InteriorDiscussion about interior restoration, repairs, and modification.
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Well check to make sure you're not hooking up to a ground. The wires of interest to you (on the body wiring) are the brown, gray and light green wires.
Brown is the wire labelled "E" on the third gen harness, gray is "D" and light green is "C". The light green wire isn't as thick as the other two. Brown should be hot when the ignition is on, gray gets power from brown whenever the controls are on any setting but off, and light green gets power from brown whenever the controls are on an AC setting or defrost.
There are two other wires from the body that aren't hooked up to the switch. Dark green and black. Dark green is "B" on the third gen harness and black is "A". Dark green is supposed to get a ground from black whenever an AC setting is selected. Unfortunately the 4th gen switch does not have any way of supporting this feature.
I would check to make sure that you aren't accidently using the dark green or black wire. This could cause the short if you are.
Couldn't a relay be wired up to get "B" and "A" to connect to each other by using the power from "C"? All you want is B&A to connect to each other when A/C switch is on, right?
Here's how. "C" is wired to both the a/c controls and this relay. When "C" is switched on by the A/C controls, it will also give power to the relay. When the relay energizes(has ground and power across it), it closes the switch inside and connects B to A.
Here's how. "C" is wired to both the a/c controls and this relay. When "C" is switched on by the A/C controls, it will also give power to the relay. When the relay energizes(has ground and power across it), it closes the switch inside and connects B to A.
Yah, I had thought of the relay. If you know where to find the relay, let me know.
I had a few extra from the LT1 swap and then a few more extra from the dash swap. Any relay meant for a car, with 4 wires will work, even 5 wires will - just don't use the 5th wire(87A wire). Any auto store sells them too.
if your car is a v8 and you have a v8 cluster, etc. you shouldnt need a box. but there are exceptions.
years of clusters. v6 cluster, ls1 cluster etc.
see if everything is right before you buy a box and still have the same problems.
an msd will not fix your problem either. one of their tach adapters might work.
all depends.
what motor and cluster are you running. etc... ?
yeah its carbed. but when i rev it, it seems so floppy revvin up... quicker then it should.
the guy could have lied to me about the tach being v8. it idles at 800rpm just like it should.
if it wasnt a v8 cluster, idle wouldnt be at 800. somethings loose or damaged somewhere along the line.
ive seen and done it strait to a stock tach before with no trouble.
good luck.
im having a problem with the dash, everything is ok. But for the bolts that hold the dash to the firewall at the top, if i have the farthest one on the passenger side and the middle one and TRY to put the driver side one in the screw doesnt even reach the dash. I have to put stress on it for it to go in, and i did. The next morning the passenger side dash bracket cracked and popped out.
ok i need some big help with the wiring up of my lt1 cluster i have read everthing i could find took down notes anything to get these to work but i get nothing none of my gauges will move i think after i cut out my factory connectors i had three wires left over that i could not find a place for maybe a dark brown and a green i think not sure but shouldn't i see something working ar least?
ok after rechecking my third gen wiring i have 2 dark gray wires another dark gray with stripe and a green wire with black stripe those wires are whats left from my factory connectors
dark grey i didnt use, but there was only 1 dark grey, there are a couple other grey wires they are for illumination but are more lighter then the dark grey.
im having a problem with the dash, everything is ok. But for the bolts that hold the dash to the firewall at the top, if i have the farthest one on the passenger side and the middle one and TRY to put the driver side one in the screw doesnt even reach the dash. I have to put stress on it for it to go in, and i did. The next morning the passenger side dash bracket cracked and popped out.
did you ever come up with anything on this because i test fitted mine yesterday and seen the same thing? but any way thanks for all your help roughskinjrz i seem to have the gauges working but the high beam light but im having the jumpy tach problem and i have tryed an ls1 and two different lt1 clusters and get the samething so i started on the headlight switch and now im hung-up on that my factory switch has a orange,red 2xyellow,gray,and white wire and the 4th gen plug was a orange,red,pink,yellow,and a gray or brown wire plus a thin black and gray wire but i figured that those two thin ones where for the light but maybe i was wrong!
haven't made it on here much recently, rough....the dash isn't going to fit on the drivers side, the curvature of the two types of cars (3rd to 4th gens) are different. What i'd do is use a spacer to take care of the distance between the mounting flange and the dash, this'll keep stress points to a minimum, and also allow you to still use the mounting tab. See what you can find to fix that other mount, if you can't find anything, glue it , and reduce any strain on it also. Best of luck, with all the time i've spent with this car, i still don't have my dimmer switch working, but then again, havne't driven or seen the car now in about 2 months. very sad.
I have been wanting to do the swap for awhile and was wondering if anyone could tell me what year dash and cluster would match up best with my 87 305 carb trans am i was also wondering what i would need to get in the way of vss or dakota box. Any help would be appreciated
I know this is a old post, but I havent found anything that says how the 3rd and 4th get vent assb. are tired together. thats to only thing I am having issues with trying to figure out how to get the air into the 4th gen dash assb.
I know this is a old post, but I havent found anything that says how the 3rd and 4th get vent assb. are tired together. thats to only thing I am having issues with trying to figure out how to get the air into the 4th gen dash assb.
Just try and cut the 4th gen vents in the back until they match up somewhat. Mine aren't perfect but I think I'm going to try running ac ductwork from home depot or something then use padding to keep air from leaking.
i was thinking about that also, but the vent system is so much diff on the 4th gen. the 92 ac box outlet is angled and the 4th gen duc work is straight. I am using a 95 dash. I quess I will figure something. thanks for the info
you just have to trim the center vent outlet from the 4th gen to same fashion as that used on the third gen, use your thirdgen vent as a guide, or make a template of the different pieces of the 3rd gen unit w/ cardboard, trace, and cut away...size wise the a/c reciever area (center part) is about the same as the 3rd gen unit, and it works pretty well...
