55.2-59 wiring gauges advice

[Missyblue]

Good morning! We are currently trying to tackle the gauges so we can maybe finally start my truck!!! . I have a 92 tbi engine and computer that my mechanic friend wired and connected to my universal speedway wiring kit. I am now trying to connect everything from the fuse box to my aftermarket gauges......just curious as I always have lots and lots of 20 20 hindsight if you all have any tips...... like
1. wondering if it would be smart to wire in a plug to be able to disconnect gauges wiring from the harness but then I have a weak point possibly

2. best way to splice my wires and connect them because the key on power wire and lights wire coming from the box goes to every gauge. I bought these t tap connectors but again not sure if they are the most reliable thing. seems if I tape them good they should be convenient just not sure.

3. speedo pulse box wiring. I know I haven't done enough research yet but trying to understand the pulse box has 3 prongs but isn't labeled. its supposed to get power and a line from the speed harness.....does it plug into something I'm missing? or do I make my own plug........havent found good explanations yet.

Thanks for any advice you have. My dad has some wiring knowledge thankfully but Im brand new oh my that's a lot of wires haha

[Rickysnickers]

The only one I can answer about is 1. I have seen several builds and known a couple of people who have done one main disconnect plug for the gauges, and they have never reported any issues with doing this.

[leegreen]

On my AD I made the instruments disconnect-able as I don't think it will be physically possible to remove wiper motor with instruments in. if not for that I probably would have just left the wires long enough that I could cut them and install a disconnect in future if I ever needed to.

As it turned out I needed to remove the instruments soon after installing them as my high beam indicator light burnt out the first time it saw a charging battery.

I used cheap wire connectors for the signal wires on each instrument and have 3 small terminal blocks mounted on kick panel above bottom of dash, one each for instrument power, ground and instrument lights.

[duramax55]

all my wires are soldered with heat shrink over them. all my connecters are the same soldered. I used a lot of oem connector from recked vehicles

[fauXGT]

https://www.etrailer.com/Wiring/Spec...SABEgK0zPD_BwE
Are these the T-connectors you got?
Don't use them. With a bit of corrosion, they will go open. Used on cheap trailer wiring. Either use factory Weather Pak connectors for new, or solder-heat shrink for old style.

[fauXGT]

I'm changing out the stock for modern, but will use the stock connection by crimping, soldering and heat shrink the gauge connectors.

[R&B51]

Seems like gauges supplier would offer good disconnect- haven’t gotten that far with mine yet, ordered drive line harness custom for my LS corvette swap from Speartech and a body harness from American Autowire but haven’t opened boxes yet. Will need to see gauge connector and hadn’t thought of this so thanks for the thread.
I’ve used a lot of methods in past but last years have been using these and really happy with em so far:

https://rt66supply.com/blogs/news/solder-seal-connector

Used to wire sound system on my 73 Bronco and even used on buried landscape lighting wire in wet conditions and working great up to now.
Any experience or opinions?

[Father&son56project]

Having a disconnect for the gauges is very, very handy. The older I get, the less I enjoy lying on the floor and trying to wiggling my arms into a spot where I can get at stuff under the dash.

[dsraven]

use a disconnect for sure. none of those inline splice connectors, a decent sealed weatherpack style unit. get one from a wreck that has the correct number of pins and then amazon some connector parts to crimp on your wires as needed.

[Missyblue]

[quote=leegreen;9096047]On my AD I made the instruments disconnect-able as I don't think it will be physically possible to remove wiper motor with instruments in. if not for that I probably would have just left the wires long enough that I could cut them and install a disconnect in future if I ever needed to. [

Thanks for the tip I totally hadnt even processed my wipers yet!


I used cheap wire connectors for the signal wires on each instrument and have 3 small terminal blocks mounted on kick panel above bottom of dash, one each for instrument power, ground and instrument lights.

I will have to research terminal blocks I haven't thought of that. I remember the truck originally had some now that you say that

[Missyblue]

Originally Posted by duramax55

all my wires are soldered with heat shrink over them. all my connecters are the same soldered. I used a lot of oem connector from recked vehicles

Thanks I'll talk to Dad. Our mechanic friend is using them on the truck but my dad is used to his old school crimp haha

[Missyblue]

Originally Posted by fauXGT

https://www.etrailer.com/Wiring/Spec...SABEgK0zPD_BwE
Are these the T-connectors you got?
Don't use them. With a bit of corrosion, they will go open. Used on cheap trailer wiring. Either use factory Weather Pak connectors for new, or solder-heat shrink for old style.

