Update to 94 Gauges(w/tach)

[r6z4o6]

Get rid of the moonies!! Add a tach!! All you need is:


(the blue DIP switch isnt really that big)



94 cluster-->$40 total off of ebay w/$20 of that in shipping
92-94 Digital Ratio Adapter/Controller(DRAC) -->$5 at local junkyard
94 cluster connector(if thats when they changed styles) -->$5-10 from local junkyard
8-position DIP switch--> $3 at RadioShack
18 gauge primary wire--> $2 at wal*mart
Lots of help from long&low--> Pricele$$
This DRAC PDF file or here
TOTAL: $60.00

-Buy a 94 cluster, which is the newest one that will fit in the square-style dash. I got mine off ebay. LUCKILY it was for an 8 cylinder, MAKE SURE you get the right kind(V6/V8) or it will NOT work!

-Locate a DRAC.

**IMPORTANT** There are two styles of DRAC...one with 7 jumpers(pointed out in pink below in diagram) and 14 jumpers!! The 14 jumper is from 94, dont get that one unless you want to solder twice as much!!. Junkyard let me browse the vehicles. Look behind the glovebox, ontop of the ECM. Its a hand-size white plastic box, perhaps with velcro under it. Should have 2 harnesses leaving it. Looks like:




In the pic on the left, the "blue" part was cut off for mounting purposes...expect some little tab things on it.

If you want your DRAC to be infinitly adjustable for any tire/axle combo you can get, solder in the DIP...if not, just refer to the table which might be here and solder in jumpers. Your gonna solder either way, go ahead and make it adjustable!

-Take out the old jumpers/solder....I heated up the solder, and pushed them from the back with the tip of the iron. If you still have solder in the holes, get it out somehow!! I had a soldering-sucking apparatus; but if your patient, a staple and burned fingers work just as well

-Now mount your DIP switch. I had to mount it backwards b/c that dang microchip thing was in the way...grrrr...notice the DRAC jumpers are numbered 1-7,right to left...and the DIP is 1-8, left to right.....



So DIP #1 = DRAC #7
DIP #2 = DRAC #6
Dip #3 = DRAC #5
..............................
DIP #7 = DRAC #1
DIP #8 = NOTHING!! Bend those legs out of the way or cut them or something cause you dont use them.

-Now solder the DIP!! Flip it over and add a little bit of solder... Its not hard, just get a small diameter solder cause it will mess up if you spray molten metal all over the board, now wont it??!?



-Go to your truck. take out the old cluster, throw it in the corner of the garage. Then cut some material out in an "L" shape like htis, so you can pull out the old connector and get some slack in the wires. The immediate area above and below the old connector will need to be trimmed away, so you can smoosh the new connector back there:



I decided to place my DRAC behind my radio.....b/c it fit and was less of pain than running wires to the glovebox....Gotta clip the DRAC like the blue is shaded in the previous pic of it. I got some 18 gauge wire and fed it through the cluster opening, and fished it out of the radio hole with a coathanger. Did this 8 times. Wire went in the left green spot, came out the right green spot:



Here is a wiring diagram.. Spots with 2 dots, the majority of the color on the wire is top dot, the bottom dot is the stripe:



-Solder one end of each wire to the DRAC connections. All other ends of the wires go to the original wires coming FROM the dash....The only DRAC that does not go to wires coming FROM the dash is the speedo which goes to the new cluster!! Heres what it looks like once the DRAC is soldered in:



-Do that part first, it makes this part very easy. NOW you must put the new 94 connector on, and you have all the odd wires out of the way since the DRAC is done. The rest of the wires match!! Take purple FROM the dash, solder to purple to 94 connector...Take yellow FROM the dash, solder to yellow to 94 connector...etc etc untill theere are no loose wires. They are all 1-to-1, except 2 blacks and 3 pink/blacks from the 94 cluster which each go to one of their kind FROM the dash. Heres halfway and totally done



-Your almost done!!! Now you gotta program the DRAC. CHeck your tire size and axle ratio, then go to the PDF file. Set up your ratio, and remember that you put the switch in wierd!!



Shove that DRAC back in there, and put your dash together! YOUR DONE!!

2grand at 70 mph AWWWW JEAHHH!! It shifts at right around 4 grand, which is beginning of redline on here. Thanks tach, now i know!;)

[Kid_Rock_GTX]

This is the most imformaive thread i have ever seen in all my FSC years! this should be written on gold paper and r6z4o6 should be made a god!

[CKTA]

:bow:

[Steveo_supremo]

Hey R6Z406,
How did you get the 94 connector to clip into the dash? Don't they have a different shape cut out in the dash for the 92-94 cluster connector as apposed to the 88-91 version. I know you did it, i am just curious as to how.

[r6z4o6]

On the 6th pic down, you can see the "L" i cut out to pull some slack from the wires. Where the old connector was, there is a little lip on the top and bottom, that kinda closes that gap a little....directly to the right there is a little hole that the old one kinda clipped to. The new one snaps into that hole too, and the widening makes it fit in. I dont think its in there super tight, but its not going anywhere

[HP409ss]

Great job Thank you for the info!

