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Here was my project for the last couple weekends. I have a 2002 sedan, but I am guessing there isn't too much of a difference between the 7th gens. There was a lot of info I found doing a search here, but they were a bit scattered. Besides, my DIY has pics! (note - these pics are of the gauges after they were in already)


What you need

-Philips head screwdriver (preferably a long and short one)

-Knife/Boxcutter

-Electrical Tape

-Grounding wire 'tab' (see step #11)

-Double-sided tape

-A couple hours or so



Here we go...


1. Unscrew the 2 screws at the top of the gauge cluster.


2. Start pulling the black trim off from the top so you'll have some finger room to yank the whole thing off. There are two clips and some glue that attaches the trim to the cluster at the bottom. The trim seems pretty strong and bendable, but be careful not to break it anyhow. Something that may help is if you stick the screwdriver at the bottom of the trim, to give it some separation from the dash.





The glue and clip on dash behind trim.





The clip on trim.





3. After you get the black trim off, you will see the gauge cluster attached to the dash by 3 screws. 1 up top and two at the bottom corners. Unscrew them and pull the cluster towards you from the top.





4. Remove the blue and green connectors and take out the gauge cluster. Should probably bring the whole thing inside to avoid wind and dust.


5. Release the clips and remove the clear plastic and black trim from the gauge cluster.








6. Now its time to put on the gauges. This is actually pretty easy but you do need to be careful. I would recommend not removing the needles. Some people say they had no problems after removing the needles, but I hear if 'calibration' on the needles are messed up, you need to buy yourself a new cluster. There goes $500. It doesn't really matter which face you put on first. Might wanna do the right side since there is a extra (odometer) hole to work with. Work with the big needle first. Slide the face on until it reaches the black part in the center. You will notice hole doesn't seem big enough. Slide the face under the black part, and you will gain a little more room, but still not enough. Now, I just forced the needle through the hole. The needles actually feel pretty strong, but you still would want to be as gentle as possible. Do the same for the other needles. And don't worry about moving the temp and gas needles (clockwise). They actually have an internal 'stop' so it shouldn't drop further (counter-clockwise) than 'factory settings.' I decided not to test the strength of the 'stop' incase it wasn't that strong.


Congrats! You have completed the 'hardest' part!





7. Now you have yourself a few options. First, you can keep the new gauges as is. I would strongly suggest you use some double-sided tape to tape the sucker down though. Else you might find yourself some problems.





If you keep the gauges as is, some of the white parts of the face covers up the lighting on the gauge cluster. (key-in-ignition light, hand-brake light, cruise control light, etc) You can still see it, but it's just 'clouded'. Only problem is, you really can't see it when the sun's out. I tried using cruise control during the day and could only see the light if I really tried looking for it. I'm not sure what other lights are used in that area, so I figured to make everything fully visible.





8. Now, just put everything back together. You may wanna put a notch into the black trim (see step # 5) to give the new gauge wires some room. I cut out some notches in mine, but they were still a real tight fit.





After you put the gauge cluster back together, head back to the car.


9. Now its time to connect the inverter of the new gauges to the car. Take the red wire coming out of it and tap it to the red/black wire coming out of the blue connector. Just strip the red/black wire some and use some electrical tape. I think I might go in and use one of those wire tap clip things just so it's more 'clean.'





10. Find a place to put the inverter. I put mine behind the metal frame in the back. Nice place to tuck the wires as well. And look for a place to connect the grounding (black) wire as well. Just needs to be metal.





11. Attach the clips from the new gauges to the clips coming from the inverter. Re-attach the blue and green connectors to the gauge cluster. When connecting the green one, you will hear some clicking on the cluster. That is normal...I think. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/IMG] Re-attach the gauge cluster to the car and attach the grounding wire. I used the bottom right screw on the cluster itself. You can just twist the wire between the head of the screw and the washer or use a 'wire tab' (the orangish thing).





12. Now, find a place to put your control tab for the gauges. It controls the color and brightness of the gauges, and it can get pretty bright when it's on. I snaked mine behind the steering column and into the coin tray. (remove the fuse box panel under the steering column) I can now see what I'm grabbing for.





13. Now, just sit back and enjoy!




Click Me for close up DIY pics (requires imagestation login)


-Kre


Edit : Fixed pics
Edit 2: fixed links again. Derek-CEO