Thank you. I guess they are similar but different. I figured I would tape them well if used. But I did get some weather pack style connectors now to build also

[Missyblue]

Originally Posted by R&B51

Seems like gauges supplier would offer good disconnect- haven’t gotten that far with mine yet, ordered drive line harness custom for my LS corvette swap from Speartech and a body harness from American Autowire but haven’t opened boxes yet. Will need to see gauge connector and hadn’t thought of this so thanks for the thread.
I’ve used a lot of methods in past but last years have been using these and really happy with em so far:

https://rt66supply.com/blogs/news/solder-seal-connector

Used to wire sound system on my 73 Bronco and even used on buried landscape lighting wire in wet conditions and working great up to now.
Any experience or opinions?

I'm sure some suppliers might have some good options but mine didnt have any listed. I'll check. Your companies are larger and probably have better options.
My mechanic loves the solder seal ones but my dad is used to his old crimp style and thinks melting stuff under the dash won't be fun. Plus he figures hopefully not a moisture or heavy wear area. He used the old crimp style on his logging truck for years and was happy with those. But the seal I'm sure is just an upgrade for better protection yet. Dont really want to redo this again haha.

I did order westherseal type blanks to make plugs for disconnecting the gauges and like my headlights at the fenders like original.

Just trying to see how people take one wire and splice it to soo many things

[Missyblue]

Originally Posted by fauXGT

I'm changing out the stock for modern, but will use the stock connection by crimping, soldering and heat shrink the gauge connectors.

That looks cool. What are you doing for the gauge panel then?

[dsraven]

as a mechanic I can tell you that an open splice connection, like the inline splice, will give you grief sooner or later. a good point was suggested, leave enough wire looped behind the gauges so you can pull the gauges out and disconnect them or install a plug then if required. usually the gauges get installed and forgotten as they will work without issue if installed correctly.
to connect several wires to a single input wire, like, say, a ground, some installers will use a heavier gage wire to a first connection (heavy enough to support the load of all circuits) and use that connection for a jump off point for other circuits that also need to be connected to that first circuit. I just finished working on a boat gauge cluster, there is no metal to use for a ground connection on the fiberglass boat, so the original wiring circuit used a larger gage wire for ground that ran directly from the battery to the first gauge stud, then smaller wires from there to other ground circuits on the other gauges and dash lights etc. same deal for the positive except it had a mega fuse/circuit breaker at the battery to start things off and from there to the ign switch as a common battery positive terminal. other boats I have worked on will use a common terminal block under the dash where a large gage wire comes from the battery to supply the terminal strip then other circuits tie in off the common strip's other terminal screws. this is ok but it leaves an open uninsulated strip that can easily be shorted if not careful. not a huge deal on a boat because there are less circuits and there is no metal to accidentally short to with a tool. I rewired a motorhome that had a dsah fire and used a common positive terminal that bolted to the firewall on the inside and had a 5/16 lug bolt for other circuits to feed from. of course it was fused at the battery end. again, that leaves an open circuit that could be shorted unless you cover that lug bolt with something. I used a plastic plug, like a vacuum plug, that covered the whole stud and nut and kept it on the stud with a small nylon cable tie.
the connectors that use the solder inside and shrink tube on the outside work pretty well I have found. if using a regular butt connector maybe buy the uninsulated ones, for a smaller bulge in the harness, and use shrink tube to insulate them after. you can cut the wire to length required, crimp the connectors (with the shrink tube placed on the wire first but not heated up yet) then when done remove the harness and heat all the shrink tubes and wrap the harness with tape. do all this with the battery disconnected though. a harness should be run and secured so it doesn't rub anywhere but is also removeable without cutting it apart. doing it this way ensures you get the wires the correct length for each accesory and also ensures it all gets taped and secured well. nylon cable ties with the extra loop hole for a screw work but personally I use the cable clamp style that loops around the harness, has a rubber sleeve around the metal part, and bolts to the body. yes, it needs to be unbolted for future removal, but that should be a rare occurrence if the thing is wired correctly in the first place.
personally I like the common stud idea because there is less chance of a large crimp connection becoming a resistance point in the circuit that will supply less voltage to the circuits plus it can heat up and cuase problems with accesories working properly. as a side, when wires get inserted into a crimp connector they should not be twisted first. twisting them makes the wire strands cross each other and then when the crimp is done those crossed strands can actually cut each other so the gage of wire inside the connection becomes less, if you get my point. that was day 1 of the electrical course back in trade school.
anyway, sorry about the short story but hopefully somebody got something out of it.

