To all of you who replied to my problem with the shift link bushings and the possible overcharging on the alternator, thanks a bunch; the linkage was busted and Pep Boys tested the voltage regulator, found it was fine, and so gave me a new battery as my old one was under warranty. Good to get that out of the way...but, as one problem is solved, another crops up so I once again ask your help for something else:

A while back I pulled my cluster to fix the tripometer bar and when reconnecting it I attatched the red/white wire and it fried the cluster, making the speedo and odo useless. I got a "new" one from a PNP, and installed it. bout 1000 miles later that odo stopped working, it turned out to be the gear, so I was gonna switch out the one from the fried one, along with setting the mileage to the correct count. I had the mileage almost perfectly set (instead of showing an even number it stopped halfway in between) and the gear was working beautifully but I wanted to do the milage display exactly so I disconnected it, made sure the display was right and reinstalled it. Some PO had installed an alarm and as I reconnected the neg cable, the alarm started going off and would not stop even when I hit the kill switch. I must have put the cable on and off that terminal 10+ times in a short period of time to see if I could get the thing to not go off while connected. It didn't work so all I did was remove the alarm ground and taped it off. When I pulled out of my driveway to see if the remanufactured cluster was working, to my chagrin the speedo was fluctuating like a madman and the odometer was totally still. I stopped, turned the car off and noticed that none of the idiot lights were lit up when the key was in the position right before ignition, like they used to. What was strange this time was that I didnt connect the red white wire this time but it still looks to be fried. I have no speedometer, no odometer and the only idiot light that comes on is the one for "battery" and thats only after I engage the overdrive.

I went to a PNP and found a new cluster, but I want to know if there is anything I should know before installing this one. It is one that has a tachometer and I have a small clock to go with it, but I wanted to know if it is possible that my problems will make themselves known on this cluster as well. I know that you attatch the red/white wire to the tach but is there anything else I should know?

Thanks A bunch
SoCal