Chris.
Stickin' it to the man
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this is an already written swap. please sticky this somewhere. its pretty straight forward. i did it in less than an hour.
tools required!!
phillips screwdriver
wire cuters/strippers
electrical tape
large size saftey pin or a sewing needle
i used the saftey pin.
step 1
remove plastic from around the cluster.
there are two screws on the top. remove them and some wrestling around and it will come out. it helps to take the top cover off of your steering colum. this is easy, take screw driver or your hand and push up on it. it will release from its tabs.
step 2
remove cluster
take the three screws out holding it in. one on top and two brass looking ones on each side on the bottom.
then pull the two plugs from it. a green one and a blue one. then put the cluster aside you will not need it any more.
step 3
take the connector apart we will start with the green one.
on the top of the connector at the part where the wires go in. you will see a very small gap. it you use your finger nail like i did push it in the gap and attempt to pry up. it should release from its tabs and come free. then just fold it back. do this on both connectors on both sides. there is a top and a bottom to each connector.
step 4
remove wires from connector.
this part is tricky as s**t! but once you get one out the rest come easy.
insert the needle or saftey pin in the top hole of the wire you need to remove. do this from the front side.
insert the needle at a slight angle down pointing towards the middle of the connector. it will slide in then as its goin in it will get a little tougher to slide in. then it will stop. dont force it in. give the wire from the back a slight tug and it will move a little... then remove the needle and it should slide the rest of the way out. if it doesnt then you havent done it right. it takes some practice but it will happen.
step 5
repinning the connector.
ok back to the green connector.
there is a bunch of wires that need to be switched around here. and only one wire that needs to be moved from the green connector to the blue one. the yellow wire with the black stripe is the fuel sending wire. this is the only wire that requires an extension to the other connector. remove it and tuck it away somewhere until we are ready for that.
here are some pictures of what they look like.
if you own a 2001 or a 2002 of any model your stock connectors will look like the bottom ones. the ones for the 04 civic VP. you want them to look like the top one. study carefully and you will see where each one goes. there is no two of any wire. they are all different. except the red and black wires. but those are constand ground and power. for those when it says to move them you just move them with in thier connector. the white wire with a red stripe in the blue connector you clip the end off and tape it up. this wire is not needed at all. as for the previously mentioned yellow wire with black stripe goes to the blue connector as you will see. after you have your wires looking EXACTLY like the picture there connect them to your new cluster.and give it a test. it should be ok. there is one wire that was a ? to me. and that was the green wire with a black stripe. the picture there i believe is for an auto swap and it is for the auto indicator tower lights. since i dont have an auto i didnt have this wire in my connectors.
that is basically it. any questions you can post them here and i will try to help. i typed all this by memory from just a few hours ago when i did it. only the pictures of the connectors did i get from elsewhere.
the reason for this writeup done by me is the simple fact that the writeup i used...sucked ass! i looked at the pictre of the pinouts and went from there. the rest of it i never looked at. but if you think mine sux...try this one...maybe you wont think that way..lol
http://cluster.dirtysamurai.com/
some pics of clusters
this is my OEM cluster
pics of the new one!! its one from an 04
word of warning here!
write down your milage before attempting this swap! because when you put another one in it reads whatever milage was on the car it came from. there is no reflashing or rolling back. so when looking for one. try to find one close to your original milage. mine was 30000 miles off
tools required!!
phillips screwdriver
wire cuters/strippers
electrical tape
large size saftey pin or a sewing needle
i used the saftey pin.
step 1
remove plastic from around the cluster.
there are two screws on the top. remove them and some wrestling around and it will come out. it helps to take the top cover off of your steering colum. this is easy, take screw driver or your hand and push up on it. it will release from its tabs.
step 2
remove cluster
take the three screws out holding it in. one on top and two brass looking ones on each side on the bottom.
then pull the two plugs from it. a green one and a blue one. then put the cluster aside you will not need it any more.
step 3
take the connector apart we will start with the green one.
on the top of the connector at the part where the wires go in. you will see a very small gap. it you use your finger nail like i did push it in the gap and attempt to pry up. it should release from its tabs and come free. then just fold it back. do this on both connectors on both sides. there is a top and a bottom to each connector.
step 4
remove wires from connector.
this part is tricky as s**t! but once you get one out the rest come easy.
insert the needle or saftey pin in the top hole of the wire you need to remove. do this from the front side.
insert the needle at a slight angle down pointing towards the middle of the connector. it will slide in then as its goin in it will get a little tougher to slide in. then it will stop. dont force it in. give the wire from the back a slight tug and it will move a little... then remove the needle and it should slide the rest of the way out. if it doesnt then you havent done it right. it takes some practice but it will happen.
step 5
repinning the connector.
ok back to the green connector.
there is a bunch of wires that need to be switched around here. and only one wire that needs to be moved from the green connector to the blue one. the yellow wire with the black stripe is the fuel sending wire. this is the only wire that requires an extension to the other connector. remove it and tuck it away somewhere until we are ready for that.
here are some pictures of what they look like.
if you own a 2001 or a 2002 of any model your stock connectors will look like the bottom ones. the ones for the 04 civic VP. you want them to look like the top one. study carefully and you will see where each one goes. there is no two of any wire. they are all different. except the red and black wires. but those are constand ground and power. for those when it says to move them you just move them with in thier connector. the white wire with a red stripe in the blue connector you clip the end off and tape it up. this wire is not needed at all. as for the previously mentioned yellow wire with black stripe goes to the blue connector as you will see. after you have your wires looking EXACTLY like the picture there connect them to your new cluster.and give it a test. it should be ok. there is one wire that was a ? to me. and that was the green wire with a black stripe. the picture there i believe is for an auto swap and it is for the auto indicator tower lights. since i dont have an auto i didnt have this wire in my connectors.
that is basically it. any questions you can post them here and i will try to help. i typed all this by memory from just a few hours ago when i did it. only the pictures of the connectors did i get from elsewhere.
the reason for this writeup done by me is the simple fact that the writeup i used...sucked ass! i looked at the pictre of the pinouts and went from there. the rest of it i never looked at. but if you think mine sux...try this one...maybe you wont think that way..lol
http://cluster.dirtysamurai.com/
some pics of clusters
this is my OEM cluster
pics of the new one!! its one from an 04
word of warning here!
write down your milage before attempting this swap! because when you put another one in it reads whatever milage was on the car it came from. there is no reflashing or rolling back. so when looking for one. try to find one close to your original milage. mine was 30000 miles off
