Noob question; Installing intellitronix digital gauge, (tw: LOTS OF DUMB QUESTIONS)

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okan74duster

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I have scoured this forum and have read the thread about that one dude who installed it. However, I do not know wtf I am doing and is unclear with some steps.

I have the wiring diagram in hand, but the instructions intellitronix provided is not very clear, also I do not have a lot of experience in electrical stuff and cars in general so I only sort of get it, can someone please explain this barney style?;

1."Ground – Black--This is the main ground for the display system. A wire should be run from this board to the vehicle engine block for the best ground. Use 18 AWG or larger wire to ensure sufficient grounding. Proper vehicle grounding is extremely important for any gauges (or electronics) to operate correctly. The engine block should have heavy ground cables to the battery, frame, and firewall. Failure to properly ground the engine block, senders, or digital dash can cause incorrect or erratic operation."

-So am I understanding this right, am I supposed to connect the black wire directly to the engine? How?

2. Additionally there is a youtube video of a gentleman who installed this gauge and he mentioned that he taped these two black and red wires together (pictured in mess.JPG, encircled in green).... I have a feeling that this maybe what black and red wires are supposed to connect to? For context I was not able to start the car until I taped those together.

3. "Power – Pink--Connect the power terminal to accessory +12V power from the fuse panel or vehicle wiring harness. Using a 5-amp fuse or an inline 5-amp fuse holder. This terminal should have power when the key is on or in accessory position. Use 18 AWG wire to ensure the system receives a sufficient power feed. Use 18 AWG wire to ensure the system receives a sufficient power feed."

Ok so I saw this diagram attached (but its for a 71 dart) I was poking around at the column and noticed that the previous owner have used a vampire/dracula clip to connect the radio to the battery. It was the red wire, so based on this diagram I connected intellitronix's pink wire to the black wire. It was a wild guess, I just assumed that the diagram pertains to the wires I was looking at based on the color schemes and because of the splice he made to power his radio.

4. "Dimmer –Purple Connect to the parking lights to dim the LEDs 50% when the headlights are on. However,*DO NOT * connect to the headlight rheostat control wire, or the dimming feature will not work properlyand may cause damage to Unit"

Am I supposed to cut the purple wire from the pin connector to intellitronix's purple wire? Am I supposed to do that for the rest of the colors? The pin connectors have the same colors as the intellitronix wires, so I am assuming its for that?

5. My oil sender size is wrong so while I am waiting I decided to go ahead with the project and just hook up the sender when it gets here. That said my wires are just hanging out like so (IMG-3340.jpg) but will be connected to the gauge. Is this ok? Or connect them together? Leave them alone?

Please excuse the wire color that I used, I used what wires I have in hand.

6. Also can anybody tell me the brand of this steering wheel? Its the same brand as the speakers.

Thank you all so much in advanced! This thing is kicking my ***...

wiring.jpg


mess.JPG


IMG-3340.jpg
 
"Tachometer – Green wire – Connect the wire from the tachometer to the negative terminal of the coil or a direct tach output lead from your distributor or electronic control module. If you are using an aftermarket capacitive discharge ignition system, such as an MSD, you must use the designated ‘tach output’ connection on the electronic box. Do not make any connections directly to the coil with this type of system. With high output Ignition systems may also create frequency noise that may interfere with operation of gauges that may require a tachometer filter. If your vehicle has a HEI ignition, connect to the terminal marked ‘TACH’, or, on some systems, a single white wire with a spade terminal. If your vehicle has a magneto system, connect the tach signal wire to the negative side of the coil. Do not connect the tach terminal to the positive (+ or high voltage) side of the ignition coil or may need a Tachometer adapter for proper operation of your Digital Gauges."

I only understand some of these words... luckily for me the previous owner has an aftermarket tach with a green wire... So plug and play?
 
I can send you a factory service manual for a trip and return trip postage on a USB memory stick send me a PM. "conversation."

