old new gauges with an s10 swap

I dont like brand new gauges in the old dash, I think the original gauges look best. most GM since the early 90s have electronic gauges instead of analog gauges that work on resistance. they use a stepper motor, which is a DC synchronous motor that has precise degreed steps instead of continuous rotation, allowing the controller to precisely position a needle using pulses. this how to focuses on 96-03 S10 but the procedure is exactly the same for most modern cars. if you are using a drivetrain/harness from a modern donor, and dont have an endless budget for new gauges, or if you are like me and dont like to see perfectly good parts go to waste, this is your how to.

want to put the stepper motors in the speedo and quad gauges. The original GMC set has oil pressure, amps, fuel and coolant. the 99 sonoma gauges have the same, except the electrical gauge is voltage, which is better because amperage doesnt tell you much useful these days. It was nice in the old days when using the truck as a mobile power plant to power lights and whatnot out in the fields, and needing to know when you were approaching the point of current draw where the brushes would start to eat themselves. but nowadays, the alternator has easily over 120amps and monitoring voltage is a better way to look at the health of your charging system.

started by tracing out the size needed and marking to make perpendicular lines at the center.







cut on the lines and fold in half to make the quad gauge pattern


line up the fold with the center of the gauge, then use your finger to make sure the fold is also centered on the needle hole by pressing down and looking at the impression.



this is why you want it centered, on the back side is the stepper mount

some overlap, thats ok, just make sure you cut so the stepper mount stays intact.



I cut with a jig saw because I spent a lot of time in a car stereo install garage and developed those skills haha, you can cut with anything you have handy, an xacto knife, a scythe, an angry wolverine, etc. anything that will trim 1/4" plastic. I did mine in the kitchen because the 2 year old wasnt wanting to play in the garage and I let the shavings fall on the floor because my wife is not the boss of me.

after sweeping up (married men knew that was coming) I laid them out and taped them together. an exact fit is not needed, I will be using the original overlay over the speedo and the quad gauge, this is just to make sure the stepper mounts are in the right positions.



I will carve out the odo/PRNDL section on the original overlay.





the gauge faces popped off with a flathead



they each had a couple little bumps that would keep them from sitting flat so I ironed them out with the bench grinder.


I trimmed the gauges, so as to hide the needle button as best I could, then glued them together.

adjusted the spacing of the lens, the backlight needs to creep around the edges.


steppers installed, ready for wiring.


laid out the PNRDL hole, secured the face

used a drill bit to open up some starting points. used a roto zip, definitely not the right tool. if done again I would use a small cutoff wheel.

after a lot of filing, it fits.

carved out the back of the quad to let the motors fit through

looking good

I drilled through the stepper lens to make mounting screws and got everything put together

started wiring, to the circuit board it is as simple as barrel connectors


to the stepper it is as simple as grinding the end off the barrel connector and slipping it on

did gauges and lights, and PRNDL gauge


gauges in!


some gauges read backwards now, but really if you pay attention to the NEEDLE position, most gauges are made to run in the middle. the fuel and the battery work the right direction but the temp and oil are backwards. if this bothers you, put the original gauges on a scanner and print new overlays with the right ranges.

everything works great



looks a heck of a lot better to me than some generic gauges or stewart warner triples. Next time I think I will put the tach needle in the center of the quad gauge, so I have a tach too. I upgraded to LED backlighting too but just used the factory gauge light wires. I also pulled wires to some turn signals. Since the circuit board is bare, I wrapped it in plastic to protect it from water or humidity and it fit neatly behind the dash.

Awesome! great job [cl

Great tutorial!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Very nice.

Very nice job-and very nice job on showing us the very nice job.

that looks really good [cl thanks for posting

nice job interesting

thanks!

it was easier than you think, the only soldering I did was to extend the PRNDL display connections. I would use a 9 pin ribbon cable to do that part again, the wires I used came loose 3-4 times.

Wow, thats awesome. Really nice work, hope we can do the same on my brother in laws 49.

Great job, much better than new shiny gauges, thanks for the guidance.