Need advice on how to wire up custom gauges to replace the OE cluster on a 4th gen...

Okay, I've been fighting this thing for nearly a week now, and I'm completely out of ideas. Does ANYONE out there have any clue as to how I'd go about wiring up aftermarket gauges to REPLACE the OE gauge cluster in my 1993 Camaro Z28?? I've tried using the harness, bypassing the harness with a direct feed (wired to a relay) and so forth, with no success. Even when I ran a 10g wire for my ground to the gauges, my car still acts like it has a bad ground, as the stereo will cut out on & off if I turn it up too loud. I'm so fed up with this thing, can someone here help me out?? I can't tell you how grateful I'd be for ANY help...:(

what gauges are you trying to put in?

Nordskog digital gauges. I've solved most of my problems with it. I'm only left with two questions. First, where do I re-route the orange "ECM BAT" wire to? This was originally a part of the OE gauge cluster harness, and seeing how it sounds pretty important being linked to a fused terminal that says "ECM BAT", I figured this wasn't one of the wires that I would leave "disconnected".

My other question is, someone here told me that GM has these cars wired up all funky, and basically, if I run anything other than the OE gauge cluster, it will disable the charging system (this is what my car is doing). I think they said the solution was to wire the alternator wire to a switched ignition source, but before I do so, I wanted to get a second opinion on it...

you might try LS1 tech because i believe some people have done it over there.

thanks...:)

Run your small alternator exciter wire to a switched power source and put a 470 ohm resistor inline. That should fix up your alternator charging issues.

Run your small alternator exciter wire to a switched power source and put a 470 ohm resistor inline. That should fix up your alternator charging issues.

Do I then splice it to run to the voltmeter gauge as well? Also, do I solder the 470 ohm resistor between the switched ignition source and the alternator wire, or between the alternator wire and the voltmeter gauge??

EDIT: Also, do I wire the orange power feed wire (in the OE cluster harness) to anything? According to the 93's wiring schematic (and because I keep blowing the fuse there), it appears to be linked to the "ECM BAT" fuse. Do I leave this alone, or do I wire it to something? If so, where do I wire it into??

Just FYI, I stopped by RadioShack and they had two different kinds of 470-ohm resistors: 1/4-watt, 5% tolerance; and 1/2-watt, 5% tolerance. I spoke with the RadioShack guy, and he said if he had to guess, he'd say 1/2-watt, but he's not sure, with the uniqueness of this application. I went ahead and picked up both, since they were only $0.99/pkg...

Either resistor should work. I'd probably use the 1/2 watt.
Put the resistor between your switched 12v power and the alt wire. The volt gauge can be wired in anywhere you have 12v and ground available.
As far as the orange wire goes, since you are replacing the cluster, I would think you only need it if you need it to power something. Orange wires are usually hot at all times.

Thanks a lot for your help, this SHOULD solve the last of the problems I've had with this project...

EDIT: Actually, now that I think of it, I do have a couple more questions. First, my harness has TWO wires for the ABS- one, I'm assuming is for the indicator light, but what's the other one for? The schematic says for one of them it's labeled "ABS Active Output", and the other one says "ABS Fail Signal". I'm pretty sure the latter is the wire for the "ABS INOP" light, but where do I splice in the "ABS Active Output wire"? Is that another one I can leave unhooked?

Finally, what wire is it that's responsible for the "check gauges" light, or the "low battery" light? I can't find anything on the wiring schematic that looks like either...

Ttt

Can anyone tell me what I do with the "ABS active output" wire? Also, where do I wire up the "airbag" wire to? Is that just a signal wire??:confused:

Can anyone tell me what I do with the "ABS active output" wire? Also, where do I wire up the "airbag" wire to? Is that just a signal wire??:confused:

What color are these wires? If they were going to the old cluster and you now don't have anything to hook them to, they won't go anywhere. :D

LOL, I just wanna be sure! Even though it's well-sealed, ever since I installed my fuel pressure sending unit, my car (only on rare occasions) would choke out breifly, or sometimes die altogether! My fuel pressure gauge says my FP is set at only 38 psi...is that too low??

LOL, I just wanna be sure! Even though it's well-sealed, ever since I installed my fuel pressure sending unit, my car (only on rare occasions) would choke out breifly, or sometimes die altogether! My fuel pressure gauge says my FP is set at only 38 psi...is that too low??

38 is not too low at idle.

38 is not too low at idle.

It reads 38 at idle and under acceleration. The highest I've seen it rise to is 40...

Oh btw, could you peek at my other thread? I'm having some bigger electrical problems here...:confused:

http://web.camaross.com/forums/showthread.php?t=480340

You should read 41-47 with the vacuum line disconnected from the regulator and in that same range at WOT.