Have you got a wiring pictures for dummies like me?

 

yup..im gonna try this hahaha

 

5 years later, and Freds dash still looks like this:
http://frederic.woodbridgedata.com/p...cluster-07.JPG

sorry pal, but i could not resist posting that with the thread mining.

 

HOLY THREAD REVIVAL BATMAN!!!!!!!

 

hahaha, i saw it and realized all the amazing threads there are that i figured should be more noticed!!!

 

Two quick questions. Is my 1996 F150 accepting digital or analog signal for the instrument cluster? What years of donors should I be looking at?

I put 91 Mercury Cougar digital cluster guts in my 94 Explorer cluster housing and I loved it. I love the look of this cluster too, and would so love to do this mod to my F150.

Thanks in advance,

Geoph

 

Holy crap this was dug from the past! Im highly interested in doing this though, looks factory and looks very unique. Hopefully fredric has a job now! is He still around on here? Does this retain the factory mileage and speedo calibration constant?

 

ok now i cant decide if i wannt do this my self...I like the look of the cougar dash but i like the windstar digital dash too...

what other vehicles could I use for a '95 truck? also what years would be able to work with my truck the '95 model?

 

Putting the Cougar stuff in the Explorer clusster housing was a real PITA. I had a real issue with reliable backlighting. If you want to read the thread, here it is. Digital Dash Swap? - Ford Explorer Ranger Enthusiasts "Serious Explorations"®
There was nothing that was a direct fit. Also, there was a guy on a T-Bird forum that did a blue tint mod to it and it looked sick! I still need to know if the 96 uses analog or digital input for the cluster.



EDIT: The Cougar was an 89

 

All dash guages should be analog execpt the "idot light" oil guage, thats a oil pressure switch that opens at 7psi or higher oil pressure. But it's still analog. The speed meter in the 91 up trucks used the VSS in rear axle to give speed info to the PSOM. I am not sure how the T-bird or other electronic clusters get the speed info. I do know my 90 Lincoln Towncar digital cluster uses the vss sensor on the tranny tail shaft.

I even thinking about doing this using a Lincoln Towncar cluster on my 89 F250. I'll grab the engine harness and ecu from a Towncar as then I can get the MPG function and also get SMPFI insted of the batch fire EFI. That 90 Towncar with the same 302 as the 89 F250 justs smokes the 89 F250!

 

along with my other questions, what vehicles had digital dashes?

 

That's how the Cougar's cluster worked.

That's what I thought, but what's he talking about here?

Any digital cluster would look great. Just a question, why the Lincoln when there are (IMO) much sexier clusters out there?

 

would any digi cluster be direct bolt in with minimal wire work or no? what clusters would be good for my 95 truck? i have a trans code of "U" if that helps, also how would I know what type of speed sensor do I have I would want to use a cluster from another vehicle with the same set up as my truck for most accurate set up...

 

Any cluster will require at least some amount of modification. This one seems like more wiring than anything and a little bit of forming the dash bezel. The clusters seem to be the same physical size. The cougar's was different and required a fair bit of fab work to complete because the donor cluster was a completely different shape than the explorer's.

AFAIK, you need to find something that uses the same signals and ohm ranges for the gauges to work properly. For example, the Windstar's tach in this swap reads higher than it should because it is not getting the proper signal.

 

ok, but which cluster will require the minimal amount of work as i have very limited space to work and time/money are things i have little of (not to mention this truck is my DD so it can't be out of service for more then 24-48 hours at most