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Gauge swap

Featured Replies

I have a '95 OBW. I really like the newer gauges more, though, the ones with the orange markers and needles. I'm not 100% sure what year they come off of or if they'll even work at all. I know they also have a digital read out instead of analog. If I were to want to swap to the newer gauges, would it be possible?

Anything is possible. Might be more work than you want to do. Not sure if the '95 had a cable-drive speedo or electronic..... something to take a look at. For sure some of the connectors would be different. I'm sure with enough time and some schematics you could make it work. There isn't that much to a cluster.

 

GD

  • Author
Anything is possible. Might be more work than you want to do. Not sure if the '95 had a cable-drive speedo or electronic..... something to take a look at. For sure some of the connectors would be different. I'm sure with enough time and some schematics you could make it work. There isn't that much to a cluster.

 

GD

 

 

Aside from taking the cluster out of the dash is there any way to tell?

  • Author
Anything is possible. Might be more work than you want to do. Not sure if the '95 had a cable-drive speedo or electronic..... something to take a look at. For sure some of the connectors would be different. I'm sure with enough time and some schematics you could make it work. There isn't that much to a cluster.

 

GD

 

And do you happen to know which years did have an electronic speedometer per chance?

I know the '96 Outback I'm working on right now has electronic. It's possible that your '95 does as well.

 

The connectors WILL be different. That I know for certain. There are differences between body styles as well as differences between years. I know the speedo head connector on a '96 is different from a '97 for example. Physically incompatible. So reqwireing using the donor car's harness connectors will be required for sure.

 

GD

  • Author
I know the '96 Outback I'm working on right now has electronic. It's possible that your '95 does as well.

 

The connectors WILL be different. That I know for certain. There are differences between body styles as well as differences between years. I know the speedo head connector on a '96 is different from a '97 for example. Physically incompatible. So reqwireing using the donor car's harness connectors will be required for sure.

 

GD

 

 

Big help, thanks. I suppose maybe just swapping the needles and or gauge faces would be the better way to go? I'm actually starting to wonder if any of it will fit without some sort of crazy retrofitting.

  • Author

Ok, I figured out that the gauges I want are in fact from a '98. I've never messed with gauges before... if I were to just take the accent pieces off of the 98 cluster and put them on my 95 (such as the needles), what risk do I run of throwing off the calibration of my current gauges? E.g- gas level, speedo...

 

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Anything is possible. Might be more work than you want to do. Not sure if the '95 had a cable-drive speedo or electronic..... something to take a look at. For sure some of the connectors would be different. I'm sure with enough time and some schematics you could make it work. There isn't that much to a cluster.

 

GD

 

:D I always have done something to my car :D

 

it's electronic

 

IMAG0101.jpg

IMAG0102.jpg

IMAG0096.jpg

  • Author
:D I always have done something to my car :D

 

it's electronic

 

IMAG0101.jpg

IMAG0102.jpg

IMAG0096.jpg

 

Awesome, thanks man.

 

Does this mean I won't have to worry about the gauges being wrong if I mess with them? That's what I'm incredibly worried about. That and the mileage being all kinds of wrong.

  • Author

And did you take out your ABS and CEL??

Edited by Arty
I'm an idiot.

  • Author
Awesome, thanks man.

 

Does this mean I won't have to worry about the gauges being wrong if I mess with them? That's what I'm incredibly worried about. That and the mileage being all kinds of wrong.

 

Bumping for this answer.

Awesome, thanks man.

 

Does this mean I won't have to worry about the gauges being wrong if I mess with them? That's what I'm incredibly worried about. That and the mileage being all kinds of wrong.

 

What exactly do you mean?

If you don't play with the mechanisms that control the movement of the gauges, or the mileage, it'll be fine. DON'T pull the needles off, it's a real big pain in the butt to get them to read correctly again.

Confused myself... Dont remove them.. I changed the color of mine so I had to move them.. Fuel is stepper motor rest is not

I didn't have to remove the needles to change the colour of mine.

I had to sand the green off the back too much to type on a phone but worrh the effort

 

Using white leds

I had to sand the green off the back too much to type on a phone but worrh the effort

 

Using white leds

 

Same, but I used RGB LEDs so it can be whatever colour I want...

Same, but I used RGB LEDs so it can be whatever colour I want...

 

Nice what are you using to mix colours?

Nice what are you using to mix colours?

 

I made my own controller with a knob. Then something blew in my alt, spiked a lot of power through the electrical system and fried everything. heh.

I made my own controller with a knob. Then something blew in my alt, spiked a lot of power through the electrical system and fried everything. heh.

 

Wow that sounds crazy

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