Glowshift Installation

[Squigs]

Ok so i just got my glowshift gauges in today. Ordered boost,air/fuel, and oil pressure. Are they hard to install at all? I barely know anything about mechanics of cars, just how to drive haha. I found 2 shops that can install them, bothing giving me a estimate off $150-200.

RedTurboEclipse, if you read this, i would really appreicate your input as you installed these yourself.

 

[Squigs]

I have never did any wiring before.
Im only 17 if i havent mentioned that before. Been driving cars (stick) since i was 14 at the local track , but i never started taking stuff apart, or learning how to fix anything.

Thats why is seems so confusing, like how am i suppose to wire stuff to the cig light and all that stuff. I dont get it

 

[turbosax2]

Ok. Here we go.

Like I said before, get a cheap multimeter and learn how to use it. Google is your friend for learning how to use it.

Get a cheap soldering iron, solder, wire cutters, stripper/crimper combo, and some small gauge wire (18-22) and learn how to use the soldering iron and stripper. Again, Google is your friend. Practice, practice, practice on the wire you bought before you go anywhere near your car. Soldering is simple once you get the hang of it and doesn't take long to learn.

Now once you have learned how to use the multimeter and soldering iron, approach the car. Take out the center console (there is probably a how-to on the forums for this). Locate the cigarette lighter. Find the wires that go to it from the cars harness. Use your multimeter to figure out which wire is which (ignition, ground, dimmer). Once you're confident you know which wire you want to splice your gauge's wire into, cut the wire with wire cutters and strip the ends of it to reveal bare wire. Solder your gauge's wire into the cigarette lighter and cover the connection with electrical tape (or heat shrink).

Wiring can be scary at first but it's really simple once you get a basic knowledge of what's going on.

 

[Squigs]

oh wow, it seems like alot of stuff to do

damn, a shop told me itll take them like 2 hours


its going to take me a day

 

[hubz91talontsi]

Hey dude pm me honestly because most of the people on here try to explain things but can't dumb it down. I will give you pics of boost gauge and o2 gauges. How i ran the wires..where i tapped.. No one helped me but im willing to help you out.

 

[bane3d]

Everyone is here to help you and everything said thus far has been accurate from what I can tell. The best thing about doing this yourself is the experience you get. Everytime you work on your car, you get a little more experience. This really adds up quickly and by the time you are 25, you will be comfortable with doing almost any work on your car in the garage. I would consider getting a distribution block to make life easier. What I generally do is tap into the 12volt line and run a line to a distribution block. Then I put an inline fuse between the distribution block and the 12 volt line source. Then from the block, (has 1 wire going to it) you can connect multiple lines easily to it and it looks nice. Radio shack will be your friend for all of your needs when it comes to wiring. You can get a small kit that will have a decent solder gun, solder, and flux. All in all, this is great practice. After this, you will be able to install most any stereo, speaker system, amplifier, etc.. It's all about grounding... Remember that. Finding a good ground is the most important thing that I've found on cars.

d

 

[95CarbonEclipse]

Here's how I like to wire gauges:

There's 2 types of power wire that you'll need (usually), 1 for constant power whenever the car is running, and the 2nd being for when you want the gauges back light to be on. If you prefer the light is always on (or if your gauges require that the light must always be on) you'll only need 1 constant source.

Most people recommend using the cigarette lighter, but I feel that's a little out of the way for where your wires will be ran. Since you've got the narraw band A/F gauge, you'll be tapping into the ECU wires anyway. In the diagrams linked above you'll notice that there is a 12 volt wire coming out of the ECU. Tap into this wire and run up to your gauges. From there you can wire all of your 12 volt constant wires to it. For grounding, I prefer short ground wires, so I just drilled an extra hole into the A-pillar frame and bolted one ground wire to it that has multiple taps for each gauge. This is the only ground you'll need since all of your gauges are right here, there's no need to make multiple grounds for each gauge.

If you prefer to have your back light come on with your parking lights then an excellent spot to tap into is in the back of your fog light switch. By using a simple power tester (a light bulb with a ground wire) you'll be able to find the wire that only sees power when your fog lights are on.

Another option that is popular is to wire it into the back of your dimmer switch, but this is a bit more difficult to get to and alot of the times is not needed since most people always have their dimmer switch on high.

 

[turbo_punk]

Has anyone ever herd of t taps this the route i choose for all my gauges no sodering or anything ive had mine installed for a year or so and i have never had a problem or anything with them, i also have them hooked to my factory dimmer and love it.

 

[Squigs]

thanks for all the info everyone. Ill prob start this on tuesday ### its the best day weather wise. Ill post my pics/questions if i run into problems.

 

[95CarbonEclipse]

I used T-taps when splicing into my ECU wires... they work great!!

 

[turbo_punk]

Yes T-taps are sweet, good luck on your project, it's good to have a little one on one time with your dsm.

 

[Defiant]

Im sorry but I dont agree with the steering column idea. Drill a hole or use an existing one besides the column.

You may not. However, a bit of looking around will reveal to you that it's been done that way on DSMs since they came out. Drilling the firewall seldom works out.

Think the column rotates and can wear the wires or even worse pinch and rip them.

It's nowhere near the column. It's a boot that's a good inch-extra of space where you poke the hole.

I usually go to an auto parts store to the HELP! section and buy a grommet. Drill a hole the appropriate size. Pop the grommet in and run the wires.

Just make sure you arent drilling into something on the other side of the firewall.

Yeah. Good luck with that.

Seeya at the boot.

 

[Aaron_TSi97]

the power and grounding of these gauges (i just bought my pillar and gauges) where do you do that? ive been sitting here thinking, i know your gonna have to tap into some hot wire somewhere to power the lights of the gauges but where? thanks in advance

aaron

 

[91stocker]

here's a great write up

RRE VDO Boost Gauge Installation Instructions