Dash Cluster w/ Tachometer Part Number?

[scotts90ranger]

I am also known for long winded responses at times, but this one is one that's near dumber than it should be... . If the cluster you have has bulbs in the trans light area and 4x4 and such might as well pull those bulbs, I had to pull mine after I put it in because of an annoying theft light I think it was, maybe trans... leave the check gauges if it's there, that's your low fuel light at about 3 gallons left which is annoying and convenient at the same time (I get ~23-25mpg, freaks me out early...)

 

[Ed K]

My truck is 2wd 5 spd manual so no indicators for 4x4 or auto.
I picked this cluster because it's also out of a 2wd 5 spd manual.
I won't know what indicators are different in this tach cluster until I get it, but I really hope the layout is close to mine.

 

[Rick W]

I was just joking around a bit.
Information is a good thing and I appreciate the insight.

I know that, and I appreciate it. I wasn’t being defensive, just explaining a little bit. Trust me, we are good, all is good.

 

[Ed K]

The tach equipped cluster was delivered earlier today. I looked it over and it looks to be in good condition.
4 out of 6 main bulbs were blown and the other 2 were cloudy with a chance of burnout so I'll just replace them all before I put it in the truck.
All the little indicator lights look okay. I did a continuity check on 3 but it was too hard trying to hold the tiny bulbs and probe the hair sized ends with the meter so I just settled for a visual inspection.

I might pull my cluster out tomorrow if it's nice out ( it's been raining about every day here with rare exceptions)
I just re read this article regarding the odometer swap-

https://www.therangerstation.com/tech/ford-ranger-odometer-gauge-swap/#gsc.tab=0

Very good write up. I won't be messing with rolling the other odometer, I'll just swap mine over.
I do have a question regarding the 3 way jumpers he made in the pics-
I can't make out what he used as the T section. Can anyone break that down for me? It looks like a spade connector but I can't figure out what the other piece is.

Rick W- In your step by step tutorial you posted here (thanks again) you had something very similar but only used the Top Left + stud and the Bottom Right - stud to calibrate the gauge prior to removing the needle and to re test after the odometer swap.
Does this give the same reading as using a pair of 3 way test leads and making a connection to all 4 studs?
If so, I'll just do it your way since I already have normal 14g gator clip jumper wires but I don't have any 3 way leads.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Is that what I did to get 72ish mph when I did it the first time? been like 5 years so I forgot... What I told Rick to do was just opposing corners which got around 42mph for whatever reason... I didn't do that writeup and for whatever reason didn't find that when I was doing mine but yeah... For pulling the speedo needle just do it repeatable is what Rick found out

On your question about what they used to splice the wires, those are just heat shrink butt connectors, you don't have to get fancy, for this wire nuts would work fine...

 

[Rick W]

The tach equipped cluster was delivered earlier today. I looked it over and it looks to be in good condition.
4 out of 6 main bulbs were blown and the other 2 were cloudy with a chance of burnout so I'll just replace them all before I put it in the truck.
All the little indicator lights look okay. I did a continuity check on 3 but it was too hard trying to hold the tiny bulbs and probe the hair sized ends with the meter so I just settled for a visual inspection.

I might pull my cluster out tomorrow if it's nice out ( it's been raining about every day here with rare exceptions)
I just re read this article regarding the odometer swap-

https://www.therangerstation.com/tech/ford-ranger-odometer-gauge-swap/#gsc.tab=0

Very good write up. I won't be messing with rolling the other odometer, I'll just swap mine over.
I do have a question regarding the 3 way jumpers he made in the pics-
I can't make out what he used as the T section. Can anyone break that down for me? It looks like a spade connector but I can't figure out what the other piece is.

Rick W- In your step by step tutorial you posted here (thanks again) you had something very similar but only used the Top Right + stud and the Bottom Left - stud to calibrate the gauge prior to removing the needle and to re test after the odometer swap.
Does this give the same reading as using a pair of 3 way test leads and making a connection to all 4 studs?
If so, I'll just do it your way since I already have normal 14g gator clip jumper wires but I don't have any 3 way leads.

First, you’ve got the connection points off….

Looking at the back of the speedometer, top left is positive, and bottom right is negative. Should bring you to around 40 MPH, maybe 42

It worked fine just using those two leads. I saw a video with the three way connections, but I didn’t like the guy doing the video, and again the straight wire leads worked fine.

And at the end of the day, when I did my test drive, I was off 7 MPH. I pulled the speedometer out, hooked it back up, and pulled the needle and just put it back 7 MPH higher, and all is good now.

I don’t know what using the three-way connectors would do, and I’m gun shy of playing around with jumping electrical circuit boards. BTW, I got that method from @scotts90ranger when he sent me the cluster.

For checking the little bulbs, I have a collection of power supplies for computers and phone systems and whatever. One of them is 12 V and I think it’s 1000 milli amps. That works fine for any LED, and the small incandescents. I cut the end off and put two little alligator clips on it, and I just have it plugged in hanging at my workbench. I use it all the time. If I have something with a bigger draw, I have a couple of 12 V power supplies from playing with the CB radios that will drive just about anything.

