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vh dash removal

yobbo88

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right now i have the basic vh sl dash... ive recently scored a vh sl/e dash with tacho etc for 30 bucks off ebay! from what i know of the sl/e was a v8? so tacho would have to be re calibrated from what ive heard. main question is is the sl base model a shell without the extras so when i get the dash out i will have connections just sitting there for oil pressure and volt metre? if anyone has a decent how to that hasnt made it into the how to section that would be super :yeah:
 

Pub247

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Mate i got the same deal with myself bought a sle cluster but haven't got around to it yet. but i know what the go is first off if you want the oil pressure to work you need a variable sender unit off either an sl/e or a vk i've heard that ford ones work but just as easy getting a vk one. You need to swap that with your one. Secondly the volt gauge will work finewhen dash is pluged in. The tacho is the problem i've asked around and no-one has told me sure that it won't work properly. I assume it won't but i'm going to try it anyway. Basically on the back of the dash the top left above the tacho there's two prongs the horizontal is for the oil pressure unit and the vertical one is for the tacho you need to run a wire to the negative side of the coil for the tacho to work. There's supposedly a plug behind the dash with a brown wire going into it that doesn't plug into anything. This is supposedly what you can also plug the tacho in, I haven't looked yet but am going to give it a bash this weekend. There is also a blue wire that is for the oil gauge.
To get the cluster out there is one screw in the middle at the top ( a stubby screwdriver is needed). then slowly pry the surround out (2 flathead screwdrivers work well) , then there is 3 screws to the cluster then you need to roll it forward and unplug it oh i forgot unplug the speedo cable first before you start i can reach down through the top vent/speaker hole. ok now pull it out forward and to the left and it should be out.
The speedo work in your car?
Do you know if the one in the dash works? you can test it by using the right size alan key in a drill in reverse and see if the odometer ticks over. There's a link in the sticky thread at the top of this section to fix speedo's

Hope all this helps
 

yobbo88

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yeah the whole dash works fine i just want a tacho but not a fully sick 5" piece 'o' crap. that sounds fairly easy. i have the day off tomorrow so ill try and get it done at sometime. thanks for that. i dont have a camera or exact skill but maybe make a how to on this? you dont have to but the old vh doesnt get much attention around here
 

Pub247

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i hate big tacho's too. yeah will do i'll borrow a cam and probably get around to it this weekend gotta buy the sender unit yet.
 

yobbo88

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yeah fair enough. is a way to do it hook up dash first and then add sender unit later? im guessin the sender unit is added under the hood not behind the dash... i dont really care if this guage works but it will look better if it does. ive been thinking about the tacho problem. looking at the back of the tacho there are some screws that may adjust it to compentate for 6 or 8 cylinders? i dunno just throwin ideas out there but im really keen to get this in
 

Pub247

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yeah you can the unit in later otherwise it just reads full all the time. As for the tacho i don't think it'll need doing i'm just putting it in and see if it seems to read properly. Couple of people said thatit doesn't matter I suppose they wouldn't make two different tachos for 6 and 8's. We'll see how its goes.
 

Pub247

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Started mine today got all the way through and found that the tachos not working. Ithink its my dodgy wiring or where I hooked it up i found the blue and brown wire plug on the loom But its a special plug so i didn't have anything to fit on it so i cut it off. I think i might of not wired them together well enoough so i'm going to run a wire to the coil and see if it works. All the guages work and the oil pressure does read full. Voltage works and fuel but i think my float in the tank stuffed as i was having troubles with the old gauge (not reading properly). I took pics so i'll do a how to when i'm fully finished. Damn that speedo cable took me ages to get in and out. I also swapped the speedos cause mine has 144000k's and the sle had 244000k's
 

yobbo88

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thats a good idea to swap the speedos i was wondering what i was gonna do about the odometer... that answers my question
 

Pub247

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Yeah easy as two screws and takes the whole thing out also sle speedos are different have plugs on them for trip computers
 

Pub247

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I finished mine today got the tacho working but i think it is out i took it for a spin and was shifting gear at about 3500 rpm but it felt like it was revving harder it does read right when idling so after i take it on the highway to work tommorow i'll see what its like. Looks tops now but surround is a lttles bent i used the one i got with the dash as mine was broken here's a pic it looks worse in the pic cause of the angle. i get around to fixing it later my backs hurting to much now after doing a service aswell
 
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