My '99 gauge cluster has the speedometer on the right, and a giant fuel gauge on the left. It's an automatic, but I know that some auto trucks came with a tach in place where I have a fuel gauge.. Well it so happens that I have come across one of these gauge clusters with the tach out of an '00 1500 with automatic trans. I think it would fit fine in place of mine since the dash layout was the same from 99-01, but what would I need to make the tach work and is this swap even doable for the other gauges to continue to work correctly?

Any help is appreciated.

 

I THINK that may work.

I assume you have the ST.
That is the only way I have seen the set-up you are describing.

 

Ya I think it is an ST. When I bought the truck, it was as plan Jane as it gets (which is what I wanted because of the floor). It came with vinyl floors, no power anything, no cruise, just the basics. I have since added a ton of stuff from SLT's (like underseat storage, rear cup holders, overhead consoles, etc...) to make it more comfortable for me, but I always wished it had the tach in the gauge cluster. Yes I know you can add an aftermarket tach, but I would rather utilize a stock looking tach on the gauge cluster.

Do you think the wiring for the tach is already there, or would I need to do that too? Where does the tach get its signal?

 

yea it should bolt right up actually.. same mouting layout and same harnes.. and it even should have the tach wire... easy to find out ... TACH BLACK/GRAY wire.. goes into the 3 harness PCM plugs.. im 100% postive you have it.. its just the wire coming from the pcm to the tach .. if its present.. should be.. its one harness for the 99 to 01's and the outputs ar just different

im saying 99% sure itll bolt up and have no problems..

 

Ok. Another question on this. My truck has 70,000 miles on it, and this new gauge cluster showed 73,000 when it was in the truck it came out of. I don't think the PCM will change the mileage on the cluster back to 70k, ecspecially since my mileage never changed when I installed the Mopar PCM that also came out of another truck with different miles then mine. So can I roll back the milage on this used cluster (doubtful since the mileage is a digital display), or should I just wait to install it when mine gets around 73k.

 

I know on a Chevy that the new gauge clusters we have put in have to be re-programmed to have the mileage. These are new units but I doubt that a used one would be "locked" or anything. So I would think that you could go to the dealer and have them swap it (because I'm sure there is legality involved) and set the new cluster to the right reading. I'm not positive on that by any means though.

 

I asked the same question a while back with absolutely no response. I am glad to see someone else has the ST though. Although, mine has carpets and cruise control, I have the same issue. I would really like the gauge cluster from a better model, but am concerned about the mileage. Can any of you certified Dodge dealer mech's verify this for us, or at least post a procedure for making it work. I have a 97, my cluster right now has a mechanical odometer, do the better models have a digital? I am glad this subject resurfaced. I too have wrought over putting in an aftermarket tach just because I would prefer the cleaner look. Plus there are no cluster dress up kits for the one I have got. They are all for the one with the tach.

 

yea i think the new cluster is what holds the mileage on it.. like you said your mileage stay the same when you put in a mopar pcm... .. a dealer can reprogram it.. but i think you have to bring hte cluster to them out of the truck to show proof that it wasnt the original..

ive also heard the mileage is kept on both pcm and the cluster and they change eachtoerh to match what its saposed to be... you can connect the dash and crank it up and see if the digital display changes ...if not..put it back to stock and take to the dealer

 

REALLY ??? I didn't think Dodge used mechanical odometers in the 2nd gens.

Huh ... learn something new every day.

 

Ok, here is what the service manual says about the odometer. I read this to say that the mileage is stored on the gauge cluster circuit board, and is incremented as you drive by signals coming from the PCM. So that means this used cluster, after installed in my truck, should read the same mileage it read when it came out of the other truck, or 73k.

