upgrading guages in 88-94 interior

[Arctic_Scrap]

Whats involved in replacing the ugly bar guages to the needle guages in the 88-94 interiors?

[g9m3c]

Bar gauges were only 88 and 89, 90 to 94 were the same, and then 95-98 I believe.

[1989K1500]

Bar gauges were only 88 and 89, 90 to 94 were the same, and then 95-98 I believe.
:word: Moonies were 88 & 89.

You can buy a 90-91 (I think its through 91)guage cluster and it will plug right in, then after that it requires a new plug, which you can get from a junkyard.

[someotherguy]

I was pretty sure the only needle gauge cluster that is plug-n-play with the 89-90 is in *some* 91 trucks and not very common.

The 92-94 needle cluster requires a different connector, and a DRAC module, as detailed in the tech article here on FSC about swapping clusters.

Richard

[Arctic_Scrap]

I know the bar guages were only 88 and 89. If I end up with an 88 or 89 as my next truck those guages are coming out asap. So if I find a '91 it will work[hopefully]?

[Jonnyonwheels]

Correction...moonies were 88-91! I know because there are 4 fsc's in my family at the moment between my father, my brothers and I, and we happen to have one of each... an 88, 89, 90, and 91. And all four trucks have the crappy moonie style gauges!!

[Kevin003]

Ive got the stupid moonie gauges in my truck to. If anyone has any info or links about people doing needle gauges swaps pm me or post in here please. I would really like to get these stupid gauges out of here. On a side note my friend bought a 94 k2500 last weekend and the guy said he had the moonie gauges and did a gauge cluster swap to the needles? Either hes lying or they had moonies in 94 :eyecrzy:

[John M]

It's in the Tech Articles (http://www.fullsizechevy.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69806) section.

[496-TKO]

Ive got the stupid moonie gauges in my truck to. If anyone has any info or links about people doing needle gauges swaps pm me or post in here please. I would really like to get these stupid gauges out of here. On a side note my friend bought a 94 k2500 last weekend and the guy said he had the moonie gauges and did a gauge cluster swap to the needles? Either hes lying or they had moonies in 94 :eyecrzy:
NOPE none of that in 94

[ilmudrunner]

sorry for reviving an old thread, but i need clarification...if i got a needle guage cluster out of a '91 truck, it would swap directly into my '90 with no other mods??

however, if i were to buy a needle guage cluster out of a '92-'94 truck, i'd have to swap the drac and connectors and pretty much follow the tech article on here??

am i understanding this right??? '91 needle cluster into a '88-'91 truck w/ moonies is a direct swap? but a '92-'94 needle cluster is not a direct swap into a '88-'91 truck w/ moonies?

[John M]

Sounds right to me. Luckily I had my old totaled 92 to donate its cluster w/ tach into my current 92 that had just the speedo.

[long&low]

sorry for reviving an old thread, but i need clarification...if i got a needle guage cluster out of a '91 truck, it would swap directly into my '90 with no other mods??

however, if i were to buy a needle guage cluster out of a '92-'94 truck, i'd have to swap the drac and connectors and pretty much follow the tech article on here??

am i understanding this right??? '91 needle cluster into a '88-'91 truck w/ moonies is a direct swap? but a '92-'94 needle cluster is not a direct swap into a '88-'91 truck w/ moonies?

Not 100% PnP. You will have to move a few wires in the connector and add the wire for the tach. signal.
You are correct on the 92-94 cluster.

[ilmudrunner]

long&low, what wires would have to be moved on the '91 cluster to get it to work?

[long&low]

long&low, what wires would have to be moved on the '91 cluster to get it to work?

I will have to find my notes and let you know but, it might take a little time. I am working alot of overtime and trying to get my truck going.

[ilmudrunner]

no problem. i'm just trying to get myself organized for when i do the swap. i have no parts yet so i'm in no rush right now. but if i can find the '91 cluster and save myself an hour on the install or whatever, that'd be awesome. thanks for the help.

[Buffalo]

Going to the '92-'94 does take a bit more work, I know because I've done it on mine. But it does have the added payoff of being able to recalibrate your speedometer for tire and gear changes. And what are the odds that if you do find one of those rare '91 guages that it would just happen to have been programmed for your exact tire / gear ratio?

If you take your time, read up and make sure that you have the right wiring diagram, and cut, solder, and shrinksleeve one wire at a time you shouldn't have any problems. And you can put your DRAC anywhere that's convenient, since I don't smoke I put mine in my ashtray so that it was easy to get to and easy to wire.

And if you're in no rush, then just keep checking Ebay 'till you find the right one. I watched Ebay for 3 months before I found the right one. By waiting I found one with an odometer reading that was 604 miles over what my truck had. I then drove my truck the 604 miles before changing it out, so that my new odometer is within 2/10's of a mile of the factory one.

[ilmudrunner]

that's a good point as well...like i said tho, i'm just gathering as much information about the swap as I can for now. Chances are i probably will have to use a '92-'94 gauge cluster due to the '91s being so rare.

[Jroc]

I have the rare 91 cluster and i'm curious if the notes were ever found about what wires to move? i didnt read this and I tried to just plug it in due to the fact that the plus were the same and all that worked were the lights and signals lol mine is a 91 w/tach. Is there anyone here who can tell me how to get it to work in my 90?

