Installing B&M Trans Temp Gauge

[BettyBurb]

There is an empty hole in the lower left of the gauge panel in my 1988 Suburban. I would like to install the B&M Gauge here. Has anybody done this, does the panel need to be modified, etc.

Also where is the best place to connect the power wire and the light wire for the gauge ???

 

[K5DRAGER]

I haven't done it, but fourwheeler mag or one of the others did an article on this a while back. It was like a year ago or so. Maybe someone else will chime in and know, cause I would also like to know which month and year it was in.

 

[BigRed89]

Check out this recent thread Aftermarket gauges , particularly the post from RockyRider13 which has a link to the gauge work he did. I think that's what you're looking for.

 

[Dunc03]

I just did this a while back, and it is kind of a pain in the butt. The best place to hook up the light is to the head light switch. There should be a wire that runs from that switch to the instrument panel lights. I'm not sure what color it is because I was rewiring my whole vehicle when I did mine. If you can't find that one there is a set of wires that run to the 4WD shifter light that will work. there should be a white, black and brown wire that come from the floor shifter. One of these wires only goes the the 4WD indicator light. This is the light that comes on when it in 4WD. You don't wnat to use that wire, Just pick one of the other two. I think the white wire is the one you want, but I cut all mine out before I realized that stuff had to stay in so I'm not positive. THe hookup I just described is the power for the light that comes on with the head lights at night, not the main power to the gauge. Your fuse box should have empty accesory switch post on it. Just run a wire from the gauge to the post on the fuse box. A regular male spade connector will fit in the slot. There should be a ground post behind the dash by the A/C vent on the left side. There should be spare post to ground the gauge.

Wiring is acctually going to be step two of the procedure. First you are going to have to mount the gauge in the instrument panel. I used the same place you were talking about, where the clock is supposed to go. I just cut out the black out thing so you can see the guage. Be carefulwhen you do this. The plastic is really hard despite being thin. IF you use ot much pressure to cut it you might end up breaking the plastic or cutting it too far, or worse yet taking outa finger. I used a utility knife on mine but a dremel might work better. To mount the gauge you will have to drill three holw in the back of the instrument cluster. I used a dremel tool for this becuase you also will have to grind of some plastic on the back side of the panel so it is flat. You could probably do it with a file, but it would just take longer. In addition to the three hole drilled for mounting,you will need three more hole to run the wires through. Make these holes about there times the size of the wire. You'll find out that the wires are not that flexible in the small space. The best way to mark for the hole is to get some white out and put it on the ends of the electrical post and then press it against the gauge hole where you want the gauge to sit. To mount the gauge to the plastic I just went down to the hardware store and bought six more nuts that would fit on the post on the back of the gauge. Use the bolts supplied with the kit to attach the wires. Then put the first set of nuts on about half way down the post and then slide it through the plastic and put the second nuts on and tighten them down. You will half to play with the pistioning of the mounting bolts to get the gauge to sit in there straight becuase the plastic itslef is angled.

Its not that hard to do really its just time consuming. I think it took me between two and three hours, but my pan already had a provision for the temp sensor, so I didn't have to drill that out. Mine was put in on the driver side at the back right corner of the pan. This is if you are laying under the car looking at the pan. The sensor is positioned about half way up the pan. I hope this helps the setup go easier. IF you ahve any other question feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].

 

[Dunc03]

oh yeah, I didn't so mine like that other guess picture. My guage actaully sits behind the factory clear plastic like the rest of the factory guages. I just didn't want you to be confused after looking at that pic.

 

[Dunc03]

I have to learn to proof-read, I swear I'm dislexic. What I meant to say was, I didn't do mine like the other guys. Mine is actually set behind the factory clear plastic, like the rest of the factory guages. Sorry about that first post, I couldn't even understand it.