I have a friend who was going to put a 1993 cluster in his 1994 Trans-Am. I was worried because I know putting a 1998 cluster in a 1999+ car causes smoke and since the 1993's used speed density and also temp gauge was different I was worried it would be a problem.

Has anyone ever switched one way or the other? I thought maybe a 1993 Camaro guy with the yellow numbers may have switched to the 1994+ white number style and could shed some light on this... Thanks.

 

Wouldn't it just be smarter, cheaper, and more simple to use an overlay with the 1993 font and colors in his 1994?

 

Has nothing to do with any of that. A friend bought a 1993 150mph cluster (by mistake, thinking it was for a 1994) to upgrade his 1994 120mph cluster (he has a Trans-Am).

The overlay part we're not worried about as I made a new one for him...

 

Wait, wrong one...

 

^^That's not it either, looks the same but for a 1994 (no digital odometer). Regardless, you get the point. I'm not worried about aesthetics on his car, just wiring being different inside the cluster...

 

The main difference is the source of the tach signal. 93 takes the signal from the coil, via a "filter". 94 and up gets the tach signal from the PCM. You will have to make sure they are compatible. The coolant temp difference would appear to mainly the temperature they printed on the left hashmark (100 for the 93, 160 for later models). I don't think the signal or the gauge operation are any different, just the markings.

 

I don't know about a Trans-Am but, I replaced my 94 Camaro cluster (115mph) with a 93 cluster (150mph) because I wanted the yellow markings. No problems at all. Works fine.

 

Awesome, thanks everyone! Sounds like at least we can give it a shot without worry of it smoking, lol!

 

It wouldn't cause an issue like that, I tried a 97 cluster in my 93 and for the exact reason Fred said, the tachometer wouldn't work past 2K rpm. Other wise, seemed to work fine.