aftermarket gauges - Electronics - Third Generation F-Body Message Boards

91zconvt · 07-19-2004, 12:01 PM

I searched for this and really couldn't find anything, so here goes:

My fuel gauge and speedo both don' work on my 91 Z. Previous owner cut all the stock wiring to hell, and I just want to change all the gauges out with aftermarket ones. I'll make a plate to house them, but just need to know how hard it is to hook up these gauges? I'm thinking speedo, tach, volts, temp, fuel and oil pressure.

Like I said, my car is a '91 z28, t-5, 305 TPI. I would be completely replacing the wires because I don't trust the ones in the car.

305Tiger · 07-19-2004, 01:04 PM

http://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/show...hreadid=235685 (Glow Guages)

^ Eat your heart out! ^

-G

91zconvt · 07-19-2004, 01:09 PM

Thanks, but....?

I'm really looking for some info on how hard it is to WIRE all new aftermarket gauges?

BOTTLEDZ28 · 07-19-2004, 04:54 PM

I just did this to my 91. It want too hard for me except for the speedo gauge. I am still trying to find an answer on this since I have the t56 as far as the others go, I would try and use all the stock wires if possible. just trace them back and make sure there are no breaks in them. Get yourself a multimeter, you will need it trust me. its not really hard to run all new wires it just time consuming and you end up a lot of wires all over the place.

BOTTLEDZ28 · 07-19-2004, 05:00 PM

try this link. therre are 2 diagrams in a diff link inside this post. it is the diagram that shows the colors and pins for your gauge cluster

http://thirdgen.org/techbb2/showthre...lectric+speedo

91zconvt · 07-19-2004, 08:31 PM

Thanks a lot, but I would raher really just wire up all the gauges from scratch. Reason is, with he sock wiring I've never been able to ge a speedo (stock) or fuel gauge (stock) to work. I've tried 3 different clusers, and same thing every time. All other gauges work fine.

Another thing, I know it's off topic for this board, but is there any way to check he sender (for the fuel gauge) without actually taking out the fuel tank? That could be he problem for the fuel gauge, either tha or the wiring.

BOTTLEDZ28 · 07-19-2004, 08:38 PM

first thing to do with the fuel gauge is track the purple wire from behind the cluster all the way back to the plug on the gas tank. Lay under you car with your feet out the back. look up above the rear end, you will see a plug connector that is plugged into the gas tank. That is where the purple wire goes to. this is where the multimeter comes in handy, you have to see if there is a break in that wire. If not then I would try looking at the grounds behind the cluster. ALL the black wires must be grounded. If that is all good then yes then you can look into the sender. I wouldntnt be albe to tell you how to test ther sender if you are not 100% sure your wiring is perfect. As for the speedo, lok under the car at the tranny and make sure the speed sensor plug is plugged into the tranny.

Eats5.0's · 07-20-2004, 05:55 AM

There is no easy way to test the sender without removing the tank. Since the sender uses resistance of I believe 0-90 ohms, you may be able to empty the tank, measure resistance, fill the tank, measure resistance, and see if the resistance changes. Much easier to do with the sender out of the tank.

As far as wiring, I got the power for the gauge lights from the console, just spliced into the light for the auto shifter indicator. If you have a stick, you still have a light provision in there.

Wiring itself is not difficult, but very time consuming hiding it.

TheGreatJ · 07-20-2004, 06:33 PM

Wiring the gauges up is not hard at all. Each one has 5 wires: power, ground, sensor, backlight, and backlight ground. I just pulled one 14ga wire from the fuse box (on with ignition) to power the gauges and daisy-chained it to each individual gauge. I did the same with a 14ga ground wire. The sensor wires on the engine (tach, oil, and temp) I ran through the firewall by drilling a small hole and putting a rubber grommet in it. The speedo and fuel I ran up through the hole in the trans tunnel where the automatic shifter cable used to go (converted to 6-speed years ago so the hole was unused.) The volts gauge can run straight off the gauge power wire, or off the charge stud on the back of the alternator if you prefer.

For the backlighting, I ran a power wire off the dimmer switch and another wire to ground. That way the lights dim just like they did stock.

FWIW I didn't use any of the stock wiring. In fact, I tore the stock wiring out of the car and rewired her from the battery up. No more electrical gremlins for me.

Bottled......PM me if you want some info on running the Autometer speedo with the T56.

TheGreatJ · 07-20-2004, 06:36 PM

Another pic.

91zconvt · 07-20-2004, 09:07 PM

TheGreatJ...

Thanks a lot for the info, tha's what I wanted to know. Just one more question though, in wiring he speedo up, what is it's sensor? What does it get the reading from?

