guage wiring

[canuk7]

G'day all,

I recently bought a twin pod and am planning on installing volt and oil pressure gauges into it. I was thinking of installing them myself but have never done anything like it before. Could the members tell me if it is an easy job running the wiring through the firewall and connecting the guages up.If its too complicated I might get it done professionaly. Does anyone know the cost of doing this? My car is an au1 forte!

Thanks.

[AU dude]

I just did the exact same setup myself yesterday, it looks awesome. It was fairly easy, and if you dont know how to solder it an easy way to learn. I spliced all the wiring from my head unit loom. eg Accessories, earth, power and illumination.

I purchased some cheap gauges of ebay (volt and electric oil pressure)which are quite fragile, I bought them only for the LED illumination in them. But if you buy some genuine good quality ones expect to pay $110 plus per gauge.

To fit them and wire them up took me around 2-3hours. At first I had trouble removing the factory oil pressure switch because I didnt have the right tool for the job and its right under the inlet manifold so space was limited. Then I found the oil pressure switch that came with the gauge was to small to fit in the hole (I plan on getting an adaptor for it). So I reused the factory item and soldered a few wires together so I still could use the factory wiring going to the dash light.

The reason I went for an electric gauge is because a mechanical one were it has an oil line going to the gauge is illegal to have inside the car for safety reasons were if it busts open and sprays you with in your eye while your drive and possibly crash.

To get the wires through the firewall was a bit challenging, as the hole for the clutch cable was being used for my thick amp wire. So I wired it through behind the washer bottle then under the dash. Use the clutch cable hole near the brake booster as its the easiest way to run wires through the firewall.

Tools that you will need:
Soldering iron
Solder
Electircal tape
Some wire
Wire cutters or strippes
A screw driver (to remove the air intake snorkel)
Zip ties (to clean up the wiring and secure it from moving)

If your confident, do it yourself and the money you save from getting someone else to do it, buy some good quality gauges.

If you any more question just PM me.

Cheers

[canuk7]

AU dude,

Thanks for your reply! I think I''ll give it a go.