Ford 6600 Instrument Cluster Stabilzer?

crankit

Member
Could some one please clarify wheather the ford 6600 cluster requires the Voltage Stabilizer on it? I'm reading a whole lot of conflicting reports on what is uses.

My cluster on my 6600 was rusted and rats had chewed all the wires leaving me to guess where each wire goes. Most of the material on the net seems to be for the older cluster found in the x000 series.

From what i read the x000 used bi metal strips for the gauge but I'm guessing the x600 uses magnetic gauges thus not requiring the stabilizer?

My cluster looks identical to this one from a 6610

ford-6610,d73ecf3f.jpg
 
Depends on the build date/ unit code. Early production X600 tractors use the stabilizer.
 
Bi-metal gauges were used on the x600 series tractors until June of 1979, at which point Ford went to magnetic gauges. This not only did away
with the voltage stabilizer, it also required different sending units.

The easiest way to tell what kind of gauges you have is to watch what they do when you turn the key on and off. If they move immediately,
they are magnetic. If they move very slowly, they are bi-metallic.

The link below should be helpful. #8 is the voltage stabilizer.
Instrument Cluster
 
You really can't tell by just looking at it. Do like Bern said and see if the gauges immediately go to zero when you turn the ignition off. As he said the thermally operated bimetallic gauges take time to reach ambient temperature so they are slow to respond while the magnetic (D'arsonval) gauges immediately swing back to zero or null.

The stabilizer is recognized by the little can attached to the back of the gauge cluster. The new magnetic gauges might also have what appears to be a voltage stabilizer, but it is just an empty can. The original voltage stabilizers are often rusted or burned out...
 
Crankit,

If you go to Yesterday's Tractor parts and enter "Ford instrument voltage stabilizer" they have them and there is a picture of one.
I think these are replacements for the original cluster and not for the aftermarket instrument clusters.

The Ford 6600 series are listed as having an alternator so they do not have a large box mechanical regulator) The will either have an alternator with an internal regulator (Lucas/Marelli) or a small solid state? external regulator (Motorola type). I think it is mounted somewhere behind the battery.
 
You can tell by looking if you know what to look at. 1/8? npt coolant sender will require a voltage stabilizer.
 
I can confirm that my 6600 does indeed have magnetic gauges as the gauges instantly returned to zero when plugged in.

When I opened up the cluster each gauge has a brand name "stewart warner, made in USA"

That clears a few things up for me.

My 6600 is a late model with September 1979 stamped on the transmission housing which confirms what everyone has said.
 
It's quite possible that Ford had switched to these by then and they are original. I don't think the current after market instrument clusters are Stewart Warner. I know my new cluster does not contain Stewart Warner gauges.

Karma smiles on you.
 

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