upsdude

First and foremost, I'd like to thank Xpertsnowcarver for:
1) driving his happy ass over an hour to my house to tackle this project
2)being a cool guy in general and answering all my noob questions while he did all the work he was able to not only get the speedo to work, but from what he's told me i'm the only install he's done that had a working dimmer


Ok, by no means is this a plug and play affair. in fact it's way too much work to bother with for NORMAL people. unless you have experience with electrical and wiring work, and patience to read wiring diagrams and the s15 and s14 FSM, then don't bother. but i wanted something a little different, yet un-janky (just made a word there).

the car is a 1995 s14 NON-ABS

Note: be sure to get an s15 cluster that comes with the 3 pigtails.



the s15 and the s14 clusters; here you can see their dimensional differences. note the bottom mounting tabs, however.




Alright, first you're going to have to take off your dashboard, and loosen the steering column so you can get to the cluster harness. NOTE: be careful removing the various vents and and other plastic pieces...no doubt they've become brittle with age and can break if you're not careful.

here we did a test fit of the cluster in the dash. we were really suprised that the bottom mounting tabs were a perfect match; the removable cluster bezel had to be cut/trimmed to get the cluster to sit properly, but compared to how much modification is needed for the S13, it's not much work to do at all. the top mounting tab of the s15 cluster is actually not needed so if it hasn't been broken from shipping (like mine was) you can cut/break that sucker off.



Also needed to ensure a flush and snug fit all you need to do is remove a small plate that's on the top of the inner section of the dash. it's the part that has the mounting point for the top tab of the s14 cluster...2 or 3 screws and it's out.


Almost looks factory



I won't get into the wiring steps...just remember you'll need the fsm for your year s14 and the fsm for the s15 to get the diagrams so you can match up the wires. but here's what you're in for:





The biggest issue with this mod is having a functioning speedometer. the s14 pulls the signal from the transmission, while the s15 uses a sensor in the differential. To resolve this issue, i ordered the dakota digital sgi-5 converter box. But, Joel was still unable to get the cluster to read a signal. Nothing was working...he verified that the speed sensor was in fact funtioning, and double, triple, even quadruple-checked to make sure the wires were plugged in correctly. NO EFFING LUCK!

We considered doing what this guy did:
http://zilvia.net/f/tech-talk/164351...converter.html,
but it meant getting an s13 speed sensor, and making a signal converter from scratch. and while it would have solved the problem, it would have possibly delayed the project for another week or two.

The solution?
i was fortunate to have replaced my open diff with a vlsd off a 180sx (thanks drift freaq!)...the abs sensor in the nose was wired directly to the dakota digital converter and gave us the signal we needed to get the speedo working!! we just followed what this guy did in terms of setting up the box and calibrated for proper speed:
http://zilvia.net/f/tech-talk/302987...er-wiring.html

I will say this about the dakota digital unit...it didn't work the way i thought it would. it may just be that it only works with s13 speed sensors or the abs sensor...i don't know maybe someone else can weigh in on that. on the plus side, Xpert rigged it so that i still had my old s14 pigtails should i want to go back to my old cluster-he was able to calibrate the speed on his own with the car jacked up since both clusters were hooked up and functioning

finished product:



there is a bit of a gap on the bottom but that's just because of the way the s14 cluster is wider on the bottom as opposed to as on top with the s15.

I don't know if there's an issue with the s13 and the coolant temp reading incorrectly, but with the s14 no mods are needed...no need to take out the ka sensor and put the SR one in it's place.

the lights work, i think my battery is on it's way out that's why the illumination isn't as bright as is should be...or i might need new bulbs lol


here's some video...ok i know the quality sucks but gimme a break this is my first time doing it lol.





cliff notes:
set aside about 8-12 hours (seriously)
buy s15 cluster with pigtails
remove dash
wire it up
obtain speed signal
reinstall dash
earn jdm points