burning up circuit board on rear of cluster...pics coming soon...

[fastivaB6TG25MR]

i have a tach cluster with a miata tach and a protege speedo graphed in it. i have had problem free operation for several weeks since the install and today my tach stopped working. i thought no big deal and checked the 10amp meter fuse. to my surprise it was good.so i pulled my cluster out and to my amazement the copper on the circuit board had melted about and inch away from the passenger side plug causing an open circuit. i checked for shorts with my DMM and found that my fuel gauge was showing a short to ground. i took the cluster apart looking for the cause of the short but i couldnt find anything touching. i used some copper wire and bridged the open and reassembled. i thought the screws i used to attach the fuel gauge electrical contacts may have been a but log so i trimmed them and reinstalled everything. i rechecked with my DMM and the short was gone. i didnt have a 10amp to replace it so i used a 15 amp fuse(bad i know but whats done is done). i started it up and everything worked. i drove to the store all is well...wrong when i get out of the store i start my car and everything is working. as i pull out of the driveway i smell electrical fire... tach keeps working but i lost both fuel gauge and temp gauge. i drive straight back to my shop and pull the cluster back out. it melted another part of the circuit board contacts... i repaired the contacts again and when i put it back together i just left the contact screw for the + on the fuel gauge out. drove it for about a half hour with normal tach and charging operation.

any one have a similar issue? it looks to me like its being caused by the step down voltage circuit that makes the 12volts into the fuel gauge into a 7volts out to the temp gauge.

[bhazard]

Thee gauge clusters are way more pain than they're worth.

I say custom cluster.

[FestYboy]

i'm thinking more alont the lines of a poor ground that is forcing a current feedback through another circuit to find ground... maybe?

[Damkid]

Ouch that sucks

[eurotiva]

I say you need to have a fire extinguisher in your car. Just my .02 $.

[getnpsi]

Fuel gauges also have a resistor too, not sure once the current is in the board it changes again, best guess is to run a jump from the sender to a gauge and see if it works..

ugh new cluster or custom gauge vote here too.

[fastivaB6TG25MR]

too embarrassed to post pics...lol. the back of the fuel gauge had worn through the tape i put over the grounding point of the miata tach i installed... on the plus side my buzzer for when i leave my lights on/ key in works now...