Part 1; A guide to installing a pillar mounted oil temp and boost gauge in an MY01
26 January 2006, 08:42 PM
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Part 1; A guide to installing a pillar mounted oil temp and boost gauge in an MY01
PART 1
A pictorial guide to installing a pillar mounted oil temp and boost gauge in an MY01 WRX
I decided to write this guide for those out there wanting to install a functional, reasonably priced, quality oil temp and boost gauge without the high costs of the centre mounted defi’s and the OEM lamco sports gauge pack
This also leaves the centre console free to install your Psi3 SECS unit! (I now have one!)
After looking at the different 52mm gauge manufactures I came close to buying the AC Autotechnic S7 Invision gauges but was put off by Boost being in PSI and the oil temp in Fahrenheit, I wanted Bar and Centigrade, anyway to cut a long story short I went for some J3 stealths from the GaugeShop @ £49.99 each including vat & del
Next was the pod, I never really liked the idea of A-Pillar mounted gauges and really wanted the genuine sports gauge pack but after watching SN for a used set for a while with nothing showing and 700ish for a new one from Subaru a change of tack was needed and the pillar mounted twin ABS plastic in black from scoobyparts.com started to fit the bill and at £26 I thought I’d give it a try and ordered one. I had previously seen a lot of poor quality ones made in fibreglass that need painting; I wanted a better quality, more OEM look. To my surprise the ScoobyParts black ABS plastic pod was very good!
This pod is also available in carbon fibre look and in single gauge form
The 52mm J3s are a tight push fit into the pre cut holes; I went with oil temp at the bottom and boost at the top
There is plenty of room at the rear to install the supplied brackets and wiring, I decided to pre wire all the connections to a Velcro mount terminal block so connecting up in the car would be easy:
The boost gauge requires an ignition switched +12v supply, a ground and a +12v feed from the lighting circuit, this dims the gauges slightly at night when the lights are turned on. The oil temp also requires +12 ignition supply, a ground and +12v lighting feed, but also a +12 for the sender circuit, a second ground and sensor pickup connection to the installed sensor in the engine block. All +12v cables were connected together, all grounds connect together, the 2 +12v lighting feeds connected together and finally the oil temp sensor wire was just terminated on its own. A seven way screw protected terminal block (has small flat metal shims to protect the wire from being damaged by the screw) with crimped boot lace ferules was used to terminate all the connections, (see above pic of block -top to bottom - +12s, grounds, Lighting, then links from these three to three of the remaining terminals and lastly the oil temp sender on its own) small link wires were used to split the feeds, ground and lighting connection. See photo
This idea would give a quality connection that could easy be connected in the car whist allowing the unit to be removed easily at a later date should you wish to change the gauges etc. The terminal block was then fixed in place with double sided Velcro.
You’re wiring colours and connections may differ depending on the gauges used.
The wires were kept tidy using heat shrink and small cable ties; some self adhesive foam was attached to the completed loom to prevent any rattles when installed in the car. The supplied bracket were attached and the lock nut lightly tightened with a little thread locker.
The pod was trial fitted in the car, note the very good fit around the A-pillar. The pod is held in place by a very good tight fit at the bottom and a single screw at the top. This is the only hole you need to drill; 3mm for the supplied black self taper.
Installing the wiring in the car turned out to be very easy, I didn’t want to track all the way over to the clock or the *** lighter but get to everything under the lower driver dash panel, after a study of the impreza’s wiring diagram I saw this was possible, straight forward and would save a lot of time whilst achieving a factory look, I like my wiring to be spot on!
Undo the two screws at the bottom of the lower dash panel and remove the clip on the right hand side
Carefully pull away the panel, pull out the tree clip that secures the panel at the top and lower it down, this reveals the main fuse box
Run a sharp blade carefully down the loom tape covering the wire that feeds the two blue multi plugs to expose about 2 inches, separate out the thickish RED/YELLOW wire shown in the picture, this is the 20A feed to the *** lighter that is switched with the ACC ignition position, this will be your switch ACC +12v feed
Next the grounding point, the ground point chosen was checked using a multimeter back to the chassis and engine block to ensure a good ground for both the gauge supply and oil temp sender ground.
The nuts holding the fuse box gave an excellent reading, a perfect ground in fact!
Next the lighting feed, taken from either the front or rear fog light switch, Yellow & white wire in switch looms +12v light feed switch with the lights
Making the connections and the gauge loom was next; Two lengths of 2 core dc power supply cable was fitted with boot lace ferules on one end and taped FLAT together with black insulation tape about 18 inches covered. Then with a 1 mtr length of small bore 3mm hard plastic tubing for the boost gauge where pass together down the gap between the A-pillar trim and the dash board using a small fish wire and then pulled round to the bottom of the A-pillar trim (No drilling is required!) I decided to use the hard plastic tube instead of the soft clear plastic piece that came with the gauges as I didn’t want it closing up when going round the bends and looking cheap in the engine bay! The connections were made to the pre-wired gauge pod and the tubing connected to the boost gauge using a small length of the supplied plastic tube, this made an excellent air tight push on fit when warmed with a hot air gun
The loom and boost pipe where wrapped in a small amount of foam tape to stop any rattles. The Pod was then pushed in place and the outer edge fitted under the A-pillar trim rubber. I decided at this point to test the gauges before the final installation.
