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Planning on swapping Instrument Clusters?

Wheatley098

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Hi there guys! As my DP Shows I own a Commodore VE Ute 2008 Omega Model, Now I'm looking at swapping the instrument cluster out with an SV6/SS Model mainly for the RED Backlight haha

Would anyone be able to help me with compatibility issues?

I'm currently looking at this on eBay
Holden Commodore VE SS Instrument Cluster | eBay

Thank you heaps in advanced :D
 

schoey3

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thought about changing the lighting? rather than doing a swap or do you want the ss cluster?
 

Zerone_V

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If you are going to swap the complete cluster, then you will need to get the new cluster re-programmed.
(You will need to set the Odo, VIN, engine, trans, body style, ABS/ESC/TRAC, suspension type, and a carp load of other settings to get it to work on your car)...

However, if your cluster, and the cluster you are thinking of getting is the same manufacturer type (More on this later), then the mask, and the plastic bits will be interchangeable.
Buuuuut, if your cluster lights up green, then you will also need to change out the LEDs.

If you wanted to go down the swapping out the cluster, get a good triple LCD cluster such as a Berlina, Calais, or HSV cluster.
The Triple LCD models are soooo much nicer compared to the single LCD models. (Which makes the cost of reprogramming the cluster worthwhile).

If you are on a budget, just try changing the LEDs out to get the illumination colour that you want, and hunt down a cheapy SV6/SS/SSV cluster to swap the bits over later on).

If you are happy to spend money, then don't waste your money on a $150 single LCD cluster. The programming for it will cost you more than the cluster, and you are really not going to see much benefit for the amount of $$$$ you will spend

--------------

Now when I say the cluster manufacturer type above, there were two manufacturers that made VE clusters.
VE Instrument clusters from Year Models MY06, MY07, MY08 and MY08.5 have a white plastic cover on the back on the instrument cluster.
These instrument clusters are manufactured by Arrow Australia.

VE Instrument Clusters from MY09, MY10, and Series II Commodores have a black plastic cover on the back of the instrument cluster.
These instrument clusters are manufactured by Continental (VDO).

The cluster bits (boards, housings, trim bits, clear lens) are not interchangeable between models (However the cluster dial mask can be fitted to one and another, with a little bit of modification).

I hope this helps.
 

Zerone_V

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Oh, to give you some ideas, Triple LCD clusters go for around $200 for white backed Calais models and E1 HSV models.
If you need a black backed cluster, be prepared to pay more as these are harder to find.
Series II Clusters from a Berlina/Calais/CalaisV/E3 HSV models go for $300 up.
(They are highly sought after as guys fitting IQ systems with Sat Nav need to upgrade to these clusters to get the Nav alerts working correctly).

Finally, if you are looking for someone to program your cluster, contact DoubleDip from Ultimate Conversion Wiring. (He is a member on here).
He is one of the VERY FEW people that can program the Odo reading on used clusters, as well as enable all the weird hidden cluster functions as well.
 

Wheatley098

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thought about changing the lighting? rather than doing a swap or do you want the ss cluster?

You can swap the leds? :O =D

Can I do that on that with the gear stick leds?
 

Zerone_V

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Yep, you can swap the LEDs on the cluster, radio, headlight/steering wheel/window switches and the Gear position indicator.

image.php

That is a Series I Omega cluster with blue LEDs for the cluster, and white LEDs for the LCD panel.

Info on how to change the cluster LEDs can be found here
www.carmodder.com • Changing the Cluster Illumination for the Holden VE Commodore
 

Wheatley098

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anarklov3r

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Hey Zerone,

What sort of hidden features are their on the VE clusters that can be enabled?
 

Yergin

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Wheatley -- do you know any mates with Red clusters?, i've heard a lot of people changing their clusters to other colours from red due to trouble seeing the LCD screen during certain times of the day.
I'd recommend driving one with a red cluster before doing this to make sure you're happy with it.

also like anarklov3r i'm interested to know about the hidden features.
 

Zerone_V

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There is not really much in terms of what you would call "freebies". (I.E. stuff you can turn on and enjoy without adding stuff to the car to make them work).

Police Mode
(Just gives you a trap speed option, by pressing the scroll wheel, which displays the speed the car was going at when the button was pressed).

Govt / Fleet Mode
(Prompts you when you start your car if your trip is business or personal. Dunno what it does after that).

AFM Enable
(Displays 4 or 8 Cylinder Mode in the RHS LCD Screen, not sure what it does for single LCD clusters)

TMPS (Tyre Pressure Monitoring)
(Displays the Tyre Pressures for each wheel (You need TPMS installed to get it to display anything useful)

MRC (HSV Magnetic Ride Control)
(Dunno what it does when you have MRC fitted, but enabling it without MRC displays some pretty animated error messages that look cool !)

Headlamp Auto Levelling (For Caprice / CapriceV Models)
(Dunno what this does if you have this feature, but enabling it causes some not so pretty error messages).

Luxury / Track Auto Shift Display (I think Holden=Luxury, HSV=Track)
(Displays the current gear position at the bottom of the display when in sport or Manual mode)

Sat Nav Enable
(Shows Sat Nav prompts, speed and for Series II models school zone alerts, posted speed limits, and flashing posted speed limit if you are going over the speed limit).

Finally,
My new cluster also does not beep when starting if I am not wearing a seatbelt. (I am not sure if that is a Series II thing, or a Police mode thing, as I haven't played around much with the thing).
 
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