Gauge cluster swap. Need wiring pin out help

Raser13 · Mar 27, 2016

Hey guys i have a 91 ranger with the standard cluster. The one with just the speedo, amp meter, oil pressure, fuel, and temp gauges. My brother knew i wanted a tach in my truck. So while he was at the junk yard the other day he saw an explorer with the same dash as mine bit the cluster had a tach. So he got it for me. He cut a pretty good length of pig tails off the wire clips. He didn't get a year off the explorer but from what i can tell from a google image search it's a 87 to 92 gauge cluster. My google fu is failing me and i haven't been able to find a pin out diagram for the new cluster so i can start figuring out what kind of wire swaps i need to do to get this new cluster to work. If anyone can point me to one i would be entirely greatful. I really want to get this cluster to work. Here's a pic of the cluster I'm looking for.

Thanks for any info you can throw my way.

Spott · Mar 28, 2016

The Ford Explorer did not exist before the '91 model year.

Have you tried looking at the cluster for your truck as well? If it's from the same model generation, and your question seems to indicate it is, then it may plug right in without modifying anything.

If not, you can register for a free account at autozone and browse their repair library, which includes wiring diagrams for just about everything.

Raser13 · Mar 28, 2016

Thanks for the reply. I'll pull my cluster today and see if the wiring seems to line up.

I was just expecting it would be different. I had an old fox body t-bird when i was younger that i decided to put a full digital cluster in. It worked fine after i swapped around a few wires. Figured this wyld be the same.

The way my brother talked it was out of a truck that looked just like my ranger but only an explorer edition. Same dash and everything. So i would think it was the same gen. Didn't know autozone had that sevice. How do you find the diagrams once you get the account with them.

adsm08 · Mar 28, 2016

That cluster was not in a Ranger before 89. It looks very much like the one the F-series started using in 87.

The only thing you might have to do it change one wire for the tach. This will only be an issue if your Ranger has a 4-cyl engine.

Raser13 · Mar 28, 2016

It does have the four cylinder. What wire would need to be changed? And where on what clip would it need to move? Let me guess one of the grounds? Lol reminds me of the t-bird cluster if so.

Raser13 · Mar 28, 2016

Apparently this cluster is not plug and play with mine. Looks like I'll have to do some repinning once i figure out what wires are what. Can't go by color. Learned that the hard way last time.

I just went to the autozone site and registered but i still don't see the wiring diagrams anywhere. What am i missing?

4EyedTurd · Mar 28, 2016

adsm08 said:
That cluster was not in a Ranger before 89. It looks very much like the one the F-series started using in 87.

The only thing you might have to do it change one wire for the tach. This will only be an issue if your Ranger has a 4-cyl engine.

I'm curious about this as well, I got a cluster from an 86 V6 for my 83 2.3 and want the tach to work right.

Raser13 · Mar 28, 2016

o.k. i found the pin out for the new cluster. apparently it's off of a 93-97 explorer. now i'm having trouble finding out the pin outs for my 91 rangers stock cluster. just my luck. anyone know where i can get one? autozone doesn't have pin outs for a gauge cluster. every other wiring diagram. but not that. really need a hand on this. if i can find the pin outs i can make this work. here's the one fopr the 93-97 if interested.

Spott · Mar 28, 2016

Ford never published a nice pin-out diagram like that for the '91. You'll have to wade through all the wiring diagrams for that year and find each individual wire. That's what I had to do for the 88.

Alternately, you can trace the circuits on your existing cluster.

Raser13 · Mar 28, 2016

Well then when i get this all sorted out I'll have to take that pinout diagram into photoshop and make one for the 91. Is there somewhere here on the forum that i can submit it to when I'm done so that others can find it easily?

adsm08 · Mar 29, 2016

Submit it to the tech article submission section.

I ran into this with my first 4.0 swap. There was never a pinout for the cluster on the gen 1 trucks, but there is one for 91 in the EVTM. I spent a day tracing out the back of my instrument cluster and testing circuits first with a volt meter and then with a pair of test leads and a battery.

Still took 3 tries to get everything working right.

Raser13 · Mar 29, 2016

would you have a scan of the 91 from the evtm? that's the one i need!i ordered one from ebay but it's going to take it like a week to get here. I'd really like to get this done by the weekend.

Raser13 · Mar 30, 2016

Ok got a weird issue. I went through all the 91 wiring diagrams in the back of the chiltons manual. And i thought i had most of the wires sorted out by colors listed on the diagrams. Then i went to the back of the cluster and the whole diagram got totally turned all around. Nothing is matching up to the chart i had going. Ahh! This is driving me nuts! What would you do?

Never mind my brain scrambled for a minute and i forgot to reverse the clips sides. Taking into account looking at them from the front and nit how they clip into the back of the cluster.

Raser13 · Mar 30, 2016

Ok one last thing. I've used all the traces to figure out the pins on both clusters. The new one has every wire accounted for. The cluster i have in the truck on the other hand has some miscellaneous wires that go to nothing. The traces just go to dead ends. Or there is no traces at all.

After my oops before i tripple checked what i was seeing. On my grey clip #6 tan with yellow and #7 black with yellow both had traces that ended just past the clip. They're about a quater inch long. That's it. The brown clip had positions #1 two white with red wires that did the same. Positions #t red with yellow and #6 two black with white wires didn't even have traces. #7 had a trace that went to a spit that was an unused cluster illumination point had the hole for the light and the two contact points but no hole cut in the plastic circuit.

If any one can shine a light on what any of these unused wires go to i'd be grateful. I especially need to find the tach data signal.

On my new cluster there's a ground wire jumper going to the trace on the back of the tach that says 8cyl. For my four cylinder truck would i just remove this ground? Or should i ground some other point?

Thanks for any light you guys can shed on this. Basically i figure out the tach signal on mine, and how to set the new tach for a four cylinder I'll be ready to start swapping wires.

Raser13 · Apr 13, 2016

well i got all the pin outs figured out on both of these clusters. i'll be submitting them to the tech area soon. but i lucked out today and found the same year ranger in the junkyard today. so i got me a plug and play version of the explorer cluster. it even illuminates in factory blue. witch i like much better than green. eck! so i won't need the explorer one after all.

if any one wants it let me know.

Gauge cluster swap. Need wiring pin out help

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