Digital dash conversion

[Devil]

Hi everyone,

After a few hours of searching and only turning up lots of threads with replies "this topic has been done before, search for your answers" and no threads with actual answers, I've turned to asking the question.

Does anyone ACTUALLY have the info on doing a digital dash conversion?
I will do a write-up when I do the conversion but there are things I'm yet to find out.

Wiring differences & extra sensors.

Do you actually need to change any harnesses or can the existing wiring simply be modified?
I have found that you need an oil pressure switch & a fuel level sender to suit the digital dash, does the sender actually need changing or is it just a resister or circuit that changes the signal for the dash?
Is the oil pressure switch non-existant with the normal dash or is it just a different sensor?

Cheers.

[FoldKing86]

Hi everyone,

After a few hours of searching and only turning up lots of threads with replies "this topic has been done before, search for your answers" and no threads with actual answers, I've turned to asking the question.

Does anyone ACTUALLY have the info on doing a digital dash conversion?
I will do a write-up when I do the conversion but there are things I'm yet to find out.

Wiring differences & extra sensors.

Do you actually need to change any harnesses or can the existing wiring simply be modified?
I have found that you need an oil pressure switch & a fuel level sender to suit the digital dash, does the sender actually need changing or is it just a resister or circuit that changes the signal for the dash?
Is the oil pressure switch non-existant with the normal dash or is it just a different sensor?

Cheers.

Info you seek is out there i suggest you try harder, i found it alright when i did mine, although sometimes the info was very scattered across forums.

Problems:

As you know the oil sendor in normal AE86 is a pressure sendor where as the digi uses a switch type as only a warning light comes on when oil pressure is too low. AE92 oil sendor will work.

Fuel sendor you need is from a early 90's Soarer/chaser digi dash model for cheapness or go genuine its your call. pretty sure you need 1 extra wire for it too work properly.

This is off the top of my head from my digi dash along time ago so info maybe alittle off.

Plugs are the same although the wires dont line up properly. Handbrake/park light ends up being the exhaust gas temp light i think. There is a conversion chart somewhere, ill see if i still got mine. Oh and the check engine light will come on if you dont run a speed sensor which i never had luck figuring out. Aftermarket ecu solved that problem.

Benefits:

None for me anymore, its wank value but each too their own i guess.

Honestly not worth the hassle unless your dead set on the fact its a different and somewhat cool cluster id either sell it or bin it and save yourself the hassle.

[FoldKing86]

http://www.aeu86.org/index/interior-how-to-install-digital-gauge-cluster/cat/9/topic=4152/post=102838

Start with this and worry about the rest later.

1st find in a google search

[Devil]

Thanks mate.

The wiring for the dash I will be able to sort out myself.
The oil warning light sounds like a simple fix.

I'll have to do some more research into the fuel level sender and see what the differences are.

[hayashi]

I acutally did the reverse conversion to my car, so digital to analogue. All the actual wiring to the dash can be spliced into your existing loom. Although, if it's a ADM 86 you may be missing a few wires for certain warning lights in the dash like 'rear lights' & 'front lights' warning when your bulbs blow. Also, the connecting plugs are different, so you'll have to cut off your existing plugs and solder the digital ones to the loom.

The fuel sender is a comletely different unit. I'll try and find the part no. for you. You pretty much swap the entire fuel level meter in the tank. I have a feeling these will be hard to find though. JP Yahoo auctions will probably be your best bet.
The oil sensor is different too, but looks like the ae92 sensor will work too as FoldKing86 said.

For the wiring, I'll try and find the site I used. It's in Japanese, but it's straight foward because he organises the wires in letters & numbers, and you just have to connect the right letters to the right numbers. The spreadsheet that FoldKing86 linked to has the same details.

So yea, just those 2 sensors are different, other than that you can just splice it into your loom.

[hayashi]

Didn't realise the page FoldKing86 linked to already had the part no. for the fuel sensor. 83320-19725
Found one on ebay http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/JDM-TOYOTA-COROLLA-AE86-TRUENO-LEVIN-GT-DIGITAL-FUEL-GAUGE-TANK-SENDER-UNIT-/190646551928?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2c636b8578

No luck on yahoo jp. They only have analogue ones.

The digital sensors will output voltages, instead of resistance like the anlaogue ones. The cluster supplies 12V to the sender, and the sender outputs a 1-4V signal back to the cluster depending on the level.

[Frak]

I did this conversion about 15 years ago, To make it easy I looked at other Toyota's of the same era that ran digital dashes then looke at all the wiring looms, somewhere I actually have a hand draw pin out of what each pin does(I'll try and find). To make the conversion easy, I used an MA61 fuel sender, this fuel sender was for an MA61 fitted with digital dash, I checked the sender against the standard fuel sender and the height, swing etc of the float was exactly the same, except it had three wire instead of 2. The fuel sender works with a 5volt reference, I had to run 1 wire from the dash to the sender.

I used an MA61 temp sender after checking the resistances were the same, as this was an easy sender to get at the time.

Changed the oil pressure sender to a light type. The conversion was rather simple

If i remember anymore or find the wiring loom diag I made i'll scan up.

[evil86]

you make everything seem so easy Frak. very inspiring.