So we have all seen the wideband or boost gauge to replace the lancer spot on our clusters. What I want to know is if we can actually cut the stock temperature gauge out of the cluster and replace with an Aem digital temp gauge. I contacted a company that does an led upgrade and also the wideband in the lancer spot. When I asked about it he simply replied "no". So is it not possible to remove a piece of the circuit board with destroying it?? Thx in advance.

 

No one has cut into a circuit board before?? Who's going to help me destroy a cluster to get some digital gauges in there??

 

it's a "circuit board". key word being "circuit". if you cut it up, power won't get where it needs to go. no, you can not start cutting up the board.

 

Well I wouldn't say you can't cut up a circuit board. It just could end up being a really difficult job to hard wire the proper circuits back together that you cut out to make room. I've had to repair plenty of circuit boards, same concept if you cut a section out of one. If I were going to attempt that I would take front and rear photos, make drawings, diagrams, etc. so make sure you had plenty of info on how to rewire the circuits. If it happens to be more than just a 2 layer PCB I would say steer clear of that idea as that would severely add to the complexity of the project.

That said, I've not been into that area of the instrument panel so I can't comment on any details of the project.

Good luck, could be a cool modification.

 

I think it would look great sitting next to my aem wideband. I did contact a person. He work for broadfield customs. He makes customs cluster and he told me I might be possible he would just have to reconnect the traces that he cut out of the board. He said it wasn't easy. He he quoted me minimum 10 hrs of labor @ 100/hr. Not at that point yet where I must have it. But maybe one day I will give in just to have the 1 of look.

 

That sounds pretty extreme. I'd be really surprised if the circuit board at that spot is that complex. I'm curious about panel modifications as well so I'll do a little research as well. If I figure anything out I'll post it.

Shane

 

Here is a photo of the rear of the instrument panel. The circled area is approximately where the temp gauge is. I could be off a bit, this is just my guess. This is a photo from a tutorial to install a boost gauge in the "Lancer" badge as you can see by the hole were the new boost gauge is installed.

Difficult to tell if there are more than 2 layers. Appears to be some resistors or shunts in the area. The other side of the PCB could have a few things as well, you can see the solder pins coming through for resistors, capacitors, etc.

 

Those are two completely different areas. The part I cut to install in the "Lancer" area is power only and for a few light bulbs. You're wanting to cut out an intricate part of the board. That looks to be a ton of work. All you and good luck. 😛

 

dont think you can get away with it

 

you could probably approach it a little differently, remove the mechanical parts of the gauge and just put a small OLED display in front of the OEM Gauge but flush with it so that its still recessed. Also would probably be good to block out the light from behind it.

 

Sorry to post it here, but where can I get the link to this mod?!
Can't seem to find it anywhere

 

that's because it hasn't been done. i don't think anyone here is willing to cut up the circuit board and do all the re-routing.

 

Yea it's the rerouting that's stopping me. There's a speedo guy here local that someone recommended. I just haven't had time to call and see what he thinks.

 

All that to replace a temp gauge with a temp gauge isn't worth the trouble, IMO

 

Oh I meant the tutorial to do the gauge in the 'Evolution' spot