A test battery, some temporary wiring with an inline 3A fuse was connected to the gauge loom the oil temp sender was connected and earthed with a croc clip. After inserting the fuse in the inline holder the gauges lit up nicely! Testing the boost gauge was done with an airline with a blow gun attached from a compressor with the regulator set at 1BAR just hold on the pipe and observe the gauge or just suck on the pipe and observe the vacuum reading, you could also use a syringe and a length of rubber tube. The oil temp sender was warmed using a hot air gun and the reading observed on the gauge. Be careful not to get things too hot!!
After you’ve tested the gauges and are satisfied all ok its time to disconnect the test rig and move on!
The gauge loom was routed under the dash, and two inline fuse holders installed, one to fuse the +12v IG feed and the other to fuse the +12v Lighting feed, these were soldered into place and the joint covered with heat shrink, the wires were then loomed up with tape and run out to their locations, +12v to the RED/YELLOW at fuse box, Ground to fuse box Bolt and the lighting +12v to the fog light switch Yellow/White. All wires follow existing looms and were taped in to achieve the OEM look. Fuse holders were secured just under the ECU plug out of sight to the cars loom with cable ties.
Make the +12v IGN connection by parting (Not Cutting the cable!) some of insulation on the YELLOW/RED wire and wrap and solder your feed wire in place
I left a long insulated tail on my wire to allow for future connection such as IC water spray. Tape the joint then tape back up the loom. Repeat this with the +12v light wire at the rear of the fog light switch
Crimp on a ring terminal to your ground wire and remove the fuse box mounting nut and attach the ground wire, re fit the nut and tighten, cable tie and tape up your loom.
The remaining oil temp sender wire (Taped!) and short length of boost pipe were run to a bulk head grommet just near the clutch pedal, a female spade was crimped to the oil temp sender wire (still inside the car!) and the boost pipe cut short of the grommet, this idea allow the engine bay work to be done using a heat proof cable sleeving and braided 3mm bore vacuum pipe (sourced from a local auto factors) to be installed in the engine bay and then connected inside the vehicle.
With all wires taped and clipped (as above) you can reinstall the lower panel, line up the three clips at the top and push into place, refit the two screws and side clip.
The engine bay and completing the installation next in Part 2
(Goto Part 2) http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/showthread.php?t=487269
A pictorial guide to installing a pillar mounted oil temp and boost gauge in an MY01 WRX
I decided to write this guide for those out there wanting to install a functional, reasonably priced, quality oil temp and boost gauge without the high costs of the centre mounted defi’s and the OEM lamco sports gauge pack
This also leaves the centre console free to install your Psi3 SECS unit! (I now have one!)
After looking at the different 52mm gauge manufactures I came close to buying the AC Autotechnic S7 Invision gauges but was put off by Boost being in PSI and the oil temp in Fahrenheit, I wanted Bar and Centigrade, anyway to cut a long story short I went for some J3 stealths from the GaugeShop @ £49.99 each including vat & del
Next was the pod, I never really liked the idea of A-Pillar mounted gauges and really wanted the genuine sports gauge pack but after watching SN for a used set for a while with nothing showing and 700ish for a new one from Subaru a change of tack was needed and the pillar mounted twin ABS plastic in black from scoobyparts.com started to fit the bill and at £26 I thought I’d give it a try and ordered one. I had previously seen a lot of poor quality ones made in fibreglass that need painting; I wanted a better quality, more OEM look. To my surprise the ScoobyParts black ABS plastic pod was very good!
This pod is also available in carbon fibre look and in single gauge form
The 52mm J3s are a tight push fit into the pre cut holes; I went with oil temp at the bottom and boost at the top
There is plenty of room at the rear to install the supplied brackets and wiring, I decided to pre wire all the connections to a Velcro mount terminal block so connecting up in the car would be easy:
The boost gauge requires an ignition switched +12v supply, a ground and a +12v feed from the lighting circuit, this dims the gauges slightly at night when the lights are turned on. The oil temp also requires +12 ignition supply, a ground and +12v lighting feed, but also a +12 for the sender circuit, a second ground and sensor pickup connection to the installed sensor in the engine block. All +12v cables were connected together, all grounds connect together, the 2 +12v lighting feeds connected together and finally the oil temp sensor wire was just terminated on its own. A seven way screw protected terminal block (has small flat metal shims to protect the wire from being damaged by the screw) with crimped boot lace ferules was used to terminate all the connections, (see above pic of block -top to bottom - +12s, grounds, Lighting, then links from these three to three of the remaining terminals and lastly the oil temp sender on its own) small link wires were used to split the feeds, ground and lighting connection. See photo
This idea would give a quality connection that could easy be connected in the car whist allowing the unit to be removed easily at a later date should you wish to change the gauges etc. The terminal block was then fixed in place with double sided Velcro.
