Christmas day gauge install disaster! :mad:

[steveb24]

im so pissed of. i cant figure out how to get these &*&&**&( in gauges in. the needles are way off and i sat in my car for over 2 hours tryin to pop them off, adjust, and put it back in. no luck whatsoever. i know where they should all be too.. and i STILL cant seem to get them right. also, the light wiring to get the glow lights on i cant figure out. i grounded the black wire to the bolt that holds the headlight harness on, and connected the red wire to the red &orange wire going into the headlight harness. nothing. somebody please gimme some step by step instructions to figure this all out. ill paypal you 5 bux if i can acctually get it done with your instuctions/ hopefully pics. oh and btw, merry christmas

and btw.. i didnt take the speedo or rpm gauge off i slipped the new face over them and removed the other 4. the gas temp oil and voltage are the ones that are all messed up. crazy thing is.. i know i have exactly a quarter tank and i cant even get it to read close. ?????

 

[steveb24]

can somebody just tell me how to remove the glass piece from the bezel. its glued on there pretty damn good. i figured the wiring out. thanks

 

[DTNODYA]

I'll do my best to help you out but I don't know exactly what you are trying to do. Are you trying to install white face gauges and autometer gauges? What glass bezel are you talking about?

As for the needles, lets say you have 1/4 tank and you slip the needle on in the 1/4 position .. what happens that makes it "not read even close"? Be patient, it will all work out. The more frustrated you get, the worse it will be. Take a break for a little while then go back to it with an "I got this, it's easy" mindset.

 

[the98stang]

View attachment 414896

This is the defroster button to the left of the steering wheel. Use that for your dimmer lights on the gauges. You can also use the (-) and (+) to power the gauges.

 

[04gth]

Heres some instructions I followed.

http://www.americanmuscle.com/mustang-gauges-how-to.html

I just wired the red wire onto the big brownish wire, and grounded it on a bolt in the bottom by the fuse box. As far as the plastic bezel the only way to take it off is to unscrew the whole thing.

Hope I helped.

 

[steveb24]

i think the calm down post helped the most. i got the wiring figured out using americanmuscles instructions which are very good btw. the needles are better but still need some work, but i can figure it out now. i just got the gauges in the car with the cover off, so im gonna tune them in that way. other than that its all good and the everything lights up nice. thanks guys

 

[04YELLOWGT]

pics when done!!

 

[san~man]

Didn't I warn everyone about removing the needles before, and what a pain in the ass it was?

Again, no one listened to me lol

 

[Stus99GT]

Didn't I warn everyone about removing the needles before, and what a pain in the ass it was?

Again, no one listened to me lol

I couldn't agree more. I did it on my first Mustang.... Never again.

 

[steveb24]

the retarted thing is that i knew about the problem, read all about it, but i was so anxious to get them in i did it myself. its really not that hard to fix tho if u just pop the needles on while the cluster is hooked up in the car and the key is on. you know where everything is supposed to be, and it seems like their all good again. ive only been staring at the darn thing for a year now, plus always wait till the volts read before firing it up b/c if i dont it has that damn 2002 gt starting problem anywas thanks for the help stangnet, im on vaca now but pics when i get home

 

[XtorT'r]

Damnit.. I was hoping someone would know of a switch that just resets everything...

 

[steveb24]

yea.. i wish..

my speedo is still off 7 mph and my fuel is on E when its right below a quarter. easy fix, but still a pain none the less.

 

[XtorT'r]

I got it pretty close to good now, however.... I didn't notice last night because I didn't take my car out for a spin, but that grey wire that the instructions said to connect the positive too turns on when i turn on my over head light.. Uggg. What wire did you connect yours too?

 

[steveb24]

im confused.. what does it turn on?

you said the gray wire turns on when you turn your overhead light on? ??

fwiw, i used a dark gray wire also.. 2nd from the middle on that panel, 2nd row in... but thats no good, cause it all depends on how u look at it.. but i did it from a pic that i dont have.. maybe thatl help elim a few, but it works perfect now as far as the lighting goes.. plz explain tho

 

[XtorT'r]

I'll look at it again after I go get some stuff at the auto store and then take a picture.

Currently te dash only turns on when I turn my dimmer setting all the way up until it clicks, the headlight knob. Sad thing is I didn't catch that last night, my excuse is it was getting cold in there and I just wanted to go inside..

 

[steveb24]

ooo.... yeah well im sure that the "right" wire would be one of the ones next to that. The AM directions just said gray.. and i know theres a few.. guess just look for the "dark fat" gray wire, and hope u get lucky like i did.

 

[Skidzz]

Wow, I was going to do that mod, but if it's this much of a PITA, forget it.

 

[XtorT'r]

Wow, I was going to do that mod, but if it's this much of a PITA, forget it.

Yes, this is one of the times that I wish I had ventured on to stangnet before I decided to do this. Look towards the sticky about changing to blue LED's for 8 dollars instead.. :SNSign:

 

[steveb24]

haha.. yep, it always is till its done.. than u could do it in a quarter of the time

 

[StangYellow]

Putting needles back on correctly is not really that tough to be honest, just need to look at it a different way. This is going to sound awkward, but its the probably the most accurate way of fixing this. If you are unsure of where the needle is supposed to be on your gas gauge, drive your car to the gas station and fill it up. Go there with your dash cluster apart and your needle taken off. When the Mustang is full (mine anyways) the left side of the needle sits flush with the "red block" next to "full". Put your needle on in this position and that will take care of the gas. With your car running in the driveway, the battery, and running temp should just be placed in the center once the car is warmed up. The car idles at 750rpm (someone correct me if im wrong). MAKE SURE the car is warmed up when setting it at 750 because when cold its around 1,000. If you put the needle on the speedo with the car turned off, i think it automatically reads 5mph or so when its turned on. Turn the car on with the needle off, and place it against that bar the needle sits on. If you notice, when turning the car on, the needle jumps up.... make sure the car is ON when doing the speedo unless you want to be going 25mph faster all the time. I think thats about it. I know this is a very odd sounding resolution, but its one way of getting the needles put on accurately. A friend of mine bought those indiglo gauge faces and had an empty tank 500degree engine, and the tach/speedo were off the charts. I fixed it for him based on my stock gauges/needles and it was fixed. Ok im done, good luck.