 

[Ed K]

First, you’ve got the connection points off….

Looking at the back of the speedometer, top left is positive, and bottom right is negative. Should bring you to around 40 MPH, maybe 42

It worked fine just using those two leads. I saw a video with the three way connections, but I didn’t like the guy doing the video, and again the straight wire leads worked fine.

And at the end of the day, when I did my test drive, I was off 7 MPH. I pulled the speedometer out, hooked it back up, and pulled the needle and just put it back 7 MPH higher, and all is good now.

I don’t know what using the three-way connectors would do, and I’m gun shy of playing around with jumping electrical circuit boards. BTW, I got that method from @scotts90ranger when he sent me the cluster.

For checking the little bulbs, I have a collection of power supplies for computers and phone systems and whatever. One of them is 12 V and I think it’s 1000 milli amps. That works fine for any LED, and the small incandescents. I cut the end off and put two little alligator clips on it, and I just have it plugged in hanging at my workbench. I use it all the time. If I have something with a bigger draw, I have a couple of 12 V power supplies from playing with the CB radios that will drive just about anything.

Yep, I suffer from IBID (intermittent blonde induced dyslexia). I knew I should have copy and pasted your jumper connection instructions rather than try to type them from memory.
I fixed the connection points as per your post.
I would have re read your instructions anyway before testing once I get around to it, maybe tomorrow or Sunday.
As far as inaccurate MPH is concerned- I have 225/75R15 tires all around while the stock size was 225/70R15 , since my tires are a bit taller my speedometer already reads off by a bit depending on my speed.
Once everything is swapped and I'm test driving the truck I'll compare the Speedo to GPS on my phone. Can I then set the needle to the proper speed according to GPS thereby negating the difference due to tire size?
At what speed would be best to reset the needle? I was thinking 35 or 65 since 35mph is common in town here and I-80 is mostly 65mph.

 

[Ed K]

Is that what I did to get 72ish mph when I did it the first time? been like 5 years so I forgot... What I told Rick to do was just opposing corners which got around 42mph for whatever reason... I didn't do that writeup and for whatever reason didn't find that when I was doing mine but yeah... For pulling the speedo needle just do it repeatable is what Rick found out

On your question about what they used to splice the wires, those are just heat shrink butt connectors, you don't have to get fancy, for this wire nuts would work fine...

Thanks Scott. I'll just stick to the 2 ended jumper wires I already have.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Yep, I suffer from IBID (intermittent blonde induced dyslexia). I knew I should have copy and pasted your jumper connection instructions rather than try to type them from memory.
I fixed the connection points as per your post.
I would have re read your instructions anyway before testing once I get around to it, maybe tomorrow or Sunday.
As far as inaccurate MPH is concerned- I have 225/75R15 tires all around while the stock size was 225/70R15 , since my tires are a bit taller my speedometer already reads off by a bit depending on my speed.
Once everything is swapped and I'm test driving the truck I'll compare the Speedo to GPS on my phone. Can I then set the needle to the proper speed according to GPS thereby negating the difference due to tire size?
At what speed would be best to reset the needle? I was thinking 35 or 65 since 35mph is common in town here and I-80 is mostly 65mph.

No, don't do that, or I wouldn't anyway... but if you really want you can do the battery thing and just put the needle on like 2mph past where it should be and you'd be close, your tires are only 1" taller than stock (I did the same size change, my '97 I could just change the gear one tooth which got me close, you don't have that option unless you get forscan and change it that way)

 

[Ed K]

No, don't do that, or I wouldn't anyway... but if you really want you can do the battery thing and just put the needle on like 2mph past where it should be and you'd be close, your tires are only 1" taller than stock (I did the same size change, my '97 I could just change the gear one tooth which got me close, you don't have that option unless you get forscan and change it that way)

I've looked into Forscan but I don't have a Windows laptop or the appropriate obd2 adapter. I can get the lite version for my Android phone but "lite" means less. And I would still need to buy the adapter. I've read that several of the formerly recommended adapters are no longer viable.
So you wouldn't recommend setting the needle to match the GPS mph once I have the cluster in the truck? I thought that was a normal method routinely used, I reckon I was mistaken.

 

[Rick W]

Yep, I suffer from IBID (intermittent blonde induced dyslexia). I knew I should have copy and pasted your jumper connection instructions rather than try to type them from memory.
I fixed the connection points as per your post.
I would have re read your instructions anyway before testing once I get around to it, maybe tomorrow or Sunday.
As far as inaccurate MPH is concerned- I have 225/75R15 tires all around while the stock size was 225/70R15 , since my tires are a bit taller my speedometer already reads off by a bit depending on my speed.
Once everything is swapped and I'm test driving the truck I'll compare the Speedo to GPS on my phone. Can I then set the needle to the proper speed according to GPS thereby negating the difference due to tire size?
At what speed would be best to reset the needle? I was thinking 35 or 65 since 35mph is common in town here and I-80 is mostly 65mph.

I have this loaded on my phone as one of my go to tiles/aps. When I do my custom stuff and fiddle with the trailers and what not, it’s worth its weight and gold.

