I am in the process of making a mini gauge cluster using stock gauges. I'm going to install a factory coolant temperature sender in the T55 plug on the transmission, and another temp sender for the engine oil (not sure where yet). I've pulled a cluster, and a second coolant temperature gauge from the junkyard and plan on wiring it into where the dash clock normally would be. I want this to be made with as many stock parts as possible, and of course to look as stock as possible. I even plan on back-lighting similar to stock too. This is my progress so far, tell me what you think. I'm open to any and all suggestions and help!


That's how the faceplate will look one I recess the bezel into it.

Side view. I'll be laying some plexiglass overtop when finished.

 

The factory cluster housing has the lower gauge recessed more then the upper gauge. But its not enough of an issue for me to address (I can tend to be a perfectionist)

 

I am really liking all the stuff your attempting to do.
can't hardly wait to see the end results!

 

This is how it looks so far. I still have to join the two faceplates and paint it black to match, and add plexiglass. Its actually looking better than howni imaged. The only problem I forsee is there's not enough depth in the back without cutting into the dash.. There's enough room for the cluster housing, but not enough for the stock backlights. A similar problem to this is the wiring connections. If I reused the ribbon cable, I'm sure it would be alright but I don't want to go that route. I think I am going to use a stock pinout connector so it is removable just like the factory dash clock. Like I said before, I am open to all comments, suggestions and constructive criticism.

 

Very clever I like it

 

I used JB Kwik to join the two faceplates together. The gauge cluster faceplate was brittle so I used extra on the back.




Then I used Bondo glazing putty to seal all the imperfections. It was a shame to lose that textured look, but it is impossible to have it and not show the seam. I then wet sanded it to 1,500 grit. Smooth as glass.



There's a couple more small imperfections I still need to correct, then paint.

 

Sweet!
Nice work for sure.
To get the texture look back, go get a can of bed liner from McParts store, and shoot it on kinda dry.
Before you do that however, shoot some white paint on the back for illumination bounce (like the gauge cluster) then tape it off after it drys to shoot the bed liner.

 

Any specific brand you think would give the similar texture? I know they're all different.

 

Been working on the wiring some. Haven't started any wiring on the Jeep with the sensors yet, however, I just ordered the adapter for the AW4 T55 plug. It's a NPT M10x1.0 female to m14x1.5 male. This will allow me to put in a stock coolant temperature sender into the side of the transmission. I got this idea from NickInTimesFilms on YouTube. The dude isn't an asthetic perfectionist, but he does have good XJ modding content.


I can run the eyelets inside. But the problem I have here is I believe it will not make a connection, or if it does, it wont be a solid one. This configuration will raise the gauges slightly. And I also have concerns for the terminal on the right as there will be a wall there, and all wires will be routed to the left.


Theres enough clearance behind the mini cluster to get these eyelets in. Even though the other way looks cleaner, I will probably go this route since it's practically how the connection was made from the factory.


I bought these LED lights a while ago because they were on clearance and they are going to be perfect for this. They have an adhesive backing, and will match the main cluster as I plan on swapping those to LED's also. I will also benefit from the LED's not drawing too much. I am practically forced to use these or something similar because the stock bulbs stick out too far, and splicing the ribbon cable it too much for me to deal with with little to no benefit. I would love to reuse it, and to have that stock appearance, but to me its not worth it when I can have wire it similarly to the dash clock.


This is probably how they will look wired in.


I am just going to route the wires through the factory light hole.


I still have to drill a hole on the bottom gauge for the machine screw that supllies power to the "TU" terminal (Does anyone have clarification what this stands for? Temperature Unit? Following the trace back, it is the only one with that label. The stock temperature sender also only has one wire. I would presume that'sit since the other two traces is ignition and ground)

I am going to use some kind of factory pigtail for the entire gauge cluster after I figure out the pinout. I think it would be a good idea to route all of the grounds together before wiring it all to the connector (anyone have any thoughts on that?) Apart from that, the preliminary wiring has been planned.

Thank you everyone who is following my thread. It means a lot to me, and I would love to get more feedback from the community.

 

Sweet!

 

Alright, so the hardware in slowly coming together! Fairly soon, I'll be dealing with just the electronics.


I've added the last wall to complete the housing. Just like with the faceplate, I used JB Kwik. I also used it to fill all holes not needed, and went over everything with more glazing putty to make it smooth.


After I got the inside sealed up, I started working on the outside.


All seams, holes, and low spots were filled in with glazing putty. I know this is overkill for something that will never get seen. But I tend to be a perfectionist. I also want to produce a good quality product incase if I get a different idea for the Jeep, and would sell this one day.



A coat of primer just to see what it looks like. You can see the hole I drilled for the gauge as it looks slightly different from the rest.

With all of that done, all I really have left beside the electronics, is just a couple more things:
1. Add two more support tabs on the back (you can see there are none on the right side in that last picture). This will essentially allow me to pressure fit the entire thing into the recess made for the dash clock. It's almost like Chrystler knew someone would do this! Alongside this, I need to construct a tab for a mounting screw screw (see number 5)
2. Drill a new hole out the side for the internal wires. I know I had shown a picture of the LED wires going through the stock bulb hole, but I did not really like the look of it. I want this to be as professional as possible. I want it to look stock.
3. Finish painting (including the bedliner on the faceplate)
4. Add a plexiglass to the front of the faceplate to mimic the main cluater.
5. Secure the facepcluster and plexiglass to the body with two screws, one at the top and one at the bottom. The second to last picture in this edit, you can see a screw hole that mounts the stock plexiglass to the original cluster housing. I'm going to make another one congruent to that.

After all of that, it's simply electrical. Please comment what you think or would do differently!

 

Sorry it's been like 8 months 🤣 I've been so preoccupied with my transfer case swap. That can be read here:

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f67/wj...-96-xj-265240/

Anyways, in the meantime while I wait for parts in the mail, I've started looking back at my other unfinished projects. This one for me, still has a lot of life in it. To me it's so interesting to have this come together. I've taken some measurements for anyone wanting to recreate this!




If you look inside the clock cubby, you'll notice it's slightly beveled. I used this thick paper to make a template and cut the housing on my table saw. I never knew what degree it was but everything fit the template so it checks out.

I don't know the exact degree, but what it looks like is an obtuse angle right past 90. I pulled up a protractor on Google images and what it appears to be is right between 90° and 95°. I guess you could cut on the caution side of error and mark it off at 92° depending on how wide your specific box ends up at. I'll get the width measurement later since this site likes to time out if you take too long in between typing.

If you peep in the background, you'll see my first attempt at planning out the wiring. I thought about incorporating the harness into the factory dash clock mod I'm doing. That can be found at:

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f67/da...-clock-261683/

Anyways, once I figure out my life and get right with Jesus on what I'm doing here, I'll draw up a proper schematic and I'll release it for y'all to see. Until then, I'll be crafting 😉

 

I had some downtime time and was able to get some progress done!


This is the adapter I got. I believe it's M10x1.0 internal and M14x1.5 external (I'll double check later) the interior diameter was not large enough for the sensor so it had to be drilled out.


I got the sensor threaded in with some medium strength loctite. And I pulled the OEM O-ring off of a spare transmission adapter.


Here I've got the T-55 torx tool, the plug assembly, and the connector for it.

The T-55 plug is soaking in WD-40 right now. Hopefully soon I'll have part 2 posted.

 

When I buy individual bigger torx I always buy the impact ones we sell at my store.
My collection of them to date.
Just a thought.

 

And I'm sure for just a few cents extra too! Id return mine but i bout it a year ago lol talk about reviving old projects