Cluster Swap

[Techfizzle]

Okay Heres the scoop. I hate the cluster in my ciera, its looks like the one out of a 60's car and only has sorry lights on it. I know where I can get a full cluster for $10 (maybe free If I trade mine) Anyhoo. The full cluster has a digital speedometer cable not a mechanical. So:
1. What has to be changed to make this work?
2. Will a vss off a 4 speed fit a 3 speed?
3. How do you reset the miles on it? (The Electronic cluster?)
by electronic I mean the speedometer has a guage., but the speedometer is digtial.

[glasspilot]

I know where I can get a full cluster for $10 (maybe free If I trade mine) Anyhoo. The full cluster has a digital speedometer cable not a mechanical.

My 1988 Ciera has the optional cluster. All gauges and no idiot lights. But the speedo has a conventional cable drive. Now the tach is electric, and mine quit working years ago. When I start it pegs out to the high side.

[Tonglebeak]

Here we go again -_-

Didn't someone bring this up earlier, and I asked them if they knew of a way to make a custom harness for this thing so that splicing wouldn't be required?

[Techfizzle]

is speed info availbe at the harness or would you have to put in a diff vss??

[CieraSL92]

is speed info availbe at the harness or would you have to put in a diff vss??

The speedometer is driven by a cable which is rotated with mechanical movement.

You would need to find a cluster with a connection for a mechanical speedo

[Techfizzle]

Yeah I know but the full cluster is hard to find and the junk yards that do carry em want alot of money. I have done wiring before

[CieraSL92]

Yeah I know but the full cluster is hard to find and the junk yards that do carry em want alot of money. I have done wiring before

...Kay, but the only way your car gets it speed info is from the speedometer cable. The cruise control gets it from the cluster, iirc.

89/90?+ had vehicle speed sensors, and yes, those were avaliable at the harness.

[Techfizzle]

Im not getting anywhere..... I need to know exactly what all do I need to do this?

[CieraSL92]

A cluster with a connection for a mechanical speedo+gauge sending units (swap out your current idiots)

Repinning is nessecary on the 88 too, IIRC. 89+ was plug and play.

Edit: If your talking about using a digital cluster, I have no idea-I thought you were talking about the analog with full gauge set.

[Techfizzle]

I dont wont to spend $60 for a cluster at another jy that has the full gaguge. I can get this one at this jy for $10. How do I make it work? it has the digtial speedo connecor.

[87Cutlass Ciera]

If Tech's cluster has the VSS sensor instead of mechanical, then could he just take the mechanical guts from his old cluster (idot lights) and swap it into the full gauge cluster? It means taking apart the speedometers of course, but it should work shouldn't it? I tried to get the speedometer out of the full cluster I got from the Cruiser, but I had no luck and decided not to mess with it. But I had toyota cluster that I was able to take the faces off the speedometers and change the guts...

[CieraSL92]

If Tech's cluster has the VSS sensor instead of mechanical, then could he just take the mechanical guts from his old cluster (idot lights) and swap it into the full gauge cluster? It means taking apart the speedometers of course, but it should work shouldn't it? I tried to get the speedometer out of the full cluster I got from the Cruiser, but I had no luck and decided not to mess with it. But I had toyota cluster that I was able to take the faces off the speedometers and change the guts...

Tech has a mechanically driven speedometer. The digital cluster (Depending on what year) may have it too-I don't know, I've never dealt with it.

Techfizzle-Do let us know how this works out. I think the digital clusters look like ass, but to each his own.

On the miles, there are three ways this would have been done for a digital cluster. One, stored locally in the cluster itself. Two, by means of a Body control module-these don't have that so you can rule that out. Three, in the ECM. All of them would require a scantool I imagine.

[Techfizzle]

Oh I wish people wouldnt get so confusedhttp://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/6/web/210000-210999/210791_44_full.jpg\
THAT is the cluster I want to put in it is the full gauge Cluster. The one I found has a electricly driven speedometer because it was made after 90 when they changed to eletric speedomter.
There is a sensor in the vss that sends a impulse to the spedometer every 1/10 mile My 88 has a mechnanical. Would it be as simple as putting in the guts outa mine? Or Would I have to wire it up? Will I have to repin it?

[Tonglebeak]

you need to find a way to swap out the mechanical VSS with an electronic one for the speedo or something. I dunno, haven't messed with the electrical ones.

[CieraSL92]

Tech I think your misunderstanding. There are provisions at the transmission for a vehicle speed sensor or speedometer gear. If you can find a way to swap the gear for the VSS, then you'd be fine as long as you could run the respective wires to the cluster.

Or-as I said find a cluster with a cable.

[86euro]

Putting the VSS on the tranny is the easy part, that's no big deal. You just have to figure out how to wire it all up, which nobody here has figured out yet.

Techie, the confusion is coming from your referring to an electric cluster as "digital".

[Techfizzle]

Im gonna try to take the guts outa my granny cluster and try to put it in the full.
Now:
1. What needs repinned and where can I find this out?
2. What sensors need wire/replaced?

[CieraSL92]

lol

[notsoslimshady76]

lol

X2! I hope you have a spare cluster, b/c I have a feeling this won't ever go back in the car and work

[Techfizzle]

Good News!
Okay I looked at some of the cluster beyond 90 that have vss.
The odometer is away from the guage, like a eletrical module is behind it.
Now I looked on car domain of the full clusters of 1988 they look like a cable driven setup. The cluster I have (will have) is off a 90, it looks like the 88 one. I looked at the back of the cluster there is only 2 connectors like mine. Since there is no cable connector, that means the speedometer is eletricaly driven, BUT the guage from 90 looks like a 88. So I am going to asume that the guage is cable drive, but had a eletronic module installed behind it that drives it with eletrical signals, to make it compliant with the other eletronic speedometers of those years. So If I take apart this cluster, I might be able to remove the module behind it, drill a hole in the plastic, the install my speedometer cable. I know I sound crazy, but I can get this cluster for $10 (will get it sometime this week) other junkyards want $50+ and the full guage clusters look cool and race car-ish while my cluster looks like an old cluster out of a 70's car.

[CieraSL92]

The module you see is the stepper motor. It physically rotates the needle.

Edit: Good luck.

[86euro]

Oh geez :uh:

[Techfizzle]

no no no! The 88 speedometer look sexactly like the 90 one! Il have to get it sometime this week and show you guys. but I might be able to put my old speedo in there or make this one work.

[85 Holiday]

no no no! The 88 speedometer look sexactly like the 90 one! Il have to get it sometime this week and show you guys. but I might be able to put my old speedo in there or make this one work.

What do you want to show us? I have around 3 89+ rally cluster gauges.. I think I might even have the old cable driven one from my 85 but, I wouldn't know where to look for it (no idea why I collected them). Hope you have fun re-pinning whatever is necessary as they didn't provide much slack. Also, those 2 connectors can be PIA to get out... hope you don't damage anything.