The ground, I would just attach to the dash/ column support with a screw and nut

In reality there are only 2 outputs from the ignition switch, "ignition run" and "accessory." If you want the gauges to show in accessory AND run, use the accessory line. That appears in the fuse panel. There are three busses in the fuse panel. 1...hot at all times, 2.. accessory, and 3... the instrument fuse, which is also another place to pick up dimmer controlled lighting on any orange wire. Do not use the inst fuse for any other purpose

Standby, I'll be back
 
This info has to be dug out of the manual several pages.

G220V is temp sender
G4 18DBL is fuel sender
G6 20GY is oil sender
G5 20DBL is switched 12V power to the cluster, to gauges and warning lamps like oil and brake
 
Might also help, go to MyMopar select wiring and get the two page wiring diagrams which are aftermarket, not complete, and leave out options, BUT can be easier to follow. They have the color codes to the PC board connector
 
I Did this install with a Itellitronix 5 gauge universal kit. I bought an electrical plug kit and wired the intellintronix gauges into the plug (See photo). I did not use their turn signal indicators as I did not care for them, I instead mounted green led lights and tapped them into the turn signal wires. Now on the other side of the electrical plug that I installed (not pictured) I soldered nails to the end of each wire and plugged them directly into the factory harness plug that attached to the original gauge unit. You figure out what wire does what by tracing it on the original gauge panel, but a wiring diagram will help you with any questions, tach and oil pressure were ran thru the firewall to the respective locations on the engine.

Screen Shot 2023-07-30 at 6.12.10 PM.png
 
67Dart273 said:
I can send you a factory service manual for a trip and return trip postage on a USB memory stick send me a PM. "conversation."

The ground, I would just attach to the dash/ column support with a screw and nut

In reality there are only 2 outputs from the ignition switch, "ignition run" and "accessory." If you want the gauges to show in accessory AND run, use the accessory line. That appears in the fuse panel. There are three busses in the fuse panel. 1...hot at all times, 2.. accessory, and 3... the instrument fuse, which is also another place to pick up dimmer controlled lighting on any orange wire. Do not use the inst fuse for any other purpose

Standby, I'll be back
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Ok so I am a noob-noob.

I am at that noob stage where I have the factory service manual but I am unsure on what to do with this information and apply it, much less understand it. So do those pics pertain to this?

I also have the mymopar select but damn lol

I will try and poke around the column again and see what I find that looks remotely like your pics

IMG-3248.jpg


74DartA.jpg
 
Dragonsteel said:
I Did this install with a Itellitronix 5 gauge universal kit. I bought an electrical plug kit and wired the intellintronix gauges into the plug (See photo). I did not use their turn signal indicators as I did not care for them, I instead mounted green led lights and tapped them into the turn signal wires. Now on the other side of the electrical plug that I installed (not pictured) I soldered nails to the end of each wire and plugged them directly into the factory harness plug that attached to the original gauge unit. You figure out what wire does what by tracing it on the original gauge panel, but a wiring diagram will help you with any questions, tach and oil pressure were ran thru the firewall to the respective locations on the engine.
Click to expand...
I am using the weatherproof auto connectors. I am not discounting the possibility of me not installing those correctly as well.
 
What you have in your hand should be the cluster circuit board I posted. The wire colors, if you havenot chopped up the harness, are what you want. If you are unaware, the wire numbers are "X00" in other words letter plus numerals for the circuit, then 00X for the wire size in numeral and x for the color or XX for the color as in DBL for Dark BLue. or GY for Green with Yellow stripe

E2 20 O to the connector is circuit E2 and no 20 wire and Orange in color. That terminal is the feed into the cluster for dash dimmer controlled dash lamps. All of them are orange, AKA radio dial, cluster illumination, or shift quadrant, etc.
 
I will admit the 73/ later OEM diagrams can be difficult to follow. One thing you can do, is go to MyMopar and download say, a 72 manual, AND IT WILL BE DIFFERENT for wiring, but you can follow where the wiring goes and then transpose colors, etc. Some of the common circuits may be the same.
 
