Alternative instruments and switchgear

[Iceworx]

Ahh right thanks, thats useful to know

Presume you can access the EPROM of the clocks with VAGCOM or similar?

Do you know if the tacho is pulse drive, or off the W terminal of the alternator?

[Aidan]

wasn't there a post about a f o r d mechanical to digital speedo drive that can be calibrated ?

[serenitycamper]

Ahh right thanks, thats useful to know

Presume you can access the EPROM of the clocks with VAGCOM or similar?

Do you know if the tacho is pulse drive, or off the W terminal of the alternator?

Yeah you must use VAGTACHO, right nasty job to do though.

The tacho on a mk4 golf needs an engine speed signal from the ecu so without a properly calibrated hall sensor you can't get it to work. I've been looking into this for a long time on mine and it seems like a lot of work to go through to get it to work properly.

Im currently testing a set of clocks from a 1994 T4 as the rev is W terminal driven, the speedo is mechanical and the fuel gauge uses the same resistance as the T3, the golfs don't. Coolant gauge is also similar in range but so is the golf so they're ok on that score!

I'll keep looking into it and let you know how I go.

Only problem with the T4 clocks is that the speed drive is right up against the damn brake master cylinder so I have to source a right angle drive and speedo cable extension for the bus before the speedo will work

[silverbullet]

Here's what's going on around the Audi dash pod. Pretty familiar stuff around the back:



But it's definitely going to need some sort of riser or fillet piece to bridge the gap, the brow of the surround may even have to be cut off/filled/painted to clear the steering wheel:



It's early days on this one.

[silverbullet]

First hurdle: the old quattro loom that I had hoped would give up a few plugs and tails for the dash is 2 years too late

Anyone know of a pre-86 Audi 80/90 (type 81) getting the chop that I can raid for the dash part of the loom, give me a shout.

[CovKid]

Just throwing some thoughts into the general mix here. Rather than messing calibrating speedos etc, why not go for something like this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=g ... m270.l1313" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I would have thought GPS would be accurate enough - my satnav is more accurate than my analogue one thats for sure.

[fufflenarnia]

If you are using a speed which uses a speed sensor you can get aa pulse generator from http://home.arcor.de/nolan/tachokonverter/WIZ_Golf3.htm. The designer says you can calibrate your speed against a gps and get a 0.2% accuracy.

They also make a wiring connector which plugs into the standard t3 speed connector so saves you having to butcher your loom.

Good eh?

[silverbullet]

I'm now giving serious consideration to fitting a remote servo to make some space for the Audi pod. I've found a small remote fluid reservoir with 3 outlets, but it doesn't get around the upper master cylinder outlet pipe which is inconveniently placed on top (to help bleeding)

This is definitely showing signs of getting out of hand!

[serenitycamper]

This is the problem I've had. I'm gonna give the golf mk4 clocks one more try using a sensor on the cam pulley for the rev counter and see if I can alter the fuel tank sender to read correctly with the clocks, if not, I'm going back to stock.

[silverbullet]

Not seen this? http://www.brick-yard.co.uk/forum/golf- ... 71468.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If it was easy, all the Germans would be running different dash units...TUV is not their friend but our MOT is a little more forgiving if you have a knowledgeable and reasonable VW garage

[syncroandy]

Golf Mk4 and Passat 3B clusters are a fair bit shallower than the earlier generations and there's just enough space in front of the master cylinder to squeeze them in, but it does bring the clocks right to the front instead of being recessed a bit as on the original vehicles. It may be possible to improve this by chopping a chunk out of the plastic housing on the rear of the cluster, gaining a couple of cm or so. My pickup will end up with a Passat MFA cluster if all goes according to plan. It looks like there'll be no need to relocate the reservoir as I'd initially thought.

E D I T. The 'early' pre-canbus version of the above clocks should be the easiest to integrate as the input signals are mostly all there. I'm using a modified Golf/Passat electric speedo sender, and like 'signaturecustoms' mentioned, will have to modify the fuel tank sender to work the other way round. The TDI ECU will drive the rev counter.

[Titus A Duxass]

I thought I'd found a good alternative set of clocks.
I got this combination from the donor Passat.


It looks pretty good doesn't it...

Until you look around the back.




It's a cable driven speedo and the cable input is exactly in line with the master cylinder.

[CovKid]

I believe its possible to change the master cylinder for one from another vehicle but that seemed ridiculous, turning the whole job into a mammoth task. I'm leaning more towards making a new bezel and splitting the clocks so they sit astride it.

[skysurfin09]

I'm reading /watching this thread with great interest, surely to Christ in can't be this complicated, I mean the design people at VW cannot be this fiendish ....can they? Rob

[CovKid]

Er yes they can. Its the master cylinder mainly otherwise you could just plonk another dash on there. Also from the 90s onwards, car dashes become very much more complex affairs with no end of plugs and connectors. Have a go - you'll see what I mean Its a right sows ear trying to reinvent the dash.