Thanks!

[Buffalo]

If you go to the tech articles section, I believe that it is covered in the article about swapping to '92-'94 gauges.

[Jroc]

yea but mine is the direct plugin 91 cluster, not the 92-94 :)
if i'm mistaken and u could get me a link that would be great!

Thanks again guys

[Buffalo]

I know that yours is the plug and play, but this was also covered in the article. I dug through it and found the link,
http://www.454ss.com/Articles_new/tweek/DASHB.asp

[Jroc]

awesome I may just give that a try tonight!
thanks man i really appreciate it

[Jroc]

I did mine this weekend and it looks so much nicer, Only took me about 30 mins and that's including tearing the cluster out and reassembling the dash pieces. The only thing is I didnt calibrate the cluster since I'm not fully sure how just yet and its pretty far off due to my gearing. 35 = 50 and 60 = 100 lol so its going to take some getting used to, eventually i'll fix it but its nice to have a tach! :)

[webman]

This may seem like a stupid question, but how do I get the wires out of the harness to move them to the proper spots? I take it I just need to push something in the hole just below the wire I want to remove, but am having no luck.

[ilmudrunner]

yea there's usually a small tab inside of the harness that you need to depress to pull the wire out. they make picks that are designed to get those out but u can make a really small screwdriver work. just wiggle the wire around a little. sometimes that makes it a little easier. just be sure not to damage any of the connectors. good luck

[webman]

Thanks. I managed to figure it out last night. The white strip on the back of the connector with the pins was able to push into the from (on its side so you can do one at a time) and then the wires came out no problem.

[cancritter]

replaced my moonies with a cluster from a 91...straight plug and play....still countin blessins

[hornsfan10609]

Bar gauges were only 88 and 89, 90 to 94 were the same, and then 95-98 I believe.
NO, my truck is a '91 and it has the "Moonie" gauges.

[cancritter]

MY 91 had moonies:happy:
from 454 site.. 16147895, Instrument Cluster, 1, 659.00 (Ouch, I know…)....wow...l thought 750 for a 91 454ss speedo was alot...think l missed a deal :O(

[hornsfan10609]

Another note is you must match your engine in your truck to the engine in the truck that your cluster came from, otherwise it won't work. Mostly because of the tach and the RPM redline.

[Buffalo]

Actually, you can change the tach reading from V6 to V8 with a little soldering. Do a search for 'tach resistor' for more information.

[hornsfan10609]

If I find a '91 cluster and put it in my '91 truck, do I still have to switch the wires, or is that just for pre-91's. I also found what I think is a tach connector thing by my coil and was wondering if the tach is pre-wired into the connector, because that would be sweet if it was.

Hey I just found this on eBay and wanted to add it:http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/CHEVROLET-TRUCK-SPEEDOMETER-CLUSTER-GAUGES-CHEVY-C-10_W0QQitemZ230098302440QQcategoryZ33675QQrdZ1QQcm dZViewItem
It's a needle cluster from a '92-93 truck but it doesn't have a tach. I've never seen one like that before.

[Buffalo]

The '91 should plug right in to yours, but you will need to run a tach wire from the coil to the connector. But one thing that you need to think about is the speedometer calibration. The '91's can only be recalibrated using a special kit from GM that shorts out the old settings in the gauge cluster. GM no longer makes this kit. Although a few dealerships might still have one lying around, you'd be very lucky to find one. If you do the extra work to switch to the '92-'94, you will gain the ability to recalibrate the speedo by just flipping a few switches, which is handy if you ever change tire sizes or gear ratio's. Plus they are cheaper and easier to find than the rare '91.

[cancritter]

on my 91 l didnt even have to deal with the tach wire...everything worked right from the get go with the swap
dont know if thier all like that or l just got realy lucky

[hornsfan10609]

I think on some trucks they're wired already and on some they're not. And, with the 92-94 gauges, i'm not very good with electronics and it looks like a HUGE pain in the ass to change all those wires around. I'd rather just plug it in. Also, I think since I have the stock wheel and tire size and I don't plan on changing them, the speedometer will not need to be recalibrated.

[Buffalo]

Yes, but your stock rear axle and tire size could easily be different. Chevy offered several different gear ratios and tire sizes on different models for the same year to accommodate different owners needs. You could get trucks with .342's, .373's, .410's, ect., as well as different wheel sizes, so finding one of the rare '91's that matches yours would be a luckey find. And on the '92-'94, if you read carefully and make sure that you have the right diagram, then just cut and solder one wire at a time, it's really not that bad.

[JohnO356]

I put the '91 in my '88 a few months ago. The wires to move are:

B15 to B11
A10 to A9
A11 to A10

Wire from tach to B15

This is covered in the tech article. These wire moves are for the '88 to '91. I'm not sure it would be the same on your '90. You'll also need a speedometer calibration kit and module. The calibration kits are no longer manufactured, but if your local dealer doesn't have one left, he can check his computer to find a dealer who has one. BTW, I had to call several dealers before I found one who would sell to me. The dealers seem to want to keep them for possible in-house use.