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I have the bare ones dash guage cluster with the fuel guage in the place of the Tachometer, and no tach, and the oil, battery, and temp guages are the basic ones. My question is where is/was the rpm sensor supposed to be, and if it exists, is it simple to swap the standard guage cluster for the better one?
Just plug the new one up. You'll need to change the temp gauge(on the top back left side of the head)and oil gauge sending units. Also if you get a dash from an XJ that has an automatic trans and you want the when to shift light to work you'll need to put in a bulb. I did the opposite but forgot about removing the bulb so it kept showing me when to shift my auto trans.
The RPM sensor is apparently part of the ignition system, because you don't have to do anything to get the tach to work other than obtain a new gauge cluster and plug it in. Same with the volt meter. You will have to get an oil sending unit and a temperature sending unit to make those two gauges work. The sending units for the lights like you have now won't work with the oil & temp gauges. Your existing sending units are actually just switches that just "operate" if the temp gets above a certain point or if the oil pressure gets below a certain point. When they operate, the corresponding light comes on.
The swap is not too difficult. I'd say the hardest part is getting the dash bezel off and back on. Tip: once you get the steering colum covers off, take a 7mm box end wrench and remove the retainer bolt holding the multi-pin plug to the signal light / dimmer assembly. When you get that plug out of the way, it's easier possible to get the dash bezel off. If you don't get that connection unplugged & out of the way, I don't think you can get the bezel off.
I swapped my '96 dash recently as you wish to do. There are three torx screws holding the steering column cover on. Remove the screws and the cover top and bottom. After that there are four philips screws holding the dash bezel in place, visible from below. Remove those and gently pull the snap-in attachment points loose, you can then finagle the bezel out. Take your time, don't break it. Four screws hold the gauge cluster in, two above and two below. Remove those and pull the cluster out until you can see the two electrical connectors on the back. Disconnect these and you're free. A gauge cluster from the same year will go in reverse of how the other came out. Take the opportunity to inspect bulbs and replace if necessary, and clean the clear cover front and back with plastic polish so it looks nice.
12-08-2016, 08:11 PM
Dash Swap Question
