Have the windshield out of my 62 LeSabre. Need to do list.

While this is out it is alot easier to see and reach things behind the dash. but i am wondering how hard would it be to do these things with the glass in. i do not like much laying on my back trying to wedge my hands and arms behind a dash like that. i think now is the time to get to all electrical things that are not working. but also, i have the dash pad out. (i guess that you might have figured that). how hard is it to put a dash pad back on with the glass in. and how hard is it to remove the dash. i guess the dash wont go anywhere right, but the instrument clusters probably pop out. i live in the NW we have and will have dry weather until sept i hope. but i will have to eventually put the glass in as the car is outside. btw how hard is it to put in the glass? they want a butt load of money for these things, exp for Pilkington. but i dont know the shipping on it yet. but that is a different story.

all my connections seem to be mildly corroded on this whole car, despite it being from Yakima and very rust free. i have tried CLR and Tarn-X to no avail but did find that Mac's (napa) Battery Terminal Cleaner does work wonders! esp with a little wire brush. planning on getting the little files to do most of them tho. and although spraying that yellow jello all over the fuse box worked great, i can't see spraying it directly on things in the dash because it has to be rinsed off with water or somehow removed. so i could put some on with a Qtip or something and maybe just wipe it off. but i really need the file set.

my speedo also doesnt work. i found the link to the 66' wiring and other manuals. it tells me about it as well as my gas gauge. it doesnt work. any ideas? since the windscreen is out i could hold the cable in my hand as i am driving down the road, the cable is turning.

Q: should i remove, or try to, the instrument cluster out of the dash to mess with these things? i think that would be easier still, than reaching down from the window. Nice to have the 66 chassis book in reference. i'm sure not alot changed from 62.

OK, time slowly passes: i removed the "cover" ie dash pad, along time ago so that is step one out of the way. going by the 66 chassis manual in the reference section here. i got alot of little bulb holders gone. need to find. i could undo only 3 7/16" nuts and the instrument panel pushed in easily, only had to disconnect the speedo, and a green wire that goes to a bulb behind the Brake dummy lite.
i guess about everything comes in from the large 11 pin connector. i got all kinds of prehistoric looking levers for vents etc that have cable, like for your lawn mower, connected under the instr. cluster. some of them are bent and look like they have been for a millenium. will have to try to straighten that out. hope i can find a wiring diagram for all this stuff. i think i'll need a new speedo and maybe a gas gauge. there is a great test for that in the elec referece above tho, for a 66. should hold true.

anybody got any help out there lemmie have it!
 
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okay, found this, VERY HELPFUL for 62's. unreal, the 66 diagram was no help, as far as the inst. cluster connector color codes. this was: http://www.auto-wiring-diagram.com/...or-1962-buick-lesabre-wildcat-and-electra.jpg

to help you out: 11 pins. W lites; Gr w W stripe: temp- (prolly cold dummy lite i think); Y Bk stripe: temp- i think Hot lite; Red: Generator; BK w W stripe: oil press dummy lite; Y hot (coil); BR: gas gage; Lt Gr: Rt turn; Gray: hi beam; Lt Bu: speed warning buzzer still trying to figure that pig out. mine is broken in half behind the speedo); and Dark Gr: Left turn.

Also want to let the world know my pc has lots of hidden cuts in it. also that the pc is NOT coated with plastic. yu can check continuity anywhere along the card. this is how i found my cuts. i can re solder them by gently lifting, or not probably, the pathway up, fluxing, then soldering.
 
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WOW! in just the time it took from now from my last edit, i was able to completely refresh EVERY light bulb connection on the PC with my soldering iron, did not even really need flux. of course i did scrub the back of it clean earlier with Mac's (napa) battery terminal cleaner, and rinse. AWESOME!!

BUT found another break in the PC, soldered that back up. pulled off the gas gauge and saw where the solder looked like crap under the three screws that make contact with the PC so refreshed those up. then had a loss of connection from a bulb to one of the pins for the connector, so i went around every pin and put a fresh coating of solder on all of them.

i think that now my gas gauge will work. i put a drill on the back of my speedo and it works. i think. i dont know why my cable isnt making it go cause it turns when i drive. i will pull out the cable tomorrow and grease it all up again and see what happens, but i have to spend some time cleaning the speedo.

the speed buzzer is broken off at the speedo. would that make my speedo not work? there is no wire connected to that that i can tell. there is a pin on the connector that doesnt go anywhere i can see. is it possible it goes into the speedo? i have not taken it that far apart yet, but i guess i need to look. i would post pics i took but just got this phone and dont have any idea how to do the posting part. according to the link i posted above, there is a good chance, given it's location in the connector (dark green wire), that that does in fact go inside the speedo unit (the pin i said goes nowhere).. (i am ASSuming that the buzzer is inside there somewhere). also, where the metal pop rivet attaches the metal strip to the PC, therewas no continuity from one side to the next, so i had to solder that with a bigger soldering iron
 
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hi. thanks for the reply. in the last paragraph of my first post i say i am using those references you list. while they are extremely helpful as far as getting the pieces out, the wiring diagrams were no help at all as far as the 62's cluster connection and the colors of the wires are pretty much no help because half of them changed. the wiring diagrams especially were a disappointment. the link i gave to finally helped. after looking at the first diagrams for hours trying to piece it together, the quick google search for 62 wiring diagram was able to bear fruit. don't get me wrong. they are very valuable to have, i'll be using them alot probably. maybe moreso tho for my A body lemans, if i ever get around to playing with that. i hope to go back there in fact to see if there is any instruction as to removing, fixing or replaciing the bicycle style vent cables to the levers that i have. two are bent, i don't know if just straightening them out will be possible or much good when i get to it. i don't know if those clamps that hold down the cable will unscrew without snapping. for a rust free car, this area under the cluster is a wreck. i did find out my speedo works tho. i wish i could put the pics of the PC i took on here but oh well. not yet.

glad somebody is out there. i was beginning to wonder. pretty sure i am for the most part talking to myself. but at least i am making a record hopefully not just for myself. it would be nice if you know of a mfg of these cables. i will of course try the obvious places, hopefully classic industries will have. the buick places have such a limited selection of parts.

it does show abit of the control cables. got to figure out how to remove those locking little squeeze washers holding the cable ends on. then see if napa has any new ones for when i annihilate the old ones. more fun today. at least i have the weekend off.
 
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yup. same link i put up there.



no, your link ends in "-electra.jpg" while mine ends with "-electra.html". there are other parts of our links that are different but yours is so long that the board is shortening the url display with ellipses "..."


i copied the URL from the navigation bar, i think you right mouse clicked and copied the image location. and for whatever reason, it doesn't appear that he's serving the raw .jpg to the internet at large. you have to go through his hosting html page it order to look at the pic.

which, being as it's free and no registration, that's fine.
 
the cable into the speedo from the side is from the trip odometer, not the speed warning buzzer. i looked at the wire inside, it is from that one pin that seemed to go nowhere, much like this thread. it goes straight to the pointer and i dont know where the buzzer is. but i'm sure it has NO effect on the speedo working or not. i am going to cut off the cable on the other side of the knob so it stays stock looking, but i cant imagine ever being able to fix it anyway. so now i have no trip odometer. i think i'll live. cleaned the black speedo innerds spraying wiindow cleaner on it. used q tips to wipe off. think it's about time i clock outta here.
 
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