Oops !!!!!!!!!

[Fulisk]

I wanted to change the dash in my VN Series 1 5 speed manual to a dash with a tacho as i had the boring 3 guage dash and after talking with several auto elecs they assured me that i can fit a VR dash in there. So i got a dash from the wreckers and put it in. As soon as i put it in the power light came on and at the same time the right blinker came on and stayed on and the dash started to smoke so i pulled it out quick smart. It was onlt in there for about 30 seconds before i pulled it out. I put my old dash back in and this is where my troubles start. The fuel guage and the temp guage arn't working anymore , the speedo wont go abouve 40 k's and disco dances , the lights on light is on constant , the rear demister light is on constant and turns off when i turn the rear demister on and i have no dash warning lights i.e. oil batt ect. What have i done and how can i fix it. Does anyone know ????? Help......

[chopsy]

Same thing happend to me but when i put my original cluster back in it worked fine.A level3 vr cluster will work on a vn but it needs some modifications just do what i did just get a level2 cluster out of a vn berlina that way you can plug it straite in and it will work no problems.Just make sure when you get it turn your one upside down on the face next to your new one and just make sure they are the same does'nt matter if the plastic covering the back is differant color just make sure where it has all the differant things written on it like lh indecator,hbeam ect. as long as it is a level2 cluster it will plug straite in and work no probs.

[Fulisk]

Thanks but why wont my oringinal cluster work . Have i done damage ?

[mouce]

Sounds like it has smoked something other than just the cluster. May have melted a few of the wires in the loom. I'd start by checking all your fuses, then start tracing through the loom to find out what you've cooked.

It's an easy trap to fall into using a VR cluster in a VN, if you haven't done your homework.

[coolvxss]

Im gonna get a level2 cluster out of a vn berlina. at the moment i just got the 3 gaugue one and want a tacho but i dont see how it can plug straight in. Where do the wires come from for the tacho if the cluster i have now doesnt have a tacho? do i have to run a new wire for the new tacho? cheers.

[Fulisk]

there are no wires. It just fits straight in. When you pull the old one out you will see how it just slides straight into 3 tabs behind the dash.

[CSL]

if you flip the cluster you can see what every termianl is for i.e their numbered and so forth, i got my tacho signal from here

[nathans1987]

the inner components are the same in a vs/vr as a vn so i jsut swaped the inner gauges over for the 3 gauges of my vn one(level 1 no tacho made into a level 2 tacho).

[Fulisk]

Did it all work ok after you swapped it over any dramas ?

[smickvn]

i did the same but my original cluster still worked when i put it back in.
I just used my flexi circuit & used the level 2 gauges.

[Doctor Sodways]

VN-VP is interchangeable without modification inbetween models, VR-VS arnt wthout modification, its possible but its not a straight swap. You have burnt something out, its not the first time ive heard this either, without soing your homework these things happen.

I dont know why auto-elecs said you could get one in, unless they meant physically, all the auto elecs i know told me to get a VN-VP for ease

[fazz1977]

Same thing on mine. VS lvl 2 dash in VP, smoke. I removed the tacho and temp/fuel gauges from the VS dash, retro-fitted them to the VP lvl 1 dash and bingo. Worked a treat.

They smoke because the PCB is different on VN/VP and VR/VS and 12v shorts to 12v. The smoke is the pcb cooking.