Tire Size Comparison

Tire size comparison the easy way. Use our tire size comparison calculator to compare diameter, width, sidewall, circumference and revolutions per mile.

tiresize.com

For you:

3.3% difference in the mileage, 1.65 mph at 50mph.

When it comes to resetting the needle, it’s a direct add the math thing, not a proportional thing. If it’s reading 7 mph off at 35 miles an hour, don’t change that to a percentage. Just add/subtract 7 mph to wherever the needle comes up when it’s on the battery.

And you’re correct in you’re thinking that if you use your GPS to reset the needle, that will automatically take care of any difference in tire size.

I’m 71, and my hands are shaky, so I can barely set the needle within a mile or two anyway. I don’t drive as aggressively as I used to, not as fast, but I still like to know where it is for those times when I’m pushing the limit. I would prefer there are no blue lights in my future.

 

[scotts90ranger]

I've looked into Forscan but I don't have a Windows laptop or the appropriate obd2 adapter. I can get the lite version for my Android phone but "lite" means less. And I would still need to buy the adapter. I've read that several of the formerly recommended adapters are no longer viable.
So you wouldn't recommend setting the needle to match the GPS mph once I have the cluster in the truck? I thought that was a normal method routinely used, I reckon I was mistaken.

The problem with that method is it only makes the speedo correct for one speed, as Rick's post below shows and how it really works is it's more of a percent difference in speed from tire size than a solid number... when I upped tire size an inch it threw off my speedometer and odometer I think 7% as checked by the odometer check section on a local freeway, I went one tooth off on my speedo gear and now it's only 2% off and the speedo is close enough to stay out of trouble.

It's just a balance, doing what you are talking about is fine and all as the speedo would be close enough to know but the odometer would still be off, like Rick little details bug me and it was doable for me to get them close so I did... in your case I'd probably just do what you are saying and I could talk myself into accepting it

 

[Ed K]

I have this loaded on my phone as one of my go to tiles/aps. When I do my custom stuff and fiddle with the trailers and what not, it’s worth its weight and gold.

Tire Size Comparison

Tire size comparison the easy way. Use our tire size comparison calculator to compare diameter, width, sidewall, circumference and revolutions per mile.

tiresize.com

For you:

View attachment 143810

3.3% difference in the mileage, 1.65 mph at 50mph.

View attachment 143812

When it comes to resetting the needle, it’s a direct add the math thing, not a proportional thing. If it’s reading 7 mph off at 35 miles an hour, don’t change that to a percentage. Just add/subtract 7 mph to wherever the needle comes up when it’s on the battery.

And you’re correct in you’re thinking that if you use your GPS to reset the needle, that will automatically take care of any difference in tire size.

I’m 71, and my hands are shaky, so I can barely set the needle within a mile or two anyway. I don’t drive as aggressively as I used to, not as fast, but I still like to know where it is for those times when I’m pushing the limit. I would prefer there are no blue lights in my future.

Thanks Rick. I've used online tire calculators to figure the difference in size and variation in speed at different mph but I didn't know there was a phone app that does the same thing.
I'll check it out.
Since I have a 2.5L Ranger I'm not really as worried about getting a ticket at highway speeds (maybe downhill lol) as I am just putting through small town speed traps that force you to chug along at 25 mph just so they can stack those tickets up.
I don't drive crazy anymore either, I stick mostly to the posted limits as much as possible. But 25 mph is just so hard to adhere to lol, and that's the speed limit through most of town here. Diabolical I tell ya.

And I hear ya about the eyes not being what they used to be. I'll be 67 in June and I haven't had a pair of glasses for a couple years now. I had a set of lenses from 20 some years ago that were close to what I needed back then and I just kept putting them in new frames but now they don't make much of a difference and are all scratched up at this point.

Since the Ranger is my only vehicle I might not get to try the cluster swap until sometime next week. I can't take the chance of not having it If something goes wrong and I need it on the road this week at least.

 

[Ed K]

The problem with that method is it only makes the speedo correct for one speed, as Rick's post below shows and how it really works is it's more of a percent difference in speed from tire size than a solid number... when I upped tire size an inch it threw off my speedometer and odometer I think 7% as checked by the odometer check section on a local freeway, I went one tooth off on my speedo gear and now it's only 2% off and the speedo is close enough to stay out of trouble.

It's just a balance, doing what you are talking about is fine and all as the speedo would be close enough to know but the odometer would still be off, like Rick little details bug me and it was doable for me to get them close so I did... in your case I'd probably just do what you are saying and I could talk myself into accepting it

I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. I'm thinking about asking the guys at the local garage I take Rhonda the Rusty Ass Ranger to if they calibrate speedometers. I know it used to be a thing back in the day, I'm not sure about now though.
I also live right next to the local Ford dealer, I called yesterday but nobody in the service dept picked up. I might walk over Monday and see what they have to say. I mean, I literally live at the corner of their lot so it's not far.

 

[Ed K]

I want to thank you guys again for hanging in there with me on this. It all just seems a lot more complicated than when I was young. Back then it was basically a cable and a gear and I could work with that.