ODOMETER
DESCRIPTION
An odometer and trip odometer are standard
equipment in all instrument clusters. The odometer
and trip odometer information are displayed in a
common electronic Vacuum-Fluorescent Display
(VFD), which is visible through a small window cutout
located in the left lower quadrant of the cluster
overlay. However, the odometer and trip odometer
information are not displayed simultaneously. The
trip odometer reset switch on the instrument cluster
circuit board toggles the display between odometer
and trip odometer modes by depressing the odometer/
trip odometer switch **** that extends through the
lower edge of the cluster lens, just right of the
tachometer. Both the odometer and the trip odometer
information is stored in the instrument cluster memory.
The odometer can display values up to 499,999
kilometers (499,999 miles). The odometer latches at
these values, and will not roll over to zero. The trip
odometer can display values up to 999.9 kilometers
(999.9 miles) before it rolls over to zero. The odometer
display does not have a decimal point and will
not show values less than a full unit (kilometer or
mile), the trip odometer display does have a decimal
point and will show tenths of a unit (kilometer or
mile). The unit of measure (kilometers or miles) for
the odometer and trip odometer display is not shown
in the VFD. The unit of measure for the instrument
cluster odometer/trip odometer is selected at the time
that it is manufactured, and cannot be changed. During
daylight hours (exterior lamps Off) the VFD is
illuminated at full brightness for clear visibility. At
night (exterior lamps are On) the VFD lighting level
is adjusted with the other cluster illumination lamps
using the panel lamps dimmer thumbwheel on the
headlamp switch. However, a “Parade” mode position
of the panel lamps dimmer thumbwheel allows the
VFD to be illuminated at full brightness while the
exterior lamps are turned On during daylight hours.
The VFD, the trip odometer switch, and the trip
odometer switch button are serviced as a unit with
the instrument cluster.
OPERATION
The odometer and trip odometer give an indication
to the vehicle operator of the distance the vehicle has
traveled. This gauge is controlled by the instrument
cluster circuit board based upon the cluster programming
and electronic messages received by the cluster
from the Powertrain Control Module (PCM) over the
Chrysler Collision Detection (CCD) data bus. The
odometer and trip odometer information is displayed
by the instrument cluster Vacuum Fluorescent Display
(VFD), and the VFD will not display odometer
or trip odometer information after the ignition switch
is turned to the Off position. The instrument cluster
circuitry controls the VFD and provides the following
features:
² Odometer/Trip Odometer Display Toggling -
Actuating the trip odometer reset switch momentarily
with the ignition switch in the On position will
toggle the VFD between the odometer and trip odometer
display. Each time the ignition switch is turned
to the On position the VFD will automatically return
to the mode (odometer or trip odometer) last displayed
when the ignition switch was turned to the
Off position.
² Trip Odometer Reset - When the trip odometer
reset switch is pressed and held for longer than
about two seconds, the trip odometer will be reset to
000.0 kilometers (miles). The VFD must be displaying
the trip odometer information in order for the
trip odometer information to be reset.
² Message Failure - If the cluster fails to receive
a distance message during normal operation, it will
flash the odometer/trip odometer distance information
on and off repeatedly until a distance message is
received, or until the ignition switch is turned to the
Off position, whichever occurs first. If the cluster
does not receive a distance message within one second
after the ignition switch is turned to the On position,
it will display the last distance message stored
in the cluster memory. If the cluster is unable to display
distance information due to an error internal to
the cluster, the VFD display will be blank.
² Actuator Test - Each time the cluster is put
through the actuator test, the VFD will display all of
its characters at once, then step through each character
segment individually during the VFD portion of
the test to confirm the functionality of the VFD and
the cluster control circuitry.
The PCM continually monitors the vehicle speed
sensor, then sends the proper distance messages to
the instrument cluster. For further diagnosis of the
odometer/trip odometer or the instrument cluster circuitry
that controls these functions, (Refer to 8 -
ELECTRICAL/INSTRUMENT CLUSTER - DIAGNOSIS
AND TESTING). For proper diagnosis of the
vehicle speed sensor, the PCM, the CCD data bus, or
the message inputs to the instrument cluster that
control the odometer/trip odometer, a DRBIIIt scan
tool is required. Refer to the appropriate diagnostic
information.