boxerfreeflow00

would this year vette work?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...category=33675

i'm interested in this

Poltergeist

The special work was like I said in the first post. I have had the Granitelli 200MPH gauges installed. It did not do it before but did do it after. A friends of mine that had a 2000 SS did the same thing after he got the 200mph overlay done. So it has nothing to do with year that I can see. If there is a question on my car look at my sig. I can do a video but the speedo needle goes to the 12 o'clock position and then to zero. It is the only needle that does that. Do you really need a video of that?

Vomit God

Well..

A video is mainly for my entertainment, but someone else might like to see it.. I like to see things work.. It's the way I learn

I know I'm lame.. please don't rub it in...

JTS95TA

boxerfreeflow,
that would be a sweet retrofit to have a C5 instrument cluster in an f-body. Another reason besides the gauge wake up that I like the C5/Z06 cluster is that it is electrolumenescently lighted. Basically at night the gauges are lit by blacklight. Looks really neat at nght compared to an f-body cluster which is tlit simply by small halogen bulbs.
As for if that year C5 does the sweep im not sure, all I do know is that my friends 03 Z06 does it. And my moms 01 STS does it.

boxerfreeflow00

i just got in my friends 99 Pontiac Gran Prix
it does the guage check this
it looks kool, i want it
so 99s do it to

Alex 97Z28 M6

Why don't you just call an electrical guage or speedo manufacturer. I'm sure they can answer most of your questions on how this is accomplished.

JTS95TA

Alex 97Z28 M6,

I would if I knew who I could call. Do you have any idea who manufacturers instrument cluster gauges or the electtronics in them?
I have been getting mixed thoughts about how it does this. Talked to a guy at Granatelli and he said it is all in the gauges and has nothing to do with the cars computer. And last night I talked to another guy who said its gotta be in the computer. So I dunno, I think your right if I can contact a company that actually manufacturs these gauges I can actually get somewhere.
Does anyone know who I can contact about this?
Thanks

Dark Angel

I have an '01 Z28 with the Grantelli guages and it does exactly the same thing. jumps to 12 o'click and drops back to 0MPH, everytime. From what I could tell last time I have the cluster apart, they have a little board with wires soldered to the back of the cluster. Kind of like a mod chip on a game system. This would be cool to have all check and then reset. I am willing to help with what I can. this didn't start happening till I had the recal done so it's something Grantelli did since all they had was the cluster.

Stock Z

I'm with Vomit God on this one...I think this would be cool, maybe not orgasmic but cool.

My guess, from what I have read here, on this is that this is a firmware thing. Somewhere on the gauge cluster is a chip that does the "self test". So since all of our gauges are electric I assume the gauge sweep is caused by different voltages (i.e. 0v = 0mpg and say 10V = 150 mph). Now if we can program a chip to perform the sweep on startup.... Or could we use a chip from a cluster that does the sweep and the gauges use the same voltage sweeps. Obviously the Z06 cluster is not a simple swap since the speedo goes to 200....unless we made ours goto 200 but thats another project.

If anyone knows the exact voltage works of our cluster (or how the cluster actully works since I am kinda guessing) that might be a start.

SpeedSpecialty

I think this is a neat idea. If anyone makes something to make it work, I'd like to carry it in my store.

Anyone, keep me posted if you start working on it!

Dark Angel

Thinking about it, if it just a case of applying a max voltage to the gauges at startup, then thinking very simplistically, you could tap into to wake-up voltage, hook a timer in that applys voltage to the output and then have 6 lines with resistors that will apply the correct voltage to the input of the gauges and after the alotted time, remove the voltage and allow them to operate like normal after that. Someone who may be able to help, if he is willing is Harlan. i have his shiftlight and when you power it up initialy, it lights for a short time and then shuts off. Just a suggestion.

JTS95TA

Dark Angel,

I think the other guy that posted with the Granatelli 200mph gauge said that ONLY his speedo did the sweep. Is this the same on yours or do all your gauges do this? either way if they got the speedo to do it I dont see why the same setup cant be set to make the other gauges do it as well.

I think that all your theories are really good so far. I think that something like what you guys mentioned would need to get tapped into with whatever makes all the instrument lights come on when you turn the key to on or start the car. And then that would need to trigger the gauges for a certain period of time as you guys mentioned. Enough for them to get to max position.

I did some research and newer Ford cars have a self diagnostic test where you hold the odometer reset while turning key to on or starting will make all the needles do the sweep and then go through a series of tests. I tried that in my 97 Z and didnt do anything. I wonder if f-bodies have some sorta diagnostic mode like that.

JTS95TA

Here is an e-mail I just got from a guy that works at a instrument cluster repair shop:

"Don't have a lot of experience in the cluster designs but from what I have seen it is usually just controlled through some firmware routine ran in the microcontroller upon power up"

He didnt have to much to say about it but anything helps. Can anyone elaborate on this?
Thanks

Stock Z

Is there a microcontroller on the gauge cluster? I don't know. If there is, what I think the repair guy is saying is that in that chip there is a program that on startup makes the gauges sweep.

If it is as simple as aplying the max voltage to the gauges for a little bit, I think we could do it using parts from radio shack.

Dark Angel

I'm game. Are there any engineers out there that can give any suggestions on a common delay chip that might be bought from radio shack? I might stop by tomorrow and se what Ic an find out.