

There is a wiring harness plugin on the right side bottom of the back of the gauge pod. The design of the plastic harness was crap my 85 el caminos gauge lights dont work sometimes i have to push on the gauge cluster to get them to work. And when i got my 81 el camino they didn't work so i had to take the gauge pod apart and push the harness into the place where it goes. And my buddy has a 83 el camino and he fiberglassed his harness into the gauge pod for it could'nt come out.

The connector is right from Disney land, it is very Mick Mouse. However with a little help it can work just fine.

It is fairly simple to take the dash pod apart. Just be careful to do it step by step and take notes or digital photos. Once you get to the point of removing the 4 stamped sheet metal "nuts" you are almost done. Those cheap nuts are part of the problem, you can't put any real torque on them.

Remove the instrument pod and look at the connectors. Use a small screwdriver or piece of abrasive paper to carefully clean the contacts on both sides. Don't get carried away. It does not take a lot of cleaning to get a new surface. Then get some "Di-electric grease" it does not grease or dye the electricity, but it helps the connectors stay corrosion free and make a better connection.

I dug around in my screw & nut box to find some real nuts to replace the stamped sheet metal nuts. They can take a little more torque. I wish I could tell you just how much torque I put on the nuts but it is not much. It is just enough, but not over tight.

One thing you should do while everything is apart is paint the back of the blackout panel. I used a small paint brush and some white model paint. It does not matter how it looks since it can't be seen, all you want is more light refection. If you try to spray paint it you will spend a LOT of time masking the holes and edges. A paint brush is faster. I also glued a small washer to the 4 posts of the gauge blackout. That helps raise the blackout place just a little. You will get a LOT more light on your instrument panel after that.

This is not a simple 20 minute fix. It will take several hours. Take your time and do it right.

Wow! so glad someone said something I also have a '79 and my gauges are fruitcake too, gas gauge always indicates way full,even when the car is empty. Temp does not work and has been replaced with an aftermarket "racing" gauge. Voltage gauge waves back and forth violently , but the spedometer works!!! I'l try what I've learned here, THANKS :-)

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JamesF, your instruments look just like mine, except for one thing. When I had my speedometer rebuilt I had them paint the numbers all the same. I have always hated the emphasis on 55 MPH. I hated the 55 MPH limit back when it was the law. It took me several years to get over the panic of seeing a cop while I was driving at 70 MPH. My original speedometer topped out at 85. On Oklahoma turnpikes the legal speed limit is 75 MPH. Everyone runs 80 to 85. That is as fast as I want to go in an stock Elky.

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I just bought a cover plate for the gear indicator. It is a little tricky to get it in place but it fits right over the speedometer gear indicator. It covers all the old P R N 1 2 D with the factory original plate and has "Overdrive transmission" right on it. The good new is it is cheap. I see them on E-Bay all the time for $5.99.

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