You’re wiring colours and connections may differ depending on the gauges used.
The wires were kept tidy using heat shrink and small cable ties; some self adhesive foam was attached to the completed loom to prevent any rattles when installed in the car. The supplied bracket were attached and the lock nut lightly tightened with a little thread locker.
The pod was trial fitted in the car, note the very good fit around the A-pillar. The pod is held in place by a very good tight fit at the bottom and a single screw at the top. This is the only hole you need to drill; 3mm for the supplied black self taper.
Installing the wiring in the car turned out to be very easy, I didn’t want to track all the way over to the clock or the *** lighter but get to everything under the lower driver dash panel, after a study of the impreza’s wiring diagram I saw this was possible, straight forward and would save a lot of time whilst achieving a factory look, I like my wiring to be spot on!
Undo the two screws at the bottom of the lower dash panel and remove the clip on the right hand side
Carefully pull away the panel, pull out the tree clip that secures the panel at the top and lower it down, this reveals the main fuse box
Run a sharp blade carefully down the loom tape covering the wire that feeds the two blue multi plugs to expose about 2 inches, separate out the thickish RED/YELLOW wire shown in the picture, this is the 20A feed to the *** lighter that is switched with the ACC ignition position, this will be your switch ACC +12v feed
Next the grounding point, the ground point chosen was checked using a multimeter back to the chassis and engine block to ensure a good ground for both the gauge supply and oil temp sender ground.
The nuts holding the fuse box gave an excellent reading, a perfect ground in fact!
Next the lighting feed, taken from either the front or rear fog light switch, Yellow & white wire in switch looms +12v light feed switch with the lights
Making the connections and the gauge loom was next; Two lengths of 2 core dc power supply cable was fitted with boot lace ferules on one end and taped FLAT together with black insulation tape about 18 inches covered. Then with a 1 mtr length of small bore 3mm hard plastic tubing for the boost gauge where pass together down the gap between the A-pillar trim and the dash board using a small fish wire and then pulled round to the bottom of the A-pillar trim (No drilling is required!) I decided to use the hard plastic tube instead of the soft clear plastic piece that came with the gauges as I didn’t want it closing up when going round the bends and looking cheap in the engine bay! The connections were made to the pre-wired gauge pod and the tubing connected to the boost gauge using a small length of the supplied plastic tube, this made an excellent air tight push on fit when warmed with a hot air gun
The loom and boost pipe where wrapped in a small amount of foam tape to stop any rattles. The Pod was then pushed in place and the outer edge fitted under the A-pillar trim rubber. I decided at this point to test the gauges before the final installation.
A test battery, some temporary wiring with an inline 3A fuse was connected to the gauge loom the oil temp sender was connected and earthed with a croc clip. After inserting the fuse in the inline holder the gauges lit up nicely! Testing the boost gauge was done with an airline with a blow gun attached from a compressor with the regulator set at 1BAR just hold on the pipe and observe the gauge or just suck on the pipe and observe the vacuum reading, you could also use a syringe and a length of rubber tube. The oil temp sender was warmed using a hot air gun and the reading observed on the gauge. Be careful not to get things too hot!!
After you’ve tested the gauges and are satisfied all ok its time to disconnect the test rig and move on!
The gauge loom was routed under the dash, and two inline fuse holders installed, one to fuse the +12v IG feed and the other to fuse the +12v Lighting feed, these were soldered into place and the joint covered with heat shrink, the wires were then loomed up with tape and run out to their locations, +12v to the RED/YELLOW at fuse box, Ground to fuse box Bolt and the lighting +12v to the fog light switch Yellow/White. All wires follow existing looms and were taped in to achieve the OEM look. Fuse holders were secured just under the ECU plug out of sight to the cars loom with cable ties.
Make the +12v IGN connection by parting (Not Cutting the cable!) some of insulation on the YELLOW/RED wire and wrap and solder your feed wire in place
I left a long insulated tail on my wire to allow for future connection such as IC water spray. Tape the joint then tape back up the loom. Repeat this with the +12v light wire at the rear of the fog light switch
Crimp on a ring terminal to your ground wire and remove the fuse box mounting nut and attach the ground wire, re fit the nut and tighten, cable tie and tape up your loom.
The remaining oil temp sender wire (Taped!) and short length of boost pipe were run to a bulk head grommet just near the clutch pedal, a female spade was crimped to the oil temp sender wire (still inside the car!) and the boost pipe cut short of the grommet, this idea allow the engine bay work to be done using a heat proof cable sleeving and braided 3mm bore vacuum pipe (sourced from a local auto factors) to be installed in the engine bay and then connected inside the vehicle.
With all wires taped and clipped (as above) you can reinstall the lower panel, line up the three clips at the top and push into place, refit the two screws and side clip.
The engine bay and completing the installation next in Part 2
(Goto Part 2) http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/showthread.php?t=487269
Last edited by reub; 26 January 2006 at 08:47 PM.
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