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Be aware that the courtesy lamp group wiring under the dash is different for the following years, and needs to be within the compatible year range or changing plugs and rewiring will be needed.
I keep forgetting that his donor is an 85.lol.Mine was an 82,so everything swapped on over.I keep thinking bout the simplicity for me,and not what's compatible.
Originally Posted by 81-F-150-Explorer
If you use the old harness as a wire runner, you can install the new one pretty easily. Use the cargo/dome lamp harness out of a 1980-1991, but use the Cargo lamp housing out of a 1992, as the 1992 has a better gasket.
This can work,but It didn't for me,because the main plug from the bottom kept getting caught between the roof panels and every time I broke it free,it would catch again,so eventually I unraveled a coat hanger and used that.
My cargo light housing is from a 92,as well as the gasket.I have a couple gaskets from 80-91,and there is definitely a big difference.
One thing that wasn't mentioned that i'm surprised 81 Explorer didn't put,is that if you cut the hole in the cab for the cargo light,make sure you spray some paint inside the hole between the roof layers.This area wasn't painted from factory for obvious reasons,so it is just bare metal.
hey guys can you help me out on this one? I just finished wiring in my tach and it gets power, but bounces about 200 rpm up or down of what im really at. ive checked grounds, solders and all that. is my tach shot or what? thanks
Reviving this thread incase others have goofed as I did with a used gauge cluster on ebay hoping to gain a tachometer. Read this thread before and noticed that images being referred to are broken links. Going to post them up with the forum's image upload so they should live forever.
This is a printed circuit for a cluster with tachometer
This is a printed circuit for a cluster without tachometer. Notice the gaping hole in the center.
3rd variant without gauges at all. Idiot lights as we like to say.
And there's a 3rd entirely different circuit for a cluster that only had the idiot lights.
Did you buy a cluster that had no printed circuit on the back?
That is right. I had that in my 83 F-150. Sucked lol.
I did. I didn't noticed because I didn't know what to look for other than knowing the truck is already wired for it presumably. No biggie. I will attempt to solder some leads otherwise order a fresh circuit from Bronco Graveyard.
otherwise order a fresh circuit from Bronco Graveyard.
I see the aftermarket guys like LMC and NPD also have new instrument cluster lenses. I plan to get one, but I'm going to wait and make it part of a larger order later on. I don't want to order it all by itself. I noticed in a couple of the instrument cluster swap threads I dug up that it was also recommended to replace the little voltage reg on the back of the cluster. The little tin box with that plugs in like a 9v battery.
I thought that what it was! I spent time sanding the contacts to get the corrosion off. Same with the tach after seeing the caddywhompus thread.
A new lens will be for me too along with some other things. Got too greedy trying to refinish the one that came with my ebay cluster and left scratches all over it.
I thought that what it was! I spent time sanding the contacts to get the corrosion off. Same with the tach after seeing the caddywhompus thread.
A new lens will be for me too along with some other things. Got too greedy trying to refinish the one that came with my ebay cluster and left scratches all over it.
I would like to get a new lens as well, but my cluster has a trip odometer. The one I saw at LMC and bronco graveyard are only for models that do not include the trip odometer. If you run across one with the trip odometer hole, let me know.
Hmm. Seems like it's just an extra hole in the lens. You could attempt to measure and drill a hole for it. Possibly swap out for a non-trip speedometer if you rather have nice lens over trip odometer.
When I upgraded to a tach cluster in my '85 IDI, it also included a trip-od speedometer. It was a boneyard cluster, did NOT include the lens. I just drilled a hole and then cut a short piece of wooden dowel, and cut a slot in the end of the dowel to engage the reset arm. It stays put fine. I think I even just used a black sharpie on it rather than painting it. It's off-center from the arm by prob. 1/32", because I'm bad at measuring for such things.
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