[dsraven]

https://www.amazon.ca/Positive-Insul...37632363&psc=1

this is the terminal I used on the motorhome and a few other large draw projects

[dsraven]

something like this to cover a large terminal block

https://www.grote.com/electrical-con...al-protectors/

[dsraven]

google marine bus bar for a few images of a terminal strip. there are several types as far as how each terminal connects to only the one opposite that screw or else it may connect to every other screw on the strip. marine stuff is usually a little better quality and will have stainless hardware most likely.

[fauXGT]

Originally Posted by Missyblue

That looks cool. What are you doing for the gauge panel then?

I read the info from a project from someone in Great Britain had done on an AD as soon as I got my project 2 years ago. They have a file for reproduction faces for each gauge... and in the correct ratio for each gauge for Bosche. I'm still figuring out the media for the face I want to use...i.e. heavy paper and glue to stock metal plate, metal silk screened, etc.... but will be the factory color to match speedo.
Using Bosche gauges that work for different sensors you can connect them via stud and nuts. I have gotten the proper senders for each, but some gauges come with their own type sensors.

[fauXGT]

https://www.1952chevytruck.com/1947_...uck_gauges.htm
He had done his a bit differently cutting large holes for each gauge. I used the gauge stud insulators to protrude thru the back of the pod so the back would be the support for all gauges. I just had to disassemble each gauge w/o damage. I didn't grind each gauge to open up being that can create shavings to stick to the micro magnets. Hence the extra holes drilled to the back of the pod. Studs protrude from the gauge held in place and the connection look like stock....only no tube oil pressure or temp sensor just electronic w/o an ECU.
I might have to do extra back lighting when faces are installed, but that shouldn't be that big of a deal. 2 more holes and extra bulbs.

[leegreen]

I did something similar using random gauges I had sitting around.

I used a pretty crusty cluster from a parts truck as a starting point, drilled large holes in the back and spot welded the gauge cans in, each set to correct depth to get the needles to line up.
A couple hours with GIMP produced the gauge face which for now is just printed on paper and illuminated with LEDs under the center of the original gauge cluster and around the edge. Works Ok and only have $50 ish into it.

All matching gauges with the plastic needles that light up would be cool. maybe V 2.0

Speedo is a Amazon GPS speedo mounted behind glass in an original Speedo housing with turn, hibeam and ignition indicators group above it. A round-tuit project is to rebuild my good OEM speedo to use a servo driven by an arduino counting pulses from the speedo drive on the T5

[Missyblue]