Also, I absolutley love your gauge setup. I'm knew to the whole aftermarket gauge thing, so I was just wondering what hose gauges are, and did they come in a set? Also, did you fab that panel yourself, or did you buy it somewhere? ....If you made it yourself, I would pay good money for you to make me one.

Z28guy83 · 07-20-2004, 09:15 PM

unless its vss it uses a cable if it has vss you gotta find the wires for it

TheGreatJ · 07-20-2004, 09:35 PM

The speedos come in both mechanical and electronic versions. The electronic one runs right off the VSS in the tranny...just run one of the wires to the gauge and the other to ground, then calibrate the speedo. Your '91 has an electronic speedo stock so that's what you'll need.

The gauges I used are Autometer Ultra-Lites. I didn't get them in a set, I bought a couple off eBay and the rest I ordered from Summit. The speedo and tach are the 3 3/8" size and the others are 2 1/16" size. There are a lot of different styles out there, some more expensive than others. Look around a bit before you decide which style to buy.

I made the panel from a sheet of 16ga steel and used a metal-cutting holesaw to make the holes. I had to touch them up a bit with a Dremel because the holesaws don't cut perfectly (although it may just be my cheap-*** holesaws.) I also had to do some chop-work on the bezel surrounding the gauges...otherwise they would have been much deeper into the dash and angled in a way I didn't particularly like. AFAIK noone makes a gauge panel for the 90-92 style dash, and I can see why. It was a PITA to make it fit and look right.

BOTTLEDZ28 · 07-21-2004, 02:28 PM

greatJ , I just read you reply to my question in the other thread, thanks.

Here is a pic of my custom gauge setup. I guess we have the taste.

TheGreatJ · 07-21-2004, 06:44 PM

Yep....nice choice in gauges there.

BOTTLEDZ28 · 07-21-2004, 07:06 PM

I wish I would have had more room to mount them all. If yo ulook at the bottom small gauges, you can see that the bottoms are hidden behind the trim. This is because I incorperated the warning lights, high beams and blinkers. I am going to make a new panel this winter. I still dont know if they work yet, I am waiting on a custom PROM to come in. you may notice there is no oil pressure gauge there, that is because it is mounted inside the cowl of my hood

TheGreatJ · 07-21-2004, 07:16 PM

I saw that and wondered, but figured you had the sense to put an oil press gauge in it. I actually thought "it must be in the A-pillar."

I'm in the process of making a 3-gauge pod to mount where the HVAC controls used to be. My car is somewhat stripped, and has no heat or A/C, so it seems like a good way to fill the hole. It'll probably get fuel press, AFR, and a vac gauge for now. I'll replace the vac with boost/vac or N2O press when I decide which way to go with the motor.

I used LEDs for blinker and high beam indicators, and mounted them in the small square section below the headlight switch. You can see them in the 2nd pic if you look closely.

The_Beast · 09-26-2004, 11:38 PM

Hey. Does anyone know how to get that black plastic piece off that surrounds the guage cover? I cant figure out how to get it over the light/dimmer switch. Sorry if this is a stupid question cause i havnt seen anyone else asking how but i cant figure it out.

TheGreatJ · 09-27-2004, 07:25 PM

Detailed instructions are under the search term "headlight switch removal." Basically, there's a little metal button on the bottom of the light switch. You have to push the button in while you pull the knob and shaft out. It's kind of a reach....I find it easiest to use a long extension to push the button up. Take the two 7mm screws out of the bottom of the trim piece, pull that knob, and the trim will pop right off.

The_Beast · 09-28-2004, 04:01 PM

Ok cool. Thanks a bunch man

CamarosRUS · 01-22-2005, 01:11 PM

i love the setups guys and am doing the same exact same thing....with the 3 3/8 and 2 1/16 gauges is that the size hole they need to be mounted in or is that the size of the actual gauge??? im going to go ahead and fab up the panel for them and when money permits ill just have to buy the gauges and wire them up but i need to know what size hole to drill.

BOTTLEDZ28 · 01-22-2005, 03:34 PM

Take a look at the Auto Meter site. You will find out erxactly what size hole to drill for a gauge. I think that the size of the gauge is the same size hole you need to drill but check anyway. I had to file my holes a bit to get a good fit. I think I used a small jig saw to cut my holes out.

CamarosRUS · 01-22-2005, 10:54 PM

thanx. gonna check them out now. man i gotta say bottled, you got good taste and i feel like im always 2 steps behind you

BOTTLEDZ28 · 01-23-2005, 05:49 PM

thanks for the compliments.

bills86lt1 · 11-07-2006, 10:43 AM

ok lets see how smart we all are where do i get 12volts to feed an hei distributor back of the alt or fuse block some one help me please