How To: Swap Tachometer with Aftermarket Gauge

[Shane5425]

links work for me..

http://www.nordskogperformance.net/

thats the home page

 

[TurfBurn]

yeah they work today.. but sure didn't when I tried last night... odd.. but very cool gauges. As long as the sizes match swapping them in would actually be pretty simple I think... super simple if you don't car about your signal indicators and warning lights... I don't know how much is actually controlled through that cluster though... but I'd think you coul just pull your instrument cluster and build one with those gauges.

 

[Shane5425]

id go to a junk yard and get a guage cluster to try it on so i wouldnt mess up my original, id mainly want the tach and the speedometer

 

[Maxx Mazda]

Sorry, not trying to be a dick, but that looks like s***. Looks kinda cheap. Why did you replace the stock one?

 

[igdrasil]

Sorry, not trying to be a dick, but that looks like s***. Looks kinda cheap. Why did you replace the stock one?

because his car is completely programmable. Microtech!!!

And by the way, our tachs are one of the most unprecise things our car has.

when the MSD shift light shows 3000rpms, the tach says 3200, and the MPI says 3000 too.

 

[TurfBurn]

Sorry, not trying to be a dick, but that looks like s***. Looks kinda cheap. Why did you replace the stock one?

It's not a perfect match and yeah it looks a little funky. But no where near as ugly to me as when people mount 5" monster tach's with a 1" monster shift light in the corner of there dash. Well at least that's how I look at it... but some people like that kinda thing... others think it is rice (I've just seen way to many high school kids with stoch integra's or the like with the monster autometer tach mounted on the dash or pillar)...

but like igradsil said, my car is fully programmable, from rev limit down to fuel at cold cranking... But the biggest reason as to why I did it is that the mazda gauge cluster doesn't like my microtech EMS and thus trying to get the tach to work with it would result in frying out the 500 dollar gauge cluster because of a shared microprocessor on the gauges. Thus, I got around that and have a working tach that is not completely gaudy by modifying and installing into the stock tachometer location.

 

[Wingman21]

Can you explain more how you removed the needle, because it could be helpfull for those who wanna install indiglo gauge !!! Where exactly did you insert the knife and what do you mean by twisting (huh) !?

Thanks

 

[TurfBurn]

I took two butter knives and came in from either side of the needle so it looked kind of like a T with a very long top and short bottom... then I turned the knives on their axis opposite of one another. So if you were looking from the shank of each knife they were both being turned counter clockwise from their shank... (so your hands would be turning opposite directions of each other) and the motion is like the hollywood stab and twist... just without the stab.

That make sense?

 

[Wingman21]

I took two butter knives and came in from either side of the needle so it looked kind of like a T with a very long top and short bottom... then I turned the knives on their axis opposite of one another. So if you were looking from the shank of each knife they were both being turned counter clockwise from their shank... (so your hands would be turning opposite directions of each other) and the motion is like the hollywood stab and twist... just without the stab.

That make sense?

Yep make sense... just to be sure : The knifes have to be perpendicular with the needle, like a "T" as you said !? Also, why do we need knifes... you have to push clips underneath the middle circle !? Last thing, can it be done also with the Gas/Temp needles !!!?

Thanks

 

[TurfBurn]

I used butter knives because they are nice and flat and wide... the key being the flat and wide part.... yep you have it right, they end up perpendicular to the needle... and yes the other needles are the same so it should work just fine! when you get it up a wase out of the armature in the middle I'd use a marker to try and mark where the needle was pointing just in case something moves... so you are still somewhat accurate or whatever.

Later.

Steve

 

[Wingman21]

I used butter knives because they are nice and flat and wide... the key being the flat and wide part.... yep you have it right, they end up perpendicular to the needle... and yes the other needles are the same so it should work just fine! when you get it up a wase out of the armature in the middle I'd use a marker to try and mark where the needle was pointing just in case something moves... so you are still somewhat accurate or whatever.

Later.

