Hi All

         Just putting the dash back together after 3 months of messing with the heater  

 

Before I start the work I have unearthed 3 VDO 52mm gauges oil pressure/ oil temperature/ battery voltage from a previous life ..! I have had them about 17 years.

 

I have the sensors mounted and tested - the gauges are all working under the bonnet.

 

My question is where do I take the ignition controlled 12v feed from ?  - What I am slightly wary of is upsetting another circuit and causing an issue !

 

Gone are the days when you just went around looking for a handy 12v feed with a meter and just tapping into that !

 

Thanks in advance lads !!

One option would be the feed to the speed switch for the cabin fan, red/white wire on pin 5 of that connector at the back of the HVAC module. It is one that gets temporarily cut during cranking though, so wouldn't suit if you want to be able to watch the voltage dip during that  time.

Thanks a Mill Again Wino

 

I see that wire alright - Didnt have to search too far given the current state of my interior

 

Thats a really handy cable run as well seeing as Im mounting the gauges in that area - Easy to get a good earth from the dash strut and take the illumination from the radio loom. I have a 6 way male and feamale connector as well just to put an OCD spin on it !

 

I'll put it all back this Saturday and hopefully that will be another job off the list !

 

Thanks Again

Thought to ponder. For the battery voltage - you might like to think again and take a feed off the non switched supply. Reason being that you can monitor the battery volts on cold mornings when cranking. A decent meter will only draw a few milli /micro amps, but it will give you an indication of the state of the battery on crank. Same idea on the oil pressure- given the option, I'd prefer to see a rising oil pressure on crank. Just an opposite POV to consider.

A nice (and nearby) alternative might be the brown/red wire on pin 4 of the black 8-way connector that goes to the radio.

This wire is live whenever the key is in the ignition barrel, whichever position the key is in, including ignition off.

On ‎13‎/‎02‎/‎2020 at 07:38, Wino said:

A nice (and nearby) alternative might be the brown/red wire on pin 4 of the black 8-way connector that goes to the radio.

This wire is live whenever the key is in the ignition barrel, whichever position the key is in, including ignition off.

 

 

Hi All

          I finally got a picture of my completed work with the gauges ! I went with Wino's suggestion for the gauge 12v supply. It works really well - The voltmeter has a slow kind of response but still shows till I pull the key out. They can be dimmed as I used the radio dimmer wire as its not used with my stereo.

 

The oil pressure and temperature I have run the wires through a local friendly grommit with a pipe on it ! Really handy to do. The oil temperature wire is blue and the oil pressure is white. I have the oil temp in as a sump plug and have an adaptor for the pressure gauge !

 

I prefer to have the clocks up on the dash and the radio low down but thats just me ! The clocks have a little aged patina ....! Next job is to get green illumination bulbs for them to have them the same as the instrument panel

 

This job is nearly there now !! I'll get the wire up done at the next service

 

Thanks again lads for all your help and advice

 

 

^ Looks good