custom instrument cluster, with pictures...

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Chang-kuao-lo

Chang-kuao-lo

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the new unit has no working speedo, and instead of sourcing an oem electronic one to work with the lexus transmission i decided to do up a custom unit. i have the extra parts from a defunct uhaul toyota 1 ton and all the dakota digital gauges i need but the speedometer and fuel level.

pulled the cluster out of the 1 ton and gutted it. removed all the plastic dividers in it with a rotozip (highly recommended, it's like a dremel on steroids and not nearly as clumsy as it looks). it appears to be made out of abs plastic, so i got a 12"x24"x1/8" sheet of textured abs. a fluorescent hot pink sharpie seems to show up decently on black abs. scribed it out with an exacto knife for good measure (it's backwards because i'm plotting and cutting from the back side of it). the top corners appear to be an irregular curve, so i'll have to shape them to fit by hand with a file.

it should plop right in over top of the original cluster face, remove the parts of the original that interfere, abs cement in place, and done step one.

got the basics plotted out, ready to be cut:

more later on...
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woof.

now i just need a wiring diagram for a 1994 pickup. ground switching is one of toyota's favourite hobbies, but i need to consult the diagram to know for sure what all is ground-switched and what isn't. this will drastically affect how i make the harness and plugs. hopefully, it will just be a hot bus to everything, and ground wires to the corresponding bits of the toyota harness. or something like that...
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holes are a bit rough, bit everything fits ok. seemed like a good project to practice on with the rotozip before tearing into any expensive motorcycle fairings.

now for the fun bit, wiring harness. do as much as i can without the wiring diagram for now...
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looking great! i been thinking about doing this with mine, my temp gauge stays in the middle all the time now, and oil pressure does not move at all. where did you get the LED's for the turn signal indicators and the high beam indicator?
 
Is all this going to be dimmable? I can't stand the thought of bright dash lights at night!
 
yes, there's a dim feature, but they are not as bright as they look in the picture. they're not too "disco" looking, pretty understated for digital gauges.

LEDs and pin plugs were from radio shack, pre-wired for 12VDC. they also have nice little chrome bezel holders for LEDs, but you have to use regular LEDs and solder the appropriate resistor on to make them work on 12VDC, but i'm lazy. they didn't have a blue LED, so i got that one at NAPA or parts-plus or some place. any auto parts shop will either have them or can get them. 1/4" hole, and they pop right in. the radio shack ones are a bit nicer with a threaded fitting and nut on the back for different thicknesses.

actually, if you're ever up in the baltimore area, specifically loch raven boulevard and 695, stop in at http://www.baynesvilleelectronics.com/index2.ivnu , they have everything you never thought of for wiring needs and wants. i usually take a trip up there when i'm doing up amplifiers in a car and whatnot.

first bench test:

so far, so good. fuel gauge has a 47 ohm resistor on it here, toyota senders read from 0 to 110 ohm, this guage can read at 4 to 112 ohm and the gauge reads 60%, so it looks like it will work to within a half gallon or so. not too shabby. same resistor on the temp gauge and it reads 233 degrees (be puking coolant by then), so that's working.
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Nice! I want to do something like that to my '85. It has a Benz diesel going in the next few weeks and needs some better gauges.

Thanks for the writeup!
 
maybe this is a dumb question:

Park... Reverse.... Neutral.... Oo???....Drive.....2nd lock....1st lock


is that overdrive indicator or something? is that light in the sequence on the stock setup? idk cause i have manual.
 
Chang-kuao-lo said:
actually, if you're ever up in the baltimore area, specifically loch raven boulevard and 695, stop in at Baynesville Electronics , they have everything you never thought of for wiring needs and wants.
Click to expand...

Holy crap... dude I grew up only a couple of miles from there, and I know that store VERY well. My Mom and brother still live in the Carney area, I am down there 2-3 times a year. You have no idea how many hours I have spent in that store wandering the aisles, especially in my high school days. I graduated from Loch Raven High School, back in '77. I soooo wish I had a store like that around here, the closest thing is You-Do-It in Needham MA but they are 2 hours away.
 
baynesville rocks. nerd paradise, you can build an entire pc with parts off the shelf in that place.

yes, it is an overdrive indicator. the truck that this is going into has a lexus 1UZFE and 5 speed automatic under the hood. the overdrive can be turned on and off by a switch on the shifter and i wanted an indicator of some sort.
 
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