Steve

When the cluster power is off the needles come to the lower part if I remember right !!! Also, why do you have to twist the needle !? Is there clips that hold them or you have to align some pin with the two holes (up and low) in that picture :

http://www.protege5.com/vbb225/attachment.php?attachmentid=13416

Also, when you're twisting, is the needle actually moving or its only the piece underneath the center that is rotating !? Last thing, when you get the pin back on, how do you know if it is correctly alligned !? Is there only one way to put it back !?

Thanks again

 

[Iconoclast]

its kinda hard to see your tach lights

 

[TurfBurn]

its kinda hard to see your tach lights

I never hooked up the illumination that the tach has in it... that's just bleed over light from the stock setup... so yeah it's dark, but I can see enough of it at night... so I figured dimmer was better for now...

 

[TurfBurn]

When the cluster power is off the needles come to the lower part if I remember right !!! Also, why do you have to twist the needle !? Is there clips that hold them or you have to align some pin with the two holes (up and low) in that picture :

http://www.protege5.com/vbb225/attachment.php?attachmentid=13416

Also, when you're twisting, is the needle actually moving or its only the piece underneath the center that is rotating !? Last thing, when you get the pin back on, how do you know if it is correctly alligned !? Is there only one way to put it back !?

Thanks again

right.. they come back to the lower portion, but the then rest on the needle stops, I'm not sure but I had concern about whether or not the electronics were indexing where the needle is or not, so say you put it on where it would be at 5mph, it may still fall back to the needle stop, but it would always read about 5 mph low whenever it was showing a speed, it could do that, it may not... I'm not really sure to be honest, was just going with "better safe than sorry"

the twisting is only to pry the needles up, it is not actually a rotation for the needle... you are basically twisting the knife tip to make it leverage up under the needle, the T that you make with the needle and knives never moves or anything... the needles have a VERY thin metal shaft coming out of them about 1.5" long that goes down into the gauge cluster. You are just trying to get the needle pulled up with the shaft out of the little air motor thing underneath.

knowing you have it in the right direction is why I said to mark it with a marker. There is NOTHING to index off of, so I was nervous about that. I didn't pull any needles other than what I had to, so I never played around with that part... I'd ask some of the people who have done it already to see what their thoughts are... but I'm just cautious by nature when I do this kind of stuff.

 

[Wingman21]

the twisting is only to pry the needles up, it is not actually a rotation for the needle... you are basically twisting the knife tip to make it leverage up under the needle, the T that you make with the needle and knives never moves or anything... the needles have a VERY thin metal shaft coming out of them about 1.5" long that goes down into the gauge cluster. You are just trying to get the needle pulled up with the shaft out of the little air motor thing underneath.

Then why can you use your fingers to pry the needles up (huh) !?

 

[TurfBurn]

I'm not following you...

 

[Wingman21]

You are just trying to get the needle pulled up with the shaft out of the little air motor thing underneath.

What I mean is if you're trying to get the needle pulled up, why do we need knifes to do that !? Could we just use our hand instead or the knifes actually help by pushing a clip or something else underneath the needle !?

Thanks (thumb)

 

[TurfBurn]

the needles are in there QUITE hard I guess.... and pulling up with your hands you are liable to bend or break something... that's where most people have broken them I guess. the knives just give a clean leverage point that doesn't damage then and helps get it up to where you can safely grab it and get it out. But there is no clip or anything else... I could take a picture of my extra needle (which I can send to anyone who needs one) so you can see more of what I'm talking about if you want.

Later.

Steve

 

[Wingman21]

the needles are in there QUITE hard I guess.... and pulling up with your hands you are liable to bend or break something... that's where most people have broken them I guess. the knives just give a clean leverage point that doesn't damage then and helps get it up to where you can safely grab it and get it out. But there is no clip or anything else... I could take a picture of my extra needle (which I can send to anyone who needs one) so you can see more of what I'm talking about if you want.

Later.

Steve

Ok... pic would be great actually !!!

Thanks by the way for all your explanation...(bowdown)

 

[NetGuy]

I wouldn't mind seeing any pictures related to the needle removal, if they're still out there.

Thanks...and nice mod btw.