[Luke2kZ71]

Originally posted by HP409ss
Great job Thank you for the info!

yeah thanks dude this a nice thread this is one we need to make a html out of!

[97C1500]

Great job, always wanted to do this but didn't know how, Thanks! Will be doing mine soon.

[trance]

thats pretty impressive, and i guess those who have changed tires sizes could recalibrate their speedo this way too? nice.

cuz i think my speedo if off by 5mph or so, meaning my 90mph govenor is actually 85!

[Stabbin97Tahoe]

DAAAAAMMMMNNNN That is a lot of work but looks good. Now you just need to pull it all apart again, clear out the needles, and put in blue LED's

[Kid_Rock_GTX]

Originally posted by Stabbin97Tahoe
DAAAAAMMMMNNNN That is a lot of work but looks good. Now you just need to pull it all apart again, clear out the needles, and put in blue LED's

hahaha thats almost word for word what i told him in AIM he needs to clear the needles and blue leds!

[Starcraft]

It was mentioned to watch which guage cluster you get, one from a V-6 or V-8. How do you tell the difference? I was told when I bought mine that it came from a V-8 truck, and that is what I'm going to install it in. But, the part number is different than the one posted here.
Thanks for all your effort on this tech thread. It was great. I'm not afraid to do it to mine after reading all this.

[r6z4o6]

trance -
Correct!! There are 2 numbers you need when setting up the DRAC to make your speedo work right: (1) the axle ratio and (2) the circumference of your tire


Stabbin97Tahoe -
To be honest, 90% was on paper. I took over a week to gather all the diagrams from long&low and the library, and the internet, and my own manuals i had....about 6 legal pads went to making sure i knew what i was doing!! Find a place for your DRAC, and heat up the solder gun!! I hope the wiring diagram is simple n clear, its not that bad. The hard part is done for ya!!...just a lot of soldering, all the wires go to one of the same color..just gotta CUT ONE WIRE form the old harness, then SOLDER ONE WIRE to the new....pretty much cant go wrong!!


....LEDs are getting ordered soon, but im gonna keep the needles red....

Starcraft -
AH JEEEZ!!! I just called my dealership....they said:

16193695 = V6 ----> what i have
16193705 = V8 ----> what you have??

As far as i can tell though, mine is right!! It idles a little under a thousand, and shists from 3500-4500 maybe it doesnt matter??? Ill try to do some more research, but...meh!:to:

Glad you decided to do the swap, you wont regret it!!! Let me know if you need any help, and be sure to post pics when your done!! Just be careful if you snap photos while drivingi almost flew off the road(again)

[Starcraft]

now I'm gonna have to call the dealer. The QPM sticker on the bottom of the cluster has..16140115. Now on the printed circuit board, it has...16140289. On the black plastic housing, it has...PT 16129547 One way or another, this things going in!!

[Starcraft]

The part number on my cluster, according to the dealer, is from a 92-93 V-8 truck. Used with the small block or big block.
My dealer did'nt research why, but he thought it odd it was changed in 94. On another note about the DRAC unit, I can order a new one calibrated for my trucks' gear ratio and tire size for $125. I still think I'm gonna solder my own dip switches in.

[r6z4o6]

Originally posted by Starcraft
The part number on my cluster, according to the dealer, is from a 92-93 V-8 truck. Used with the small block or big block.
My dealer did'nt research why, but he thought it odd it was changed in 94. On another note about the DRAC unit, I can order a new one calibrated for my trucks' gear ratio and tire size for $125. I still think I'm gonna solder my own dip switches in.

Excellent!! Then your good to go!! All you need is the connector to go to your wires in the dash, and a DRAC...Get the one with 7 jumpers, instead of 14. A lot easier

And $125 -vs- $15 in parts, plus it will always be adjustable...you made the right choice!! The hardest part is getting the solder out of the holes b4 you put the switch in, but its more time consuming than anything

[lykan]

What do the old gauges look like? If ya can show us a picture of the old ones so we know why you're changin' Hell of an article guys!

[SquareOne]

Awesome post! I've only owned my truck for about 6 months now (I am on the fast track for customization though) and I didn't even know you could do that kind of swap (and it doesn't even look so difficult that I couldn't tackle it myself! Score for me!). Looks pretty player too. I just have a few questions:

I'm swapping out the worn 4.3 for a 5.7 so am I gonna run into issues as far as clusters or wiring goes?

Also, and bear with me because I'm new to these trucks...

Now you just need to pull it all apart again, clear out the needles, and put in blue LED's

How do I go about clearing the needles? And what LEDs? It sounds pretty tricked out and I like to give that a try too. That's about it. Great article/info. Dueces!

[long&low]

I'm swapping out the worn 4.3 for a 5.7 so am I gonna run into issues as far as clusters or wiring goes?

No. The wire harnesses are the same.

[lykan]

Ok how about the 350-454 harness same or no? I am thinking if my motor goes, or if I can find a decent inexpesnsive donr illdrop in a 454 for torque