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.

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

[John M]

It's in the Tech Articles 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

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