Thread: N00b autometer lightbulb wiring?

Hello All,

When it comes to wiring, I'm not really confident on what to do. I currently have two mechanical autometer gauges on my steering column. All I need to do now is get the lightbulbs working.

I need to find a good 12V source and ground near the steering column. I was thinking about hooking them up to the dimmer switch? Would that be the best spot? I don't really care about dimming because I have my cluster at full light anyways so it could be a different spot if it would be easier/better. And then, where is a good place to ground the lights?

Also, just so I have this correct..I need to cut the 12V source I'm going to use, with a splice connector put the two lightbulb positive wires(after crimped and extended) + the original cut 12V source wire into the splice connector and crimp this on to the one 12V source. In other words, 2 wires going to 1. And then crimp the two ground wires for the lightbulbs together and run a ring connector to a screw on the chassis somewhere. Is that pretty much correct?

Thanks!

You've got the general idea correct, you just need to find a place to get power. I'd just run a wire over into the fuse box if I were you. I'm not a big fan of tying into the factory harness unless absolutely necessary.

To light my VDO gauges and get them to turn on with the headlights, this is what I used:



I used a wire from the cig lighter ring (the lighted-ring that surrounds the cig lighter when you turn on your lights, not the cig lighter itself). There are two 18-gauge wires coming out of it and I thought they were both equal so I picked one at random. It works, but it doesn't dim with the dimmer switch. I can't remember which one I used right now. Anyway, I got those tap connectors from Home Depot and so far they work like a champ and it took a minute to install.

Here's the post I made on power my gauges if you're interested:

http://www.sr20forum.com/technical-information-library/143411-gauge-installation-writeup-gauges-3.html

Yeah you'll have to tap into something to have them turn on/off with the other lights. I have mine setup to be on all the time so that when I'm at the drag strip I don't have to have everything on to see the gauges.

hmmm, I like your idea with the fuse thing on the fuse box, but I noticed you used the air bag?? Is there a way to connect into the fuse box w/out disconnecting something else?



Same question here I guess. How would I connect into the fuse box? Also, would I still have to run a separate ground or would that also go to the fuse box somehow?

Also, I'd prefer the lights to come on to the gauges when I turn my headlights on. I'm not sure if the fuse box location will accomplish this...

Do you want the gauge lights to turn on with the headlights? If that's the case, then don't go to the fuse box. Just tap into the cig lighter ring for that using the clips I posted above, nice and easy. Now, if you are looking to power the gauges themselves, you can use the fuse thingie. It is a double fuse holder, so it has a fuse for the spot you take out and a fuse for your gauges. In my case, the fuse to the airbag is still there, even though I don't have an airbag. If you have an airbag, I wouldn't use that one (kinda too important to piggy-back onto), but instead use something else like the turn signal or some other non-safety fuse that runs through the ignition. That way, if this deal leads to blowing the original fuse, you'll still be OK until you get a new fuse. I've used this piggy-backer for 6 months now and have blown neither fuse.

To be clear, I use both the wire clip and fuse piggy-back for my gauges. To power the gauges, I use the piggy-back in the fuse panel and for the gauge lighting I use the wire clip to the cig lighter ring.

hmm, cig light ring looks like the best option so far. I guess I could do the fuse box, but I'm not so keen on the idea of the lights being on all the time during the day, even though I probably won't notice them on, it does drains some power and shortens the life of the bulb.

Supposedly there's some good grounds(screws) around the A-pillar or near the door I can connect to for the ground.

Those connectors from Home Depot look interesting, but I already have a bunch of splice connectors sitting around I think I'll just use those.

-G

Yes, either way would work, I mentioned the home depot connectors because it sounded like you didn't want to splice. Also, wire your gauge lights into one line, so you only have to ground one wire, like I did for my three gauges (red wire):



As for grounding, here are somethings I learned from my install:

SR20 Forum - View Single Post - Gauge installation writeup - Gauges

hmm, that ground location may work..I'll keep that in mind if I can't find something closer/easier. Thanks for all your advice. I have a good idea now of what I need to do.

UPDATE!

Success! I got lights to my gauges. I used the ground location underneath the shifter as suggested. I looked at my cigarette lighter and only saw two wires going to it, so maybe the B14 doesn't have a lighted ring around it? idk, but I decided against using that and instead spliced into the 12V source for the Hazard lights since that's something I rarely use anyways. I used my multimeter to make sure I had the right one when the lights turned on.

Other than that, it was pretty easy..just took quite a bit of time.