Installing NOS center console '83 Ranger

[AlwaysOriginal]

Hey there.
I just bought an '83 Ranger with bucket seats. Amazingly I found a NOS center console on ebay and am excited to instal it. The console has an indicator display to let you know if a headlight/taillight is out or if you are low on gas/washer fluid. The console has wiring and I just wanted to know how to hook that up if my truck didn't have the console originally. There is one wire near the seat belt on the driver side...not sure what that is for. Do I need to buy a harness?
Thanks

 

[adsm08]

The wire near the seatbelt is for the seatbelt warning light.

I dug into this a little bit some years ago and I believe that you need the proper dash harness, not just the little sub harness to the console, to make the message center console work. There are small sections of resistor wire in the lines to the lights. When the bulb is out the computer unit in the console sees the voltage drop across the resistor wire and not the bulb and lights up the lights in the console.

I never determined the operation of the low-fuel and low washer fluid warnings.

 

[RobbieD]

I'm not aware of anybody adding a lights-out display to operate, and there will be some wiring needed. Have you seen this post? It includes wiring schematics from the EVTM for the lights-out display.
https://www.therangerstation.com/forums/index.php?threads/random-junkyard-finds.185720/page-2

 

[AlwaysOriginal]

The wire near the seatbelt is for the seatbelt warning light.

I dug into this a little bit some years ago and I believe that you need the proper dash harness, not just the little sub harness to the console, to make the message center console work. There are small sections of resistor wire in the lines to the lights. When the bulb is out the computer unit in the console sees the voltage drop across the resistor wire and not the bulb and lights up the lights in the console.

I never determined the operation of the low-fuel and low washer fluid warnings.

Thanks!