xD, I do not see anything in your pics looking like the destruction from an inadvertent short circuit. At first I was going to have you put an arrow in pointing out what you suspected, as pin 4 on the 6-pin connector is a ground (black wire) and on the 12-pin connector, pin 4 is the 5th gear indicator. The "half moon" description tends to be ambiguous, because the semi-circular 6-pin plug has been called that, as well as the 12 pin plug with the semi-circular keyway in the center.

Here's what the typical damage would look like:



If you notice the gray wire on the 6-pin plug, in position 1, that's the fuel gauge wire. With the cluster all plugged in and resting atop your steering column cover, you could check for 10V there before re-installing the cluster. Key in KP-II. If you have 10V, you know the problem is at the other end, at the sender or between. If you momentarily ground that pin, say, using a paper clip to bridge between the gray wire and the black wire on the opposite end of that 6-pin plug, the gauge should go to full. If that works for you, there's nothing more to do with the cluster removed. If it doesn't, start a new thread. Otherwise install the panel, and fix the fuel gauge on the sender end.

The blue/red is the color of the wire getting the power from fuse 13 to the cluster. The wire is most likely OK, but you might have to get like a dental hygienist and pick the tartar out of the fuse holder's dimples. Best thing that can happen from all this is you get some useful experience with a multimeter.

Please use the reply to link from this post, or I get no notification you've updated the thread, so I won't see it unless I check it out by chance. By the way, act1292 is giving you excellent help in your other thread. Better than I have.
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Art Benstein near Baltimore

Marathon runners with bad footwear suffer the agony of defeat.