XxF12xX

hey guys, i've had white face gauges laying in my glovebox for.... a year now, and i just havent had the time to install them, a few quick questions...

1. are they easy to do ? am i going to have to remove the steering wheel, is it worth it, does anyone know where an install guide is ?

2. i have to replace my speed cable anyway, if the gauge removal is a pain in the ***, can i just reach up in the dash and put the new speed cable in, or am i locked into pulling the cluster ?

any and all help is VERY appreciated, thanks guys !

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

removal of the steering wheel is a must (imo) when removing the cluster. i would assume the gauges just lay over the original gauges. your biggest struggle will be getting the needles off.

you CAN install the new cable without pulling the cluster. i always do it that way. you just have to feed the cable through the firewall and grab it from underneath the dash and guide it to the back of the speedometer. its just a tight squeeze for one's hand and a little tricky getting it to lock into the cluster.

mpk490p

i did mine a little while ago, if they are a thin paper/card you will propably have to do the same as me which was to remove all the needles and faces, take the surface off the faces untill they are completly white (i used wire wool and then t cut) this is so the light can get through to light up the white faces then its just a case of putting it all back together. guess it took a couple of hours ok if you have the patients!
i also repainted the needles while they were off so you could see them better (bright red/orange)
think there are some pictures in my link below
Mark

Ilum

I put illuminated white faces on my FB cluster after Christmas, and I thought it was a pain to get it out, but it was worth it in the end. Pulling the steering wheel for me wasn't that big of a deal, the hardest part for me was being able to disconnect one of the two round elecrtical plugs on the back while removing it. I think I spent more time struggling with removing that plug than anything else. I never was able to remove the speedometer needle either so I just worked the guage over it and that worked for me. Look over the FSM at the steps they list, it is pretty easy according to that. I think there was an assumption of you having smaller hands but otherwise it's doable. Allow yourself two or three hours and patience and you'll be fine. Hopefully some of the other guys here will have an easier method to doing this.

I also don't know if it is different depending on the year, but mine is an 85 GSL-SE. Earlier models my be simpler or more complicated. I'm not really sure.

XxF12xX

thanks guys, the help is ultra appreciated

XxF12xX

i'm also working on an 85, but i've got the 12a, gauges are the same though.... i think.

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

yup, the clusters and gauges are the same

2fast2rotar

I did mine last week.

You do not have to pull the steering wheel But if you did it would make the install alot easier.

You are stuck taking the whole cluster out if you are doing the glow gages.

If not, it will be relativly hard to do it while the cluster is still in the car.

I just pulled mine out and it made it easier to do the work needed.(did it on my kitchen table)

Good luck and post pics.

XxF12xX

the gages were a pain, and pulling the cluster was not the easiest of things i've done to this car so far.

right off the bat, your going to notice the fried electrical connector, and the fried speed cable... i put a bad starter in the car ~4 months ago, and it found a path along my wires... pretty much all of them. choke cable, speed cable, hazzard lights, front speakers, u joints, and various other wires were slightly melted.

I have replaced the driveshaft with a mazdatrix AM shaft, the speed cable today, and i'm still looking for the infamous choke cable.

alrighty, with that said, here goes !

this is everything ripped apart.... i had to take out the wheel, the bezel, the combo switches on the sides of tthe bezel, the steering column cover, and the gages. most of the problems associated with removing the gages was pulling the speed cable so that it had slack so that it would let the gages come toward me, followed in a close second by how much of a pain it was to get the blinkers hooked back up.


next, putting the side gages in was a breeze, remove screws, insert new gage, put screws back in, REMEMBER the little piece of metal that holds the battery meter at 0 ! instead of letting it drop off way left. there is also a piece of metal that keeps the gas gage at 0, instead of letting it drop off. I put the new gages directly over the old ones for the outer two, and pulled the factory black/red gages off for the speedo and tach.


finally, all gages done, back together and ready to rock and roll, time to go out into the snow again and put everything back together ! W00T !


all said and done, not too hard of a job, 30$ total for the cable, and the gages, and about 5 hours of my time invested. if i had actually read the FSM and haynes that i have... i probably would have made out in about 3 hours, rather than fighting wires, and removal/install faux pas.

thanks for the help everyone !