White face worries (56k)

[DAMON]

Hey guys, havent posted in a while, but i got my white faces in the mail today:



Prior to their arrival i read just about every forum on TN about the install of these gauges, and frankly, Im very worried about installing them. I have three main concerns: That the gauge(s) will not functiuon properly after I put them in, that the airbag light will come on after the install, and that the gauges will peel off after time. The first two ideas concern me the most, as I will be leaving for college in a month and I really need my car to function properly. A friend (best buy employee) is going to help me install the gauges and a head unit at the same time, so Im worried and almost losing sleep over this haha.

So can you guys give me any pointers or a pep talk on this, besides whats already been posted in other threads? I just want to make absolutely sure I can do this right before I tear things apart, I am really worried about the air bag light coming on.

Another quick question, my hanes manual says to turn the ignition key to "lock" and disconnect the negative terminal of my battery before beginning work on the gauge cluster... is this what I should do? I didnt see anything like this mentioned in the other threads. Well, thank you very much for your time. I apologize for making yet another of these threads but I am really concerned about this install and my car functioning correctly. Thanks guys!

[kmorphosis]

as far as disconnecting the battery I wouldn't even think about it. Its not neccessary. I had a problem with my gauges so as I was driving down the highway I started wo unscrew the trim and when I pulled off the highway took out my gauge cluster. There is no need to disconnect the battery at all. I am proof of this.

1. Test the gauges before putting them on. Hook the positive and negative up to make sure they work.

2. don't use double sided tape to hold the gauges down. I did this and it worked perfectly for 2 years. Now my gauges are sticking for my speedo. Thats why I did the drive and disassemble the dash trick.
Use something good, like fabric glue or nail glue. It will be worth it.

Its easy to do.. as soon as I get my reverse gauges in I will be doing it right this time.. no more double sided tape.

and pm me if you have more questions.. I seem to be tearing my dash apart a lot lately for installing stuff.. and I never disconnect my battery terminals..

[DAMON]

thank you very much for the input! I understand that glue would hold better, but then what if someday I want to chang the gauges back to stock or the white faces quit working? then my old gauges would be covered in glue... but I guess its better to have that than my gauges peeling off. Now when you say test them, how do i do that? hook them up to the battery directly?

and ufoz, first off, love your car But anyways, yeah I wouldnt think the light would come on either but several of the threads I read stated that after their gauge intsall their airbag light came on, so that worried me.

But yeah, so disregard what the hanes manual says about turining the key to lock and disconnecting the battery? would it hurt if i did do it? thank you very much fellas.

[kmorphosis]

it won't hurt if you do that, just not needed.

as for testing them, connect the positive wire into one of ur fuses and ground the negative.. that will make them light up then when you turn ur car on.

I beleive a mild solvent would remove any glue residue if you needed to replace or channge out your gauges..

[CamryWhat?]

its nots hard man do it and have fun with it....Camry's are like Lego's they just snap together

[maneesh]

I'm also going to work on mine - as soon as I get the 194 LED lights for the guage cluster. This way, I only have to open the cluster once.

Can someone comment on what type of exact glue was used?

Also, identify first which wires you are going to connect to and where they are - this will help you route the wires better. Some people have connected the guage wires to the fuse box. I was thinking of connecting it to the ground of my car alarm and the wire that connects to the parking light - that also comes from my alarm.

Good luck.

[bowlofturtle]

your not the only one worried i've read it over like 8 times that DIY and stared down all the pictures but i still dont have the guts. I'm also waiting on the correct bulbs for the interior.

[Camry92LE]

it really isnt that hard at all, i got the reverse glo gauges and they work fine and there was no problem in installing them. the only thing id keep an eye out for is the trasnformer. . they seem to break after a short periiod of time and your gusges wont light up. but if this happens just go to autodynamic.com, they sell just the transformer by themselves. . then all you gotta do is cut some wires and attach the new transformer and your guages will work again. i had to change mine like a year ago but i havent had any problems w/ the gauges since. good luck

[DAMON]

thanks for the pointers guys, sounds good. yeah i got mine from auto dynamic, good to know they have transformers, hopefully i wont have any problems. Yeah, its tough to get the guts to do it, but im gonna go for it tomorrow and hopefully all goes according to plan. thanks guys

[DAMON]

Ive got a few more qestions before I head to the garage! where do I mount the black box? Not the controller, but the other black box... I didnt see that in the how to. I also wondered if the airbag light will come on if I turn the key in the process of the install.... I read in one of the other forums that this is so. Thanks in advance guys.

[kmorphosis]

my black box that connects the controller and the gauges actually hangs loose in behind the dash. I don't think you need to worry about mounting this part at all.

Never heard about a problem turning your key. I would just make sure everything is hooked up when you do that, gauges, switches, etc. they don't need to be mounted, just have the wires connected..

[Erbe]

while were on the subject of gauges...if i were to replace the bulbs behind there would i use clear bulbs?

[amerikim]

You only get the air bag light if you disconnect the battery for prolonged periods. No need to disconnect the battery since you won't be messing with the steering wheel. BUT you want everything turned off and remove the key from ignition while working. You do not want to short anything.

I used fabric glue because it allowed me to slide the faceplates around for positioning, get that right or your needles may interfere and you will have to start over. Fabric glue dries fast and is not as corrosive as Superglue and can be removed if you decide you want stock look back. Be sure to fill your tank, as that gauge needle remains at wherever you move it too. IT does not spring back to start point. Very important if you want your gas gauge to indicate somewhat correctly. Just move it back to the Full Mark when you are reassembling.

Good time to replace bulbs too. Remove the green condoms on the bulbs at least. The needles need the bulbs for illumination, someone here did it with red bulbs and they turned out nice. The stock bulbs are clear but shine with a yellowish color, I did not like that at all. Especially noticable on the temperature side.

Take your time and do not rush. Secure the transformer behind the cluster when its all out so it doesnt rattle later. I ran the switch under the dash, next to steering column. For wires, I grounded one to brake pedal mounting bolt and used the tail light fuse so the gauges only come on when I turn the lights on. No cutting or splicing needed.

Edit: I got the fabric glue from a handycraft store. It's clear and comes in a clear plastic bottle. It's thick and dries pretty quick. Do not overdo it under the gauge faces and make sure you leave them enough time to cure so it wont move around on you. Do not use double sided tape as to position the faces is a pain and it interfered with the speedo needle. Do not use Superglue because the corrosive fumes it gives off can leave marks you cant remove.

[IronchefChicago]

just be very careful ar wo what kind of glue you use, make sure its acid free and non reactive

[Dainfamusgc]

Hey guys i just bought the gauges off ebay with the bezel the aluminum one, i have a question, actually 2 first u said connect it to the fuse for the tail lights or whichever lights i want but how do you do that if you dont mind explaining b/c i tried the search couldnt find something clear on it, i know im a n00b, also i bought those fast and the furious model cars, it came with plastic cement which seems to hold nicely b/c i put together some of those models b4 would that work? its clear and would allow you some time to slide around the gauges. Oh and another thing how do you get it around the needle that walkthrough on imagestation doesnt really say??