So I really wish the car had analog gauges. The little system check screen beeps and goes "R LAMP" every time I go over a big enough bump to jiggle what ever is loose somewhere. When I stop at stoplights and such most of the time it does it. It is really starting to **** me the **** off. All I hear is "BEEP BEEP BEEP" when I drive the car. I already replaced every single bulb on the *** end of this car. all 6 tails, both the reverse bulbs, both side markers, and both bulbs in the third brake light. I took the tail lamps apart today and jiggled the wires to see if I could find the one that makes the computer go nuts and of course I couldn't. Everything with this car has got to be a bitch. Anybody have any ideas on how to fix it before I just unplug the damn thing?

 

sadly no, unplug your digital dash and send it to me. I'll send you my 140mph analog dash. Issue resolved...

seriously though, I'm not sure what it could be, sadly the only thing I can say is check the rear harness and make sure its not getting pinched somewhere?

 

Could I really do something like that? Is it just plug and play? I didn't think it was possible to switch between digital and analog gauges.

 

I'm not 100% sure, but I do know that even analog Trans Am gauges are electric. Camaros and base Firebirds are the ones that have the speedo cables and such. But I think you should be able to just plug and play. If I recall correctly, I believe all the circuitry is on the gauges themselves... You would need the proper bezel of course. Would you be interested in a swap???

 

one of the light sockets might have a loose wire. i would wiggle each wire at the socket with the car on and find the one that is shorting. that is what i did to mine. luckily it was one i was replacing to put in the sequential turn signal box so. my system check is shorted out now. it backlights but no info comes up. all part of the challenge.

 

Yeah, I would be if someone is 100% sure that its just plug and play. It would have to wait about a month though. I am currently in the process of moving to Nevada and don't have the time to do it now. Can you roll the odometer to show the actual mileage of the car, or does it have to stay at whatever I get?

 

Yeah that's what I did yesterday and I couldn't find it. I wiggled them all and the computer didn't make a peep. But after I put it all together and drove it before I even left the subdivision... "BEEP BEEP BEEP"

 

no problem. I'll do the research for you and let you know the process or mods if necessary. Is there a way you can take a pic of your dash/gauge area? (or find one online)

 

I did some research and it doesn't seem impossible. Its not "plug and play" but I know I could get you the harness that is color coded..and your harness is the same colors, just different plug. It seems easier to go from digital to analog than to analog to digital. Both clusters use the exact same senders so thats not a problem. There is alot of talk a about having to swap out the whole dash, but further search seemed that the digital cluster is "thicker" than the analog. The dimensions are the same. The analog should bolt right into the dimensions of your dash board. I don't mind cutting sections out of my dashboard to get it to fit... I don't plan on using the information center thing, so I'm would just use the same info as my analog has (speed, rpm, fuel level, volt, oil pressure, temp). I'm pretty sure you should be able to roll the mileage. If it doesn't roll backwards, you can roll each number all the way up until it circles back around...

 

hcr13, i was wondering in your escapades through the digital dash searching if you had come across an answer to my ? ? i have a digital dash and i wanted to know first if it was possible to swap to analog or two if it is possible to put in an aftermarket digital. i know that there are no direct fit ones. i was looking at nordskog universal digital dash panels. i know the fitment would be custom but someone said you can use aftermarket ones unless you had analog. only i couldnt find the reason. had you come across any off that. if you post the links to some of the swaping stuff from digital to analog and the other way around. i dont mind reading the stuff. just couldn't find what i needed to know.
thanks in advance.

 

yeah, there were a few posts about switching from digital to analog. The difference is that the digital dash has a whole lot more wires than the analog. The good thing is that the digital harness already has the necessary wires to make the analog work. The hard part is cutting off the digital plug and solder/splice in the analog plug which has fewer pins. But the colors are identical (green to green, red to red, yellow to yellow, etc) You'll have unused wires leftover in your originally-digital car (which is all the mess you guys have trouble with). The exterior dimensions are the same (length and height) for both clusters. But the digital dash seems to be thicker (depth) since there are more wires. But both fit in the same hole. You would just need the analog gauge cluster and bezels. You might have to tap new holes in the dashpad to secure the little screws. Same goes when swapping to digital.

As far as aftermarket gauges, I think they would be a bit tougher since you have to deal with adjusting vss and other aftermarket sensors, but it is possible. Just more costly...

 

There's no proper way to make the swap fit and look good without swapping the whole dashboard. Even if you go from digital to analog, the dashboard is molded differently. And when it comes to "cutting" and "soldering" - that doesn't sound good to me at all.
If you plan on putting a digital dash into an analog dash car, don't forget that the dash won't work properly without changing over the complete interior harness plus the front light harness starting at the firewall. You have sensors all over the place, starting at your door locks all the way to the radiator, a different washer bottle (with built in fluid level sensor) and much more, so either you have a donor car and do it right or I would recommend you to leave it the way it is.
You'll get the speedo and tach to work, but trip odometer and functions test display will never work.
If you need help, let me know, I parted out a few digital dash cars and put together mine (finally), so even if you need the odd connector or sensor, let me know. The swap (done right) will take quite some time and I'd say don't make any plans for a whole weekend...

 

If (and when) I swap to a digital dash I would just try to hook up the gauges I have now. The speedo, tach, volt, fuel level, oil, and temp. I'm not too worried about the information cluster because I know what would be hell to get working...