after market gauges in an 86 lx...please help

[HISSIN50]

for long term use, i would probably opt for mechanical gauges. they are marginally more accurate, have a better needle sweep, and have no sender to fail or degrade over time. they can be a bit more trouble to plumb (mainly the oil pressure), but it is not much harder than an electric gauge, and long term, i think (personally) a little more work is worth it.
i would think all of your gauges are electric (stockers) sans the speedo. you will probably be converting the charging gauge (ammeter on 4 eyes, no?) to a volt meter - sounds like Big Philly can hook you up with what to do with the ammeter wiring.

good luck bud. those will look cool once in.

 

[sublime29]

I don't think you should go mechanical.They were discontinued in the automotive field for a reason.I think electical is more accurate to.All gauges come down to the tolerances that the manu. allows in the making of the gauge.When I installed my digital dash (cyberdyne).I had to replace the oil sender and water sender along with new wires one for oil two for water.I also had to tap a wire into the speedo sensor wire down by trany.The a ground to the battery.Other then that it went in like um ah easy as pie.I am sure I might have left somethin out cause I put it in years ago.

 

[philly029]

Zues, all of your factory gauges are electrical. I would suggest going with the electrical gauges for your application. The mechanical gauges really aren't that hard to install and I used to have mechanical water temp and oil pressure. You don't have senders but you will have to run the capillary lines up into your dash from where the senders are located any way. The signal wires for the electrical gauges are already right there in your dash and run to your motor from the factory. You will have to change to senders but they come with the new gauges anyway. The electrical gauges are as accurate as my mechanical gauges were and all you have to do is tap into the factory wires. If you sell the car you can remove the gauges and reinstall the factory cluster with no problem.

Is this helping?

 

[philly029]

Another question. Does the new gauge plate you're ordering come with the blinker lights, hi-beam and e-brake lights? You'll have to tap into those too. Another thing that I did was got a 12 pin and a 9 pin plug from Radio Shack so that i could remove the cluster without having to remove the wire taps from the factory wiring. They come with both the male and female plugs so that you can make your own gauge cluster harness. You'll also need a 1-2 inch longer speedo cable with a GM screw on end for the gauge side. If you call Autometer's tech dept. they can make this for you.

This project is a little involved but not really that difficult to assemble. It just seems pretty daunting if you're not familiar with the gauges and wiring. Email me if you need somemore help. I really don't mind. I'm just kinda pissed that someone else out there is going to have gauges as cool as mine.

[email protected]

 

[philly029]

Hey, If anyone else is interested in doing an aftermarket gauge install I'll go ahead and post the schematic that I made.

 

[philly029]

OOPS! Here it is.