I got a problem... Wiring up my 4th gen headlight switch and dimmer switch is not working out too well... Here are the colors that I have to match up, yet I'm not sure where they go.
From my third gen side to the 4th gen side here is what I got.
Third gen headlight switch...
red
orange
black
brown
yellow
green
white
Then the 3rd gen dimmer switch...
light yellow?
purple
black
grey
Then on my 4th gen headlight switch the colors go like this...
red (x2)
orange
black
yellow
grey
brown
Gauges work.
Gas gauge just reads full when the car is empty (i know this for a fact since I ran it out)
Blinkers dont work
Cant figure out the wiring for the headlights...
Anyone??
And the reason my gauges wernt coming on was because I blew a fuse somehow...
I have to wierd problems with my guages. When I turn my dimmer switch all the way to on to turn on interior lights my whole cluster lights up. Also when I turn on my headlights my fuel guage goes to empty, and it went up when I got gas so I believe its hooked up to the right one. I replaced the 3rd gen light switch with 4th already and just on both black connecters on 4th gen wired it to the on black one for the 3rd gen dimmer. Everything else seems to be working fine.
hey, sorry to cut in late on this thread, but i got an 87 iroc running a 305 ho tpi but eveythings set up for a 350tpi, and i might swap to a lt1, but i just got a dash from a 94, i got the dash, gauges, center, headlight switch, a couple other switches, hvac box, and some other stuff, now, im guessing that the speedo is cable driven. does anyone have a link on the converter box? i looked on their site, and didnt see much at all that would be useful. now i dont want to dig into my mostly o.e. car and mess things up beyond return, i want to get this dash swapped cheap and work fully. mounting and running the vents is no problem, but the wiring is what im worried about, now i gotta go get plugs for everything still, but is this just a wire and go thing pretty much, if i just follow the wiring guides on here will it all work out? along with the hvac box... how do i mod the lines up to work? like i said, i dont want to tear into this car unless i have all my stuff sorted out.
thanks in advance
keith
__________________ CLEARING HOUSE!! EVERYTHINGS FOR SALE- my car-selling as whole 1993 z28 lt1 ALUMINUM HEADS, brand new 305 HO and all the other parts i have. ask i prolly got it!
My car is a 92 V-8, T-5 car, the dash / cluster i have is from a 2000 SS, will this work? ive read somewhere that you had to use a firebird cluster? And since its a v8 car with a v8 cluster I DONT need the dakota digital box, correct?
I have a 94 Dash and wiring harness in my 83 Z28, and everything works perfectly. Some issues I ran into during the project and solutions (applies to 93-95 donor dash);
- The 4th gen harness is difficult to get out of a donor car without cutting, as it doesn't have handy disconnects like the 3rd gen does. Take your time, use tape or some other method of identifying cut wires (makes life far easier!), and decide what you need to keep or discard by way of modules as you go, it saves a lot of time. If cutting wires, before re-connecting decide how you want to run the finished product in the car, and lengthen/shorten as necessary. This can make for a much cleaner and organized install over stock, and simplify troubleshooting. I used an entire 94 harness, modified it specifically for my engine bay routing and dash setup, and managed to hide all my wiring within my fenders and along the back bottom of my firewall, hidden from sight. I also incorporated the 4th gen engine relay box in my driver side front battery tray, allowing easy access to all my engine and main power fuses and relays. Also added was a 4th gen power distribution block just behind my battery on the passenger side, mounted under the coolant overflow bottle on the front of the wheel well. I also highly suggest soldering all wire connections, and sealing them in heat shrink tubing and wire looming wrapped in electrical tape. Remember to always check after connecting wires for continuity to ensure against a cold solder or bad connection. Electrical gremlins are the worst to be stuck on the side of the road with!
- The 3rd gen heater ducting will not work in all modes with a 4th gen dash. To have full climate function you must use a 4th gen heater duct, which means modifying your firewall for clearance. I've outlined this in another thread, with pictures and measurements. The system in my car has fully functional climate controls, so it is possible with some modification.
- The 93-95 cluster can use the 3rd gen Firebird yellow VSS buffer box to drive the speedo, using a stock 3rd gen electronic speed sensor and 700R4. No Dakota Digital box is required. Wiring is the same as wiring in the electric speedo for a 3rd gen (as outlined in the Tech articles section of Thirdgen).
- The tach on the 93-95 cluster can sometimes bounce if being driven off an HEI distributor, especially older units like the 4-pin style. This is because the LT1 computer has an inline signal buffer that cleans up the signal to the cluster, which the HEI does not provide. Installing either an inline diode to buffer the signal, or using an ignition box such as an MSD 6 or Mallory 6A and sourcing the tach input from it will correct the problem and provide a smooth tach signal.
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1983 Z/28 T-Top: TPI 4-bolt .040 over 327 stroker, GMPP LT4 hot cam, 63cc heads, 36lb/hr injectors, MS-I ECM, TCI 700R4, 4th gen rear with Posi and discs, 4th gen interior
Im having a horrible time finding a lt1 dash harness are the wires the same to the back of the v6 cluster? I have a lt1 cluster but can't find a lt1 harness to save my life
Cluster wiring is the same. I used a V6 harness on my car, deleting unused items (SRS, coolant level, ABS, etc) for my application, but all wiring locations to the back of the cluster are identical. A V6 and V8 cluster are interchangeable, with the exception that the tach will read incorrectly.
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1983 Z/28 T-Top: TPI 4-bolt .040 over 327 stroker, GMPP LT4 hot cam, 63cc heads, 36lb/hr injectors, MS-I ECM, TCI 700R4, 4th gen rear with Posi and discs, 4th gen interior