Mustang instrument cluster in Fairmont/Zephyr
Hi all,
Ive started a new thread with an attached file that gives detailed information on how to install a 79-86 Mustang instrument cluster (IC) in a 78-83 Fairmont/Zephyr. I did it as a txt file because I needed to put some info in a chart type format and could not do it in the standard message box here. This information is based on my own reasearch of available schematics and from the installation of a Mustang IC into my 1978 Zephyr. Let me know if you have any questions or comments.
Paul
1978 Mercury Zephyr 4-dr / Holley 600 vac sec carbed 1989 5.0L HO with Edelbrock Performer intake / MSD-6A / T-5 / 8.8" rear 3.27:1 / Mustang 5.0L brakes, suspension, steering / Dual exhaust / Mustang 10 hole wheels / P225/60R15 Goodyear Eagle TR
Paul,
Have you noticed any difference between the '78 dash harness and the '79 and later years? The '79 - '83 FZ had the Mustang instrument cluster as an option, as I recall. I think Jasen found the factory tach wire in his '79 Futura's dash harness. If I get a little braver, I might dismember my '83's instrument cluster to see if I can spot anything unusual with the dash harness from a '78. It's working fine right now so I tend to not want to screw it up!
Dean T
Proud owner of the one and only Friggin' Futura
Dean,
Ive looked at a few F/Z underdash harnesses and they all appeared to be the same. I have a 'spare' underdash harness from a 79 and it appears to be identical to the one in my 78 Zephyr. But it would not suprise me to find that later year F/Z underdash harnesses were somewhat different. I am going to add a note to my document that any user should verify that their F/Z harness - specifically connector C202 - is wired per my chart. It hard to see how they could add any more functions (ie tach) since all 14 contacts in the connector (C202) are used. Also if the wiring was different for the different years on the standard F/Z harness that would mean that the standard F/Z non-gauge/tach ICs would not be interchangable from year to year. Ive never seen anything to indicate that.
Could you see if C202 in your 83s harness has the wiring that I show in my chart (1st column)?
Paul
Last edited by paul78zephyr; 03-01-2007 at 12:46 PM.
1978 Mercury Zephyr 4-dr / Holley 600 vac sec carbed 1989 5.0L HO with Edelbrock Performer intake / MSD-6A / T-5 / 8.8" rear 3.27:1 / Mustang 5.0L brakes, suspension, steering / Dual exhaust / Mustang 10 hole wheels / P225/60R15 Goodyear Eagle TR
Dean:
There are minor differences between the 78 and 79 Fairmonts... being how I had both an early 78 302V8 and a 79 302 V8 I got a good look at the changes. Now, I know that Ford had changed things mid year of 78... the tach wire may be one of them. But this comparing my 78 and 79.
One of the things was a tach wire built into my 79's dash harness that went into the engine bay. I had hooked up a small tach and placed it where the clock use to be in my old futuras cluster. On that 79 there was actually a wire for the tach but it was not connected to anything on either end. I hooked it up in the cab and did the proper wire removing and replacing. The wiring in the bay looked stock and the tach worked great. I did not have to cut anything off of the original harness on the car. I did have to cut the needed wires and connectors out of a salvage yard car though.
My 78 did not have that tach wire built into the harness... the 79 did.
Last edited by Marz; 03-01-2007 at 06:50 PM.
1985 Mustang GT Mild 331 4bbl 5 spd, 1985 SEFI LTD LX AOD.
Cardomain: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/565542
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im going to do this in mt 82 fairmont thats getting a 5.0, im going to run a 85-86 style cluster....
im going to run a 3g alternator, so i will not be using the ammeter.
will i need to move the wires around in the regulator like the write-up that is posted on the top of this page???
also i have planed on using iirc the green with red wire as a switch 12volt to the 3g, and i think that wire comes from the voltage regulator connector..
anyone have a idea?Originally Posted by rab
If you are converting to a 3G type alternator you will not use the fender mounted external regulator at all. The 3G is internally regulated.
MF: Shoot pool Fast Eddie.
EF: Im shootin' pool Fats. When I miss you can shoot.
yes i understand that,, but will i still need to move the wires around in the regulator like the write-up that is posted on the top of this page, even thou im not using the regulator????
Im not sure I understand what you are asking.
When you change to the 3G alternator setup you will ELIMINATE the fender mounted external voltage regulator. All the wires that connect to the external regulator come from the 1G alternator except the LGRN/RED which is the 12V power source from the ignition switch. You can use this wire to connect to the 3G alternator I terminal. Be sure to use a resistor if you are not using the indicator light. The 3G alternator I used from PA Performance came with the correct resistor.
Are you doing a junkyard/parts store 3G or a aftermarket (RJM, PA Performance, etc) 3G?
Last edited by TWR2003; 07-08-2011 at 11:34 AM.
MF: Shoot pool Fast Eddie.
EF: Im shootin' pool Fats. When I miss you can shoot.
i have a 86 mustang cluster and a 3g alt im trying to install in my granada. do i need an alt light or ammeter or can i do without both? is their any diagram for granadas? ive looked at f/z and mustang diagram and my granada seems to be a factory combination of f/z mustang harnesses. and also can you have ammeter, voltmeter, and alt indicator light? any information would be appreciated.
Thank you for posting all this info, my '79 Fairmont now has an 81-86 Mustang cluster with tach, and it works!
Ok I am in the middle of this swap right now. But For some reason I am just getting more confused when I keep reading and trying to figure out the info in the file you posted.I have a 78 Z7 302 Zephyr. The IC cluster I am installing has the 2 female sockets on the backside. Not 100% sure what yr. IC that makes it. I want to run Tach an Water temp gauge but not sure by your instructions I just have to move wires from my Zephyr 202 connector,or rearrange wires in the 202 connector, or actually run a new wire for tach and water temp to engine bay and then hook to 217 harness. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Last edited by NOVICOUPE; 08-09-2012 at 12:12 PM.