Originally Posted by dsraven

as a mechanic I can tell you that an open splice connection, like the inline splice, will give you grief sooner or later. a good point was suggested, leave enough wire looped behind the gauges so you can pull the gauges out and disconnect them or install a plug then if required. usually the gauges get installed and forgotten as they will work without issue if installed correctly.
to connect several wires to a single input wire, like, say, a ground, some installers will use a heavier gage wire to a first connection (heavy enough to support the load of all circuits) and use that connection for a jump off point for other circuits that also need to be connected to that first circuit. I just finished working on a boat gauge cluster, there is no metal to use for a ground connection on the fiberglass boat, so the original wiring circuit used a larger gage wire for ground that ran directly from the battery to the first gauge stud, then smaller wires from there to other ground circuits on the other gauges and dash lights etc. same deal for the positive except it had a mega fuse/circuit breaker at the battery to start things off and from there to the ign switch as a common battery positive terminal. other boats I have worked on will use a common terminal block under the dash where a large gage wire comes from the battery to supply the terminal strip then other circuits tie in off the common strip's other terminal screws. this is ok but it leaves an open uninsulated strip that can easily be shorted if not careful. not a huge deal on a boat because there are less circuits and there is no metal to accidentally short to with a tool. I rewired a motorhome that had a dsah fire and used a common positive terminal that bolted to the firewall on the inside and had a 5/16 lug bolt for other circuits to feed from. of course it was fused at the battery end. again, that leaves an open circuit that could be shorted unless you cover that lug bolt with something. I used a plastic plug, like a vacuum plug, that covered the whole stud and nut and kept it on the stud with a small nylon cable tie.
the connectors that use the solder inside and shrink tube on the outside work pretty well I have found. if using a regular butt connector maybe buy the uninsulated ones, for a smaller bulge in the harness, and use shrink tube to insulate them after. you can cut the wire to length required, crimp the connectors (with the shrink tube placed on the wire first but not heated up yet) then when done remove the harness and heat all the shrink tubes and wrap the harness with tape. do all this with the battery disconnected though. a harness should be run and secured so it doesn't rub anywhere but is also removeable without cutting it apart. doing it this way ensures you get the wires the correct length for each accesory and also ensures it all gets taped and secured well. nylon cable ties with the extra loop hole for a screw work but personally I use the cable clamp style that loops around the harness, has a rubber sleeve around the metal part, and bolts to the body. yes, it needs to be unbolted for future removal, but that should be a rare occurrence if the thing is wired correctly in the first place.
personally I like the common stud idea because there is less chance of a large crimp connection becoming a resistance point in the circuit that will supply less voltage to the circuits plus it can heat up and cuase problems with accesories working properly. as a side, when wires get inserted into a crimp connector they should not be twisted first. twisting them makes the wire strands cross each other and then when the crimp is done those crossed strands can actually cut each other so the gage of wire inside the connection becomes less, if you get my point. that was day 1 of the electrical course back in trade school.
anyway, sorry about the short story but hopefully somebody got something out of it.

Thanks again as always for the time and input and the experience! I'm learning so I'll have to dig through this with papa. But I have a speedeway wiring kit with fuse box and all my gauge wires come out of it. Ill attach photo of the sheet.

So I have to understand the need or use of a terminal strip in my application.

My fuse panel already has my ground wire so I cant now make it a larger gauge.

I think the only wire I have to splice a bunch is the 12 v ignition to each gauge. The lights for the gauges that run a ground and a dash light wire already have ends attached that are insulated and have the female clip to attach to the harness wires....but maybe shrink wrap those? But again after it all works like you mentioned.

I like the idea of making it long and just leaving room if I want/need to add a plug later. I figure the less connections the better. Just wondered if it would be easier to set the plug and then the 1st gauge and then we could build everything out of the dash easier haha

And I remember now it had a nice rubber clamp/loop that held the wires before so thanks for the reminder

Thanks again for the support.....oh and for exciting news!!! We got her started for the 1st time!! So at least computer and engine wiring are on the right track!!!!

[51 3600]

Doing similar to fauXGT and leegreen. Cut faces out of thin sheet metal and took to an auto graphics shop. He did all the lettering, printing and adhered the vinyl to the faces. Speedo plate is for Speedhut unit and will have signal and high beam indicator lights. Gauges are Bosch like fauXGT used.Gauge numerals are not on the exact radius I wanted, but after 2 failed attempts partially due to some unclear direction from me, I turned off my OCD and accepted the third. All in all he only charged me $30 so I really shouldn't complain.

[dsraven]