67Dart273 said:
What you have in your hand should be the cluster circuit board I posted. The wire colors, if you havenot chopped up the harness, are what you want. If you are unaware, the wire numbers are "X00" in other words letter plus numerals for the circuit, then 00X for the wire size in numeral and x for the color or XX for the color as in DBL for Dark BLue. or GY for Green with Yellow stripe

E2 20 O to the connector is circuit E2 and no 20 wire and Orange in color. That terminal is the feed into the cluster for dash dimmer controlled dash lamps. All of them are orange, AKA radio dial, cluster illumination, or shift quadrant, etc.
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Good, I have not chopped these up just yet, I was hoping to decipher what the letters mean and go from there.
 
For example, I hooked up a red wire from the positive side of the battery to an inline 5 amp fuse holder and then into the dash cluster. Unsure if that is correct?

Fuse_A0408__96022.jpg
 
??? you mean direct? You should have picked power off what is there, as it goes through the key. You don't want it powered all the time. 5A is way way overkill, maybe 2A or maybe 1A is all you need.
 
67Dart273 said:
??? you mean direct? You should have picked power off what is there, as it goes through the key. You don't want it powered all the time. 5A is way way overkill, maybe 2A or maybe 1A is all you need.
Click to expand...

That's part of the instructions for "Battery - Red"

What I am wondering is should I have used the fuse box?

IMG_3342.jpeg
 
Ok so the one with the vampire clip (blue wire) is the one that I see connects to the jvc head unit that the previous owner had.

The ghetto splice with the red wire and electrical tape is the one that I spliced into for the pink wire as per intellitronix instructions. See how it's beside the yellow, black, and blue wires?

Unsure if this is right at all...

IMG_3355.jpeg


IMG_3347.jpeg
 
Team, Its one of those "I can explain it to you, but I cant understand it for you" type deals. But if someone has the crayons and the time to explain it as if explaining to a child it will be greatly appreciated :BangHead:
 
I think your making this more complicated than it is, think of it as just replacing your existing gauges with another one. The hot or trigger wire from the new gauge can be plugged directly into original harness plug that hooked to the back of the OEM gauges panel, you just need to follow the hot or trigger on the OEM guage panel circuit board to each gauge to figure out which one to use for your new gauge.
 
Dragonsteel said:
I think your making this more complicated than it is, think of it as just replacing your existing gauges with another one. The hot or trigger wire from the new gauge can be plugged directly into original harness plug that hooked to the back of the OEM gauges panel, you just need to follow the hot or trigger on the OEM guage panel circuit board to each gauge to figure out which one to use for your new gauge.
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Ok so I do need to cut the pin connector and just plug it in into my gauge. Problem is I dont know if the wire colors of the connector is the same as my gauge's, on top of that he had an aftermarket gauge installed that I needed to unplug
 
okan74duster said:
Ok so I do need to cut the pin connector and just plug it in into my gauge. Problem is I dont know if the wire colors of the connector is the same as my gauge's, on top of that he had an aftermarket gauge installed that I needed to unplug
Click to expand...
No, you need to make a chart, or write in the Mopar colors in your destruction book. EG they say high beam indicator is (their) brown.

Start by taking a look at your service manual page 8-152. See where it says CB for body connectors, CE for engine, CI for instrument panel etc, and

alphabetical index, page 153, so go there and under LAMPS find HIGH BEAM INDICATOR and it says D21. Those are the coordinates on the diagrams.

Next scroll/ page down to 8-161 and notice "21" at top left. There is no D because this is part of an adjoining page, so just look down under the "21" near the left edge of the page

and down there is the HIGH BEAM indicator, grounded, and connected to wire L5-18R. Now refer to your diagram I posted earlier of the round cluster connector

There at bottom left one pin has two wires, L3-18R and L5-18R. This is the same circuit, and that is the terminal you want to connect the new cluster brown wire to
 
okan74duster said:
Ok so I am a noob-noob.

I am at that noob stage where I have the factory service manual but I am unsure on what to do with this information and apply it, much less understand it. So do those pics pertain to this?

I also have the mymopar select but damn lol

I will try and poke around the column again and see what I find that looks remotely like your pics

View attachment 1716121474
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Ok so if I am orienting this correctly based on the notes that I found on another thread then "L" in this connector should correspond to "fuel"

IMG_3243.jpeg
 
"L?" You lost me. You have it correctly marked, G4
 
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