I think the OPs (paul78zephyr) instructions are quite clear. All 79-86 Mustang clusters have two connector ports on the back. The first thing you need to do is determine if the cluster you are installing is a 79-80 or a 81-86. You do this by looking at the back and seeing if it has TWO flex circuits (79-80, one on top of the other) or ONE flex circuit (81-86). Do that first and let us know.
T
Last edited by TWR2003; 08-09-2012 at 02:02 PM.
MF: Shoot pool Fast Eddie.
EF: Im shootin' pool Fats. When I miss you can shoot.
Ok guess I need a for sure definition and description of what a flex circuit is. Sorry Thx. Chip
It is the "flexible" circuit board on the backside of the instrument cluster.
OK that's what I thought but wanted to make sure. SO when he is saying the early Mustang ICs have 2 does he mean 2 stacked on top of each other or its seperated into to pieces? Either way mine is a single layer one solid piece circuit board. So I asume its the later 81-86 model. Now what?
It is the thin plastic thing on the backside of the cluster that has 'wires' in it.
This ebay listing is a example of a 81-86 cluster even though the ad says its '79-86' since it has only ONE flexcuit. Its green in the pic at this listing:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1979-1986-Fo...sories&vxp=mtr
MF: Shoot pool Fast Eddie.
EF: Im shootin' pool Fats. When I miss you can shoot.
Mine looks just like that. SO looks like I will be swapping locations of some of the wires in the 202 connector. and running a new TACH wire and H2o Temp wire and hooking them to correct connectors. That sound right??
Yes. You just follow paul78zephyr's chart. Re-pin your existing C202 and/or move pins to new C217:
C202 pin 1 no change
C202 pin 2 no change
C202 pin 3 moves to C217 pin 14
C202 pin 4 moves to C202 pin 5
C202 pin 5 moves to C202 pin 3
C202 pin 6 moves to C202 pin 4
C202 pin 7 moves to C202 pin 11
C202 pin 8 not used (remove from connector if present)
C202 pin 9 moves to C202 pin 6
C202 pin 10 moves to C202 pin 7
C202 pin 11 moves to C202 pin 13
C202 pin 12 moves to C202 pin 9
C202 pin 13 moves to C202 pin 8
C202 pin 14 moves to C202 pin 10
New wires
C217 pin 10 to switched 12V (can jumper from C202 pin 11)
C202 pin 12 to ignition coil - (this is the Tach signal feed)
C217 pin 11 to temperature sender on intake manifold (be sure its a sender for a gauge not light)
C202 pin 14 and C217 pins 1-9, 12, 13 are not used
MF: Shoot pool Fast Eddie.
EF: Im shootin' pool Fats. When I miss you can shoot.
Thx for the clarifications guys. All makes sense now. My main problem I was confusing the having 1 or 2 flex circuits as having 1 or 2 connectors I guess. Didn't help I remember now I cut the 2 pigtails for an IC off an early Mustang in the local JY in anticipation of doing this swap. But IC I have I think is from 85-86 Mustang. Some of the wires being different than he described for the yr. IC I had,had me scratching my head. Then I remembered the pigtails I had plugged into the back didn't come with the cluster. LOL Thx again for the help. Next. Is there a special tool to get wies to come out of connector? Or do ydid you guys just use small flat tip screwdriver or pick?
IDg any 79-86 Mustang IC:
TWO flex circuits: 79-80 (all 79-80 had green graphics)
ONE flex circuit, green graphics: 81-82
ONE flex circuit, red/orange graphics: 83-86
Small screwdriver or pic. GENTLY bend inward the plastic contact retaining tine with screwdriver/pic and GENTLY pull the contact out the rear of the connector by its wire.
MF: Shoot pool Fast Eddie.
EF: Im shootin' pool Fats. When I miss you can shoot.
Ok got almost all the wiring taken care of. One more quick question. It looks like I am gonna have to cut off top ds mounting tab to make cluster housing fit. Pass top tab is already gone. Does this sound right? would hate to cut it off if I do not need to. Thx Chip
That sounds right. We did ours a long time ago but Im fairly certain that it was only able to be mounted by the two lower screws and we cut off the upper mounting flanges. There is something about the 78 dash shell that is different and will not accept the Mustang IC. I know that Fairmonts were availabe from the factory with the 'gauge' IC but I think they werent available until 79.
MF: Shoot pool Fast Eddie.
EF: Im shootin' pool Fats. When I miss you can shoot.
So I can't actually use Mustang cluster in my 78? Thought I saw a post where you daid you were able to.put one in a 78 but had to make modifications to cluster housing. Right now even if I cut tab off it seems as it will not go in as its hitting something. Thought it was back of speedo so I trimmed plastic but still hitting somewhere.
I think I could have worded that better. You absolutely CAN put a 79-86 Mustang IC into a 78 Fairmont, we did. What I was trying to say was that there is something about the 78 Fairmont dash shell that is different and will not accept the Mustang IC without the upper mounting flanges being removed. Also you have to trim some of the plastic immediatly behind the IC. Unfortunately its been over 20 years since we did this and we dont have any good pics of what we did. The IC is only held by the two lower screws but in over 20 years we have not had any issues due to that.
Last edited by TWR2003; 08-13-2012 at 11:32 PM.
MF: Shoot pool Fast Eddie.
EF: Im shootin' pool Fats. When I miss you can shoot.
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