Guage faces/HVAC panel questions.....

Chiggles · Post by **Chiggles** » March 1st, 2005, 4:50 am

Okay guys, I know there are already a whole bunch of other threads posted on these topics, but I need to clarify a few things, so please bare with me. Obviously, the guage panels that one can get from Speedhut have been around for awhile now, and I just ordered a set myself (should be on the way in the next week or 2), but before I go about installing them, I want to clear up some issues I've been hearing about them.

1) There has been the occasional mention on the board that the back of the needles might have to be sanded down in order to get them to sweep across the dial properly due to so fittiment issue about how the dials are a bit too think once you overlay them over the stock faces. Is that still the case after all this time since they have been in production??? Also, there's been a mention about using a dremel tool to snip off the ends of the needles for fittiment as well. Is this really necessary??

2) In an instance or 2, there has been a complaint of some sort of humming noise coming from the inverter or the speakers once you wire them in. It doesn't sound like this is a common problem, but what is the cause of this possible interference and how do I make sure I won't have a similar issue?

3) I understand from all the reading that they should be wired into the dimmer switch controls in order to get them to illuminate properly. With regards to this, how is everyone splicing into that line? As in, are you guys soldering them together, using wire nuts, or barrel crimp connectors?? To be honest, I haven't touched anything to do with wire splicing ever, and the last time I used a soldering iron was back in high school during sheet metal shop classes. So for this part, logically I assume I should disconnect the car battery before I start messing around with the wires, but from there, once I find the wire I'm looking for behind the dimmer switch, what is the proper procedure to strip the wire and actually complete the splicing process???

4) From what I can tell, the only aftermarket HVAC panels that we can get for our rides are the ones that Speedhut offer at the moment, but they are meant for the panels that have strictly all slider controls. My 95 GS uses slider controls for the temperature and fan settings on the bottom half of the panel, but the upper half consists of the push-button style controls. I've read that the Speedhut HVAC panels aren't a compatible fit for these push-button controls, so does anyone know of an outfit that DOES make a compatible panel for the push-button HVAC panel????

With regards to #4, if such a panel doesn't exist, I can live with that, and I'm aware that the back of the panel has the green film on it, but I'm planning on trying to replace the bulbs in behind with LED ones, so I hope that might be the effective alternative.

DJsMX-3 · Post by **DJsMX-3** » March 1st, 2005, 6:07 am

1. Its true that the needles can get stuck on the dials not moving freely, but the EL-sheets cant be thinner than they are.. If you have a clearanceproblem dont put the tape on between the original and new dials, just let the screws and front of the cluster hold them in place..
I have however seen BIG diferencen in clearance from needle to dial on diffrent clusters, so instead of sanding and cutting.. Try to lift the needle outwards to get more clearance without pulling the needle off.

2. All inverters humm but at a highpitched frequency, most people most likely cant hear it when its mounted in the car, either because of bad hearing or noise in the car "road,engine,music"
If you can hear it just wrap soundproofing material around it, its a highfrequency so it get muffeled quite easy..
If the humm actually enters the speakers its because of bad groundings or cheap stereocomponents, or some other flaw in the stereosetup.

3. Yes you should disconect the battery before you start splicing any wires,All you need to get the dials nice and bright is make sure you have a good ground and a 12V that is currentstrong enough not to dip in voltage when your inverter is added to the powerdraw on that wire, its all up to you where you get that power from, but it would be easy to just connect to the wires behind the dimmerswitch.. and the way to splice is all up to you and how god a quality you want it to be, i always solder for the best result. I usually release the lock and pull the pins out of the plugs and then solder the new wire on there and put the pin back in the plug and reassemble the plugs, gives you a nice result and no need for tape anywhere

4. I have never heard of a HVAC besides for the 1992 MX-3 and you wont have much luck with blue LED's behind there..
First off like you said the HVAC is tinted green on the back and this will alter the wavelenght of the blue light that shines thru,secondly the lightbulb "one" spreads the light and illuminates the whole HVAC from behind, if you put a LED in its place it will only make a small point right infront of itself light up. The wider lightangle the LED you want to use have the more it will light up your HVAC but for a good result you would need to use several in some sort of array behind there..

Did it help?

ScooterBovine · Post by **ScooterBovine** » March 1st, 2005, 6:47 am

My eBay gauges went right on, no problem. And the needles never needed to be sanded or anything crazy like that. I just used a pair of needle node pliers to pull them gently through the holes in the new indiglo plates... As for splicing, I used the little white crimp thingies that have like "1 input, 2 output" and used my dimmer switch.

Mnemonic · Post by **Mnemonic** » March 1st, 2005, 3:27 pm

If you want to change the color of the buttons what your gonna have to do is remove the green gel sheets and replace them with Blue Gel sheets, you can get these sheets at most places that handle profesional photography and lighting.

I used the blue sheets to turn my turn signals blue on my guage cluster works pritty well, i got a really dark blue sheet so that it wouldnt come out being a crappy blue/white color

Hope this helps

Chiggles · Post by **Chiggles** » March 2nd, 2005, 2:36 am

DJsMX-3: Yeah, that does help, thank you. As a follow up, when it comes down to stripping the wire properly, what's the best way to do it? I don't want to end up cutting the wire by accident, so how do I peel back the wire housing without messing up the wire??

Does anyone know how much of a difference it makes when it comes to the wire splicing method? As in soldering vs. crimp connectors - what are pros and cons??

Mnemonic: The tints on the back of the HVAC panels are just gel sheets??

Do they just simply peel off? How much did you pay for your blue sheets then, and when you say "places that handle pro photography and lighting".... do you mean a place like Black's or McBain's or someplace else???

DJsMX-3 · Post by **DJsMX-3** » March 2nd, 2005, 8:24 am

Crimpconnectors can be used inside the car, but if used outside solder them on instead of crimping because water leads to corrosion between the wire and spadelug or whatever you use, then you have bad connections with powerlosses and enoing periodical faults...

Theres no cons when it comes to soldering, its the best way to make the connection in every application, But that beeing said its depending of how good your solderingskills are, inside the car you could use crimpconnectors if you like, its up to you.
Personally i just think i looks dinky "but im also a Radiomechanic", and i have helped others find crazy electrical faults in cars where somthing like this have been used for connections http://www.elektronik-lavpris.dk/eshop/ ... O_ID=91216 "i think theyre what scoterbovine meant, but i dont know the english word for them" they sometimes cut the wire theyre trying to make a connection to giving faults of all kind depending on where they have been put..

Peeling the wire isnt that difficult if you have a new sharp stanleyknife-blade,you just run it all the way around the wire so the cut ends where you started "almost no pressure should be applyed so you dont cut into the wires inside" move 5-10mm in either direction and repeat, then you cut inbetween the two cuts along the wire and you can remove that section of insulation

Now just remove about 20mm of insulation of off the wire you want to connect, twist the threads and wrap them around the opening you made on the dimmerwire... Heat and solder probertly so you see how the solder is sucked into the wires like it was a wick, when its right the solder should have covered all the wire and be shiny. (practice soldering wires before you do it in the car)

End it all by wrapping electrical tape around the conection you have made and youre done..

ovendenk · Post by **ovendenk** » March 2nd, 2005, 9:01 am

just make sure that you are using electrical solder and not plumbing solder. electrical solder has the flux imbedded in the core of the solder wire, requires less heat and has better electrical properties. you can pick it up at any place that has soldering irons and it's pretty cheap.