65 Comet gauge replacements

The Era of The Square Body Racing Comets
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Traffikus
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2017 2:36 am

65 Comet gauge replacements

Post by Traffikus »

Hi everyone, I just bought a 65 Caliente that's a bit worse for wear, but I intend to nurse it back to health. One of the things I want to get sorted sooner than later is the gauges. Some work, some don't. The previous own has a cheap little oil pressure and temp gauge mounted below the radio bezel, but the standard fuel gauge, temp gauge and oil gauge aren't operating. I'm going to troubleshoot them to see what the problem is (the previous owner said he replaced the fuel sending unit, but I need to make sure myself. The other's I'm not sure about yet).

Anyways, from my cursory glance online it almost looks like 65 mustang gt gauges would fit if I did have to replace them (both have the 5-gauge instrument panels). Has anyone done this, or have another suggestion? I'd rather have the dash cluster work than have a smattering of gauges all over the dash.
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vicegrip
Posts: 402
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2013 12:12 pm

Re: 65 Comet gauge replacements

Post by vicegrip »

If all 3 gauges don't work,odds are it's the instrument panel voltage regulator that's bad.If you have 12Vto the panel then I would try this...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-1960-66-For ... 7E&vxp=mtr

comethead
Posts: 5692
Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2003 7:44 pm
Location: Palmdale, CA

Re: 65 Comet gauge replacements

Post by comethead »

I believe Mustang gauges will work but they have a different script than the Comet gauges

Joe
1965 Caliente HT- 289/4 speed
1964 Falcon HT- track car- 302/4 speed
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Blue
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2017 1:00 pm

Re: 65 Comet gauge replacements

Post by Blue »

I would check all of the sending units or replace them all together, I just replaced all mine with Auto meter Z-series gauges. I replaced the fuel, oil pressure, engine temp and replaced the amp gauge with a tech, put in a dummy light for the charging system. The gauges fit in the bezel nicely just had to do a little modification to make them fit.

popscomet
Posts: 9689
Joined: Sat Jan 01, 2011 11:19 pm
Location: Jacksonville, Arkansas

Re: 65 Comet gauge replacements

Post by popscomet »

HAS anyone ever noticed sometimes your gauges will read just a tick higher at night when the headlights are on,,have had many an old FORD that does...I've always blamed that regulater......don't hurt nuttin !! in fact when they started reading high during the day time is when I'd change it out.....I used to buy those for 3.50 ,,now look at their price,it;s just a hair thin tightly woven wire into a coil...OK..e'nuff of not important INFO...from POP :roll: :wink:
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pop/glenda

lavron
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Re: 65 Comet gauge replacements

Post by lavron »

Back when I was in high school the dash lights went out on my Comet (can't remember why, probably a fuse) when I drove at night I would gauge my speed by the speedometer needle crossing the high beam indicator light, those were the days :roll:

See Ya,
Mike
Mike's build thread
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=13058
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Comechero65
Posts: 1870
Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2014 10:37 pm
Location: Santa Clara, Ca

Re: 65 Comet gauge replacements

Post by Comechero65 »

Welcome. More pics please.

65 Comet and 65/66 mustang used the same rear cluster housing so the bezels are a direct swap.
Gauges for a 65/66 mustang are the same shape and electrical as the comet gauges however the faces are different. Faces could be swapped or added on top mustang gauges if you had to, if you are careful.

The first thing you need to check is the CVR or regulator for the gauges on the back of the cluster. With the key on by connecting a voltmeter to the output term of the reg you should see a constantly swinging voltage from below 6 v to up near 9 or 10 volts. If it's not swinging it isn't working. The CVR should have full batt voltage at its' input term.

The gauges by way of their design will neutralize the swing to a steady state reading. You can test each gauge individually. Ground each gauge at the sender lead or the sensor term on the gauge. Should peg the gauge. If that works you need a couple resistors to connect between the sensor term and ground. A 10 ohm and a 70 ohm. Connect the 70 ohm and the gauge should register just at or below the empty or bottom line. Connect the 10 ohm and they should register at the top or full mark. If those read correct the CVR and gauges are working ok. Which means your problems are either the wiring to the sensors or the sensors are bad. Or bad ground at the sensor.

If you find the CVR is bad I would recommend replacing it with a modern electronic type instead of the old style which get expensive if you had to replace it more than once. The electronic types are more dependable and self protective against shorts. And as long as it is an adjustable type you can set the exact voltage that works. The one posted by someone else may be one if those but I don't know about that particular one.

Here's one that should work:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/121968168248?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT
I found another one at a couple $$ more.

I have calibrated my own gauges this way and they all work. And i used an electronic cvr which has worked perfectly. Unfortunately the seller disappeared. Any questions just ask.

I used mustang gauges in my comet cluster so they look different but work just fine. Well actually they are still comet gauges except for the speedo which is a mustang speedo. I have white and black mustang decals overlaying all the gauges.
Mine:
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Ron
Last edited by Comechero65 on Sat Feb 11, 2017 2:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Kingspeedy2
Posts: 272
Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2015 2:36 pm

Re: 65 Comet gauge replacements

Post by Kingspeedy2 »

You can buy new stock gauges at MACS or AUTOKRAFTERS .
I have some spare gauges you could PM me your needs and I could see if I can help.
also I am working on a similar issue , and have been looking into replacing my gauges with more modern style full sweep gauges and in particular want a carbon fibre gauge face to go with the theme of my interior.
the dia of the 65 gauge face is approx. 1 1/2 for everything but the speedo which is 3 3/8. I can find all the gauges in 1 1/2 but the fuel level gauge.
I also need to switch to a metric speedo so my car will pass inspection in about a billion years and am going with a GPS unit and thankfully they come in a wide range of sizes
There are options the way I see it. Put in a mustang cluster and try to make it blend with the rest of the dash pieces
Machine a new cluster all together, very costly even when you have connections.
There is a place called whitegauges.net that makes decal overlays in a wide choice of colors including carbon fiber and red paint for the needles.
I too don't want a bunch of extra gauges but I want something that gives me real values not just a rough idea.
I have a gauge cluster that arrived in 18 pieces that I glued back together for mocking up.The outside diameter of the small gauge portion of the bezel is approx. 2 1/4 I am going to fill the void that's molded in the back of the bezel around the gauge face for more meat , mill the front of the small gauge holes lower and bore them out to see if that will allow to get 2 1/16 gauges in.
Its weird I was p at 3am this morning looking for my epoxy to start filling ,I get that a lot with thinking of my Comet. I am going to nickname it "Mistress" when she Is done for all the time and money I have spent on her.I will post pics when I have done the mod

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