great news on the start up, thats always a turning point, mentally, it seems. it will usually get the juices flowing again so you wanna work on it to get it done.
the gauges will all need a 12v keyed supply, I assume the harness is wired to supply that, and a common ground. the wiring diagram shows the power wire snaking around on the left and simply "t"ing off to each gauge. in reality, how does that part look? if it is a single wire with no "t" wires then what I would do is take that wire to the volt gauge pos stud and then use that stud as the common jumping off point for the other gauges. for the ground I would ensure the cab is grounded well, or dont assume that and simply run a new ground wire up to the dash area, either way, run a common ground wire from each gauge to the sheet metal of the cab or that new ground wire that you supplied. you can daisy chain the ground wires like the power wire but I recommend to use the same color of wire for each one, like red for power and black for ground, or whatever. we have to assume the builder of the harness would run the correct size/gage of wire to operate the gauges correctly. if using an analog gauge the power wire simply runs a magnet winding in the gauge. this is the standard that will want to pull the needle on the gauge towards that magnet. on the other side of the needle is another magnet winding that is dependant on the sending unit for how strong the magnet will be. the sending unit is the ground for that gauge so less ground means less magnetism so the needle will be drawn more towards the standard magnet. as the ground level in the sending unit increases the magnetism in the winding increases and the needle is drawn more towards that side of the gauge. pretty simle really. that is why the sending unit needs to match the gauge and also why a good gauge ground and power supply are important. if the gauge is grounded to the cab but the cab has a poor ground then the gauges are affected. you can see that a small winding in the gauges will not draw a lot of power so a huge wire to these is not really needed, but be careful not to use the power wire for other stuff as the draw may make the gauge needle flutter or read inaccurately. originally the truck probably had a woven ground cable from the cab to the engine block, a pretty good sized one likely as I believe the original battery ground simply went from the battery to the cab below the battery. in that case the cab became part of the wiring harness so a long ground cable to the engine wasn't needed. personally, I like to run a good sized ground cable from th battery to the engine block, the gage would depend on the current draw of the starter and the length of the cable, then from the block to the frame and from the frame to the individual body parts that have an accesory grounded to them, like the cab. for other accesories, like head and tail lights, I like to run a ground from them to the frame of the truck so I don't rely on sheet metal bolted through paint to other sheet metal that is grounded.

[Missyblue]

Originally Posted by dsraven

great news on the start up, thats always a turning point, mentally, it seems. it will usually get the juices flowing again so you wanna work on it to get it done.
the gauges will all need a 12v keyed supply, I assume the harness is wired to supply that, and a common ground. the wiring diagram shows the power wire snaking around on the left and simply "t"ing off to each gauge. in reality, how does that part look? if it is a single wire with no "t" wires then what I would do is take that wire to the volt gauge pos stud and then use that stud as the common jumping off point for the other gauges. for the ground I would ensure the cab is grounded well, or dont assume that and simply run a new ground wire up to the dash area, either way, run a common ground wire from each gauge to the sheet metal of the cab or that new ground wire that you supplied. you can daisy chain the ground wires like the power wire but I recommend to use the same color of wire for each one, like red for power and black for ground, or whatever. we have to assume the builder of the harness would run the correct size/gage of wire to operate the gauges correctly. if using an analog gauge the power wire simply runs a magnet winding in the gauge. this is the standard that will want to pull the needle on the gauge towards that magnet. on the other side of the needle is another magnet winding that is dependant on the sending unit for how strong the magnet will be. the sending unit is the ground for that gauge so less ground means less magnetism so the needle will be drawn more towards the standard magnet. as the ground level in the sending unit increases the magnetism in the winding increases and the needle is drawn more towards that side of the gauge. pretty simle really. that is why the sending unit needs to match the gauge and also why a good gauge ground and power supply are important. if the gauge is grounded to the cab but the cab has a poor ground then the gauges are affected. you can see that a small winding in the gauges will not draw a lot of power so a huge wire to these is not really needed, but be careful not to use the power wire for other stuff as the draw may make the gauge needle flutter or read inaccurately. originally the truck probably had a woven ground cable from the cab to the engine block, a pretty good sized one likely as I believe the original battery ground simply went from the battery to the cab below the battery. in that case the cab became part of the wiring harness so a long ground cable to the engine wasn't needed. personally, I like to run a good sized ground cable from th battery to the engine block, the gage would depend on the current draw of the starter and the length of the cable, then from the block to the frame and from the frame to the individual body parts that have an accesory grounded to them, like the cab. for other accesories, like head and tail lights, I like to run a ground from them to the frame of the truck so I don't rely on sheet metal bolted through paint to other sheet metal that is grounded.

Happy 4th to everyone! Hope you all have a nice day!!
Thanks again so.......yes!!! Dad and I got to start the truck personally yesterday and it's super wonderful!!! And motivating for sure.....like wow this might actually be possibly happening 4 years later haha. Theres been alot of big moments but hearing her start is epic!

So the harness is just a basic ground wire that I have to t off so that's why I was looking for ideas how best to do it. I'll attach a photo. We have the engine grounded to the frame with a braided strap and then the engine to body. I'll have to see how the battery Isgrounded I didnt do that part.
And I'm pretty sure the wiring from my headlights/taillights has a ground I'll have to do like you say to the body or something

Have a great day!