77 Blows Fuel Gauge Fuse

[dgracer]

New issue in my 77 that I've had 9 years with no blown fuses. Suddenly it has blown the fuel gauge fuse and none of the electric gauges work (except the volt gauge). I've cleaned all fusible link connections, battery cables have been replaced, battery is in good shape, wiring and fuse block all looks good, fuse connections cleaned, all connections under the dash look good clean and tight. I've replaced the voltage regular and that actually worked, for 1 day and 50 miles with no problem. Start it the next day and bam right away it blows that fuse. Car keeps running and everything else works but the alternator no longer is charging when that circuit blows. I have looked at a wiring diagram and can only see some of where the blue wire goes but unless I take the whole dash out, I cant see any reason for this happening. Any ideas that dont involve replacing the harness or removing the dash?

 

thanks,

DG

[dgracer]

As an update, if I unplug the new voltage regulator (the problem was present with the old one as well) the gauges function fine and the fuse does not blow. Of course THis also means the battery isnt being charged but it tells me the issue is not with one of the gauge wires but rather the white/red current wire coming into the fuse block.

[dgracer]

The fix turned out to be to replace the alternator. I should know better since every electrical issue this car has ever had (every 2 years) turns out to be the alternator. That's what I get for using autozone parts. Oh well, at elast the replacements are free and can be changed quickly.