Center Console Gauge Wiring

7173Mustangs.com

Help Support 7173Mustangs.com:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

wpdj61

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 1, 2011
Messages
47
Reaction score
0
Location
New Jersey
My Car
72 mustang mach 1
gauges.jpg


I replaced my center console gauges with some Autometer cobalt gauges. My question is about the wiring. The lighting will not be a problem but I am looking specifically for the color coding on the wires to the Voltmeter and the Water Temperature Gauge. The stock voltmeter had two wires, Red and Yellow. The Autometer gauge has a tab for ground and a 12 volt switched source. Which color wire is which?

Next is the Water Temperature gauge. The Autometer gauge has the ground tab, sender tab and 12v switched tab. Which color wire is which?

Looked around for a wiring diagram but couldn't fine one. Thanks for the help guys.

scott

 
Wire colors are completely arbitrary when it comes to aftermarket gauges. Typically, one uses black wires for ground lines.

For your volt-meter, you'll need to splice your 12V sourced switch tab to an ACC line somewhere in your wiring.

For your water temperature, the sending unit is red/white in the underdash harness; the 12V switched tab would be the same as your volt-meter.

 
Gauge%20wiring%20harness.jpg


I am on the way to splicing in wires. This is the harness. The volt meter has me stumped. Two wires, yellow/blue and red/orange. My Autometer replacement gauge has a ground tab and another tab for 12v power. Which of the original wires (yellow/blue or red/orange) would be 12v power? If I can figure that wire out I can then just use that one as the 12v power wire for the water temp gauge.

Thanks for the help, I am getting closer to the finish line here.

Scott

 
gauges.jpg


I replaced my center console gauges with some Autometer cobalt gauges. My question is about the wiring. The lighting will not be a problem but I am looking specifically for the color coding on the wires to the Voltmeter and the Water Temperature Gauge. The stock voltmeter had two wires, Red and Yellow. The Autometer gauge has a tab for ground and a 12 volt switched source. Which color wire is which?

Next is the Water Temperature gauge. The Autometer gauge has the ground tab, sender tab and 12v switched tab. Which color wire is which?

Looked around for a wiring diagram but couldn't fine one. Thanks for the help guys.

scott
CAUTION - the factory gauges had an ALT/ AMP gauge NOT volts

Pretty sure you don't want to connect the old ALT / AMP wires to anything on the volt gauge.

Don

 
Hmm, good catch Don. Thank you for picking up on that. That would have been sketchy.

So then with that said, I will just grab the 12v+ from the light wires for the gauges and attach that to the Volt gauge.

scott

 
Last edited by a moderator:
So then with that said, I will just grab the 12v+ from the light wires for the gauges and attach that to the Volt gauge.

scott
Only if you want the Volt gauge to turn on & off with the lights.

Use the 12V+ (B+) ACC feed to power all three gauges, then one wire from TEMP to sender, another from OIL to sender and one from VOLTS to ground.

You can share the ground with the lights, but not the 12V+ wire.

I just noticed that you have a wire marked as Oil Temp GND. That waire is actually the voltage in (5VDC). The gauges go to ground through the sending units.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Just thought about that as well. Thanks for catching that too. I will get this.

scott


OK, so I am going to try to reel in what I know about the wires right now.

1. I can use the black (ground) wire from the existing gauge lighting to ground the new Autometer Water temp and Voltmeter gauge.

2. I can connect the factory sending unit wire to the Autometer water temp gauge (red/white wire).

3. I need 12v power wire for both the Autometer water temp and voltmeter. One of the wires in the original wiring harness is 12v power.

4. The factory black wire that is on the factory oil pressure and water temp gauge is NOT a ground wire.

My question is, and this might have been answered and I just haven't picked up on it yet, will one of the existing wires that went to the factory ammeter be a good 12v source? One wire is red/orange the other is yellow/blue.

Thanks for the help guys.

Scott

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Gauge%20wiring%20harness.jpg


I am on the way to splicing in wires. This is the harness. The volt meter has me stumped. Two wires, yellow/blue and red/orange. My Autometer replacement gauge has a ground tab and another tab for 12v power. Which of the original wires (yellow/blue or red/orange) would be 12v power? If I can figure that wire out I can then just use that one as the 12v power wire for the water temp gauge.

Thanks for the help, I am getting closer to the finish line here.

Scott
The original wiring for the ammeter used the yellow/blue and red/orange wires; both of these are hot and are ultimately connected to the starter solenoid. You can use one for the volt-meter, but the other line to the volt meter needs to be ground. Be careful with both of the ammeter lines: they are always hot and are not fused. If not used, wrap securely such that an inadvertent ground is avoided.

 
:cool: Congrats, I also just installed the Cobalt set in my ride. I can't help you with the wiring because I ran all new, including from the senders that came with the gauges. NOTE: The cooling system IS pressurized, so I had a small geyser when I took out the temp control sender:blush:)

Have you tried to install them into the dash yet? I had a heck of a time. They bottomed out on a metal cross member in the back. ( I did contemplate Sawzalling that piece out, but was able to talk myself out of doing anything that radical :p)

I had to Dremel off the chrome front bezels of the Cobalts, and then used RTV to re-seal the windows back on . I then epoxied the gauges to the mounts.

I also had to cut off the fast-on tabs on the back and used ring tongues to attach the wires.

Maybe it was because my car was a non gauge car from the factory ?

I wish I had taken some pictures but I wasn't thinking about that during the chaos.

I love them so much that I re-wired the lights to a switched contact, so that they are always on day and night. :D I originally had them wired with the dash lights. My stereo head unit has color adjustable lighting, so I tuned it to match the gauges, and installed Blue LEDs in the switch lamps and heater control. They are not exactly the same but close enough.

 
Midlife, I just want to confirm that the factory ammeter wires are dead when the ignition is switched off? I was thinking I just might run a wire off of the cigarette lighter wiring. That is fused. Thank you for your comments. Very helpful.

Mudbilly, I have my gauges mounted in the factory housing. I didn't run into a depth issue because I removed the Autometer silver bezel. That allowed me to sink the gauges into the housing and get a good depth on them. I will snap a shot of the back side of the housing when I get a chance and post that here. I added the blue LED lighting to my gauges a while ago and really liked the look. I have a few other things I am going to do but the Cobalts really go well with the look and I can actually see them at night.

scott

 
How did you get the Aluminum Bezel off? That is the part that I cut off with the Dremel cutting wheel.

The only thing i do not like about the gauges, is that the tail end of the needle is so long that it covers the writing (Oil, Temp, Volts) when in operation. They should have cut that part of the needle off.

 
How did you get the Aluminum Bezel off? That is the part that I cut off with the Dremel cutting wheel.
I am trying to remember the details. I did this prior to my battle with a brain tumor and somethings from that time and before are gone forever. I think I just pried them off. They were just sort of forced onto the gauge housing. Using some needle nose pliers I was able to take bites out of the edge of the bezel until they just came off. It seems to have worked. I haven't had my gauges in the car yet so I don't have the experience you have with the needle but I will just be happy to have a needle that points to some kind of number rather than a needle floating in space with guesswork involved. They look badass too.

scott

 
Negative: the ammeter wires are always hot regardless of the key position.

 
Ok thanks, that is what I thought. I will grab a wire off of the cigarette lighter.

Scott

 
My cigarette lighter is always hot also, not switched. I know I didn't do any re-wiring on that.
The cigarette lighter is always hot, but fused. The ammeter lines aren't even fused. I'd go with the cigarette lighter wire myself!

 
Crap, for some reason I thought the cigarette lighter was switched. I will find another source for switched 12v.

Scott

 
Back
Top