Thread: 87-89 gauge cluster into '81 ?

Sorry, double posted....don't know how to remove it...

Roger

Originally Posted by yumastepside

Sorry, double posted....don't know how to remove it...

Roger

haha you can't... delete double posts that is.

Insofar as the instrument cluster goes... that would be a case of looking in the Rave ETM for both years and identifying that the pinouts for each of the idiot lights equates to the same source in the harness for both. moving pins inside the cluster is a no-go as it's a flexpcb, but the harness might be able to be 'amended' if need be.

I can't see why they would 'change' things (logic) however in my experience LR are anything but logical when it comes to spreading the Prince of Darkness virus. as a Category 1 super-spreader, any souirce of infection should be quarantined and dealt with using the only effective antiviral - the oshkosh it's Bosch vaccine.

yeah... good luck with that. you never know your luck. pinouts might be exactly the same. Best check the plug first though - you won't like it if you plug it in and turn it on and then find out the main positive feed is swapped between year models.

Land Rover wouldn't be that silly now, would they....

Yes you can. One of mine was converted over, before I bought it.

You’ll need the two wire plugs and some wire attached to them, with the cluster, then join them to the existing loom.

Figuring out what wire does what will be the challenge.

Originally Posted by Mercguy

haha you can't... delete double posts that is.

Well played.

Nope, only a mod can do that..

I will be interested to follow this and maybe contribute. I have a similar gauge cluster that I thought I would like in my ‘82. The donor cluster has a couple of funny looking connectors but also a chunk of severed wiring.
i have been working my way through the PoD electrics and it is well colour-coded. In the early 80s there was a British standard for this!

The ‘82 and I suspect the ‘81 has some indicator lights below the cluster but these appear in the centre group of the newer cluster.

i have ordered a bunch of Lucas style bullet plugs and joiners. These are 4.8mm and not compatible with similar, but smaller, bullet plugs that are readily available. I plan to solder rather than crimp thus avoiding the need for a crimping tool. Risk is that the wire suddenly enters a rigid blob, thus risking fatigue fractures. A bit of heatshrink would remedy that but don’t go too far down the bullet or it won’t push in properly; a couple of mm is all that is needed.

I think the whole process would be easier with these connectors rather than introducing something totally alien.

An unknown at the moment is whether the coolant temp gauge (ooh, and the fuel gauge) takes the same sensor as the earlier models. Let’s hope they do.

I replaced a faulty coolant temp sender recently and spent some time calibrating it. I ended up with 90C right in the middle of the scale, between the two calibration marks. FYI my sensor was 65 Ohm at 90C. Be worth powering up the new cluster on the bench and putting a 65 Ohm resistor to ground from the sensor input and see where the gauge reads.

I was just about to go through the same process for the oil temp sender but don‘t have the replacement yet. Oil is harder, a temperature-controller hot air is needed to get it hot enough.

I hope this was a bit helpful.

Cheers
Graeme