hooking up gauges
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RE: hooking up gauges
ORIGINAL: FlipHKD720
^ just lets you monitor everything and tells you if anything is going wrong (or right for that matter). An aftermarket tach obviously lets you know if you're revving dangerously high, or tells you when you should shift, a voltmeter tells you how your alternator is working, and there are various other. Shortband a/f ratio gauges dont do much, but if you buy a wideband it lets you accurately monitor how rich/lean you are running, which is crucial (specially for the boosted guys)
^ just lets you monitor everything and tells you if anything is going wrong (or right for that matter). An aftermarket tach obviously lets you know if you're revving dangerously high, or tells you when you should shift, a voltmeter tells you how your alternator is working, and there are various other. Shortband a/f ratio gauges dont do much, but if you buy a wideband it lets you accurately monitor how rich/lean you are running, which is crucial (specially for the boosted guys)
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RE: hooking up gauges
yea they are defi gauges and were expensive so i assume so. ok, so im gonna run 2 different wires from the battery (hot wires) and hook up 2 gauges to each. the red wire has a fuse on it already so this will be ok right?? and then ill hook the orange wire to a fuse that comes on with the ignition. and then white to the parking lights? i havent read anything in the book that says anything about dimming so i still dont understand this white wire. please tell me if this is correct. im just planning on hooking 2 gauges in one. rather that having 4 separate fuses and wires, i figure i can put two gauges on the same one.
Joined: Jun 2006
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RE: hooking up gauges
Well the easy way to test it is to connect the red and orange to poisitve and then black to ground, when the gauge comes on tap the white to the positive and it should dimm the gauge.....
Notice it shows the white wire listed as "illumination"....
You can run only one wire for the battery constant positive and honestly you don't have to goto the battery, you can use a female blade terminal to plug into one of the factory accessory plugs that's just above the fuse box:
If you plug into the first (#1) plug, you'll have battery constant and the you can connect the orange wire to the #3 or #4 (if you only want it on with the motor) port...
Notice it shows the white wire listed as "illumination"....
You can run only one wire for the battery constant positive and honestly you don't have to goto the battery, you can use a female blade terminal to plug into one of the factory accessory plugs that's just above the fuse box:
If you plug into the first (#1) plug, you'll have battery constant and the you can connect the orange wire to the #3 or #4 (if you only want it on with the motor) port...
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RE: hooking up gauges
i want the gauges to come on when i turn my ignition on. ( and on the gauges i have, the control unit is NOT needed. ) i just dont understand about the red and orange wire. why are there two to go to different fuses? if i connect the orange wire to an ignition on fuse then why do i need the red? what is its purpose?
Joined: Jun 2006
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RE: hooking up gauges
The gauges have a memory function, to have this work the gauge needs a constant positive (like with your stereo) to keep all the settings and the memory but it then needs a trigger wire to turn the gauge on witht he car (again like your stereo). The red wire is the constant positive to keep the gauge's settings and memory saved and the orange is the trigger to turn the gauge on when the car is turned on.
I used the picture of the unit with the controller not because of the controller but because the picture showed the wiring being labed to help better explain my point.
I used the picture of the unit with the controller not because of the controller but because the picture showed the wiring being labed to help better explain my point.
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RE: hooking up gauges
ok, so i have 4 gauges and the defi link display. do you think i can hook all FIVE white wires together and run that wire to the parking lights? or should i do like 2 and 3 and run them to the left and right sides??? im kinda weary of this because the white wire doesn't have a fuse attatched to the wire like the red and orange.
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RE: hooking up gauges
I'd tie the into each other, in a daisy chain fasion and then simply have one wire going to the the fuse box OR you could tap off the positive wire for illuminaton for the gauges:
C13 red/black is where the positive would be tapped from, this will get the same as the fuse box and it's already fused (#30 in fuse box)....
The reason the white wire has no fuse is because it's tapping power from a fused sorce (any gauge illumination or running lights wire) where as the orange and red are (in the manufacturers eyes) more likely to be tapped dirrectly to the source of power... Trust me, as long as you either tap off the factory gauges or off the fuse box's pre-set pins, you will be fine...
C13 red/black is where the positive would be tapped from, this will get the same as the fuse box and it's already fused (#30 in fuse box)....
The reason the white wire has no fuse is because it's tapping power from a fused sorce (any gauge illumination or running lights wire) where as the orange and red are (in the manufacturers eyes) more likely to be tapped dirrectly to the source of power... Trust me, as long as you either tap off the factory gauges or off the fuse box's pre-set pins, you will be fine...
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RE: hooking up gauges
so i can hook ALL the white wires to the positive wire of my gauges? and also, i just found an install guide on superstreet and they were installing the gauges like i have- defi blue racer and they DO NOT have a memory function so it said that they didnt need a constant power source....? i guess i dont need to use the red wire then....
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RE: hooking up gauges
Well not knowing the gauges I can only guess, I bet the wiring harness for the gauges is the same unit as the one for the controller unit (thus the need for the constant positivie for the memory)...... If they don't have the memory function than you won't need the constant positive or the red wire....
And yes you can connect all the white wires to the illumination wire on the gauges....
And yes you can connect all the white wires to the illumination wire on the gauges....
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RE: hooking up gauges
ok thanks i think i have this all figured out and cant wait to get it all installed. the only one that i need a constant power source for memory is from the defi link display and the control unit. as for the gauges, none of them have a memory function and they dont have to be connected to the control unit.
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