Any recommendations for mechanics around the bay area ??

[enzoariana]

Hello

[SierraJoe]

Hi enzoariana,

Congratulations on your new Clipper.  The gauges not working on your Clipper is pretty common on the old Dodges. There is a voltage regulator on the back of the instrument cluster that goes out and will cause the gauges to fail. Is your oil pressure gauge also out? Usually the only gauge that works is the amp gauge as it has a separate connection. I believe that you can still find the voltage regulator on Amazon.  It's also possible the instrument cluster is bad (which is the case on my Clipper). Replacement clusters are difficult to find as they are not produced any more and any you find will be just as old as the original. Along with a bad instrument cluster on my Clipper, I also have a bad sending unit on the float in the gas tank. I decided to install separate gauges instead of finding a working original cluster. So far I have installed a new temperature gauge as I felt this was a top priority as the 440 engine likes to run hot (which mine was) and monitoring the temperature is a must. I've yet to install the new gas gauge and gas sending unit. I did bypass the amp gauge as it started failing and melting the wires from overheating. I ended up installing a USB charger with LED volt readout plugged into the cigarette lighter to monitor the charging system. When I did this, I noticed my system was overcharging and I needed a new voltage regulator (very easy to replace). As for your ignition switch wires getting hot, it could be several things. One possibility is that your ignition switch might be bad. Your ignition switch is probably in the steering column which is more difficult to replace than previous Clipper years. A good mechanic could probably trace the problem instead of throwing away money trying to guess the problem.  I found a good mechanic in town that works on classic cars when I thought I was having carburetor issues. I had to wait over a month for him to look at it and fix the problem. Almost all the problems I've had, I've been able to fix myself and I've been very thankful for the help I've received from the members on this site. It sometimes takes awhile to hear back, but have patience as the activity on the boards is not as active as it used to be as there are not as many Clipper owners as there once was.