DIY: ANTI-56k 5g Civic Gauge cluster speedometer odometer

[Jafro]

Lately there have been a rash of questions about gauge clusters and what works from what cars. I own a 5g Civic CX hatch, and while I'm not 100% sure if all '92-'00 cars have the same cluster, I know that all 5g ('92-'95) hatches/sedans do. From what I gather in the discussions, 6g stuff is all the same, and even some CRV clusters work... but I'm not concerned with the exceptions. So... feel free to post what you know about potential donor cars and pictures of the process if it's any different for other models than what I've outlined. The WHITE cluster shown in this DIY is from a '92 Civic VX hatchback... I pulled it myself in a junkyard for $12. Here's how to swap the clusters without damaging your car, setting the correct mileage of your car off, or getting clusterfawked. I don't know what individual state laws apply or the legality of modifying your car in your state, so this is offered for informational purposes only. No reason anyone should be scared of this job. It's the easiest and probably the most useful mod you can do to a civic from a driver's standpoint. If you have difficult figuring out how to put the heads back on your Lego® men, then maybe you shouldn't try... but for everyone else, here it goes... I know this one below doesn't have a tach... it's the one that came with my civic... but for information purposes we'll start here (I tore my dash apart to re-do the job... to answer any questions that people might have). These are tools. The red pick is something I use to avoid scratching plastics. Pull the rubber trip meter button off of the face of the gauge. 6 plastic clips hold the clear plastic onto the cluster. 3 on top. pop them loose. 3 on the bottom pop them loose. Don't forget to pull the rubber button off the trip meter. at this point, separate the pieces. 3 screws make electrical contact to the speedo. They also hold it in place. Remove these screws. Hold the gauge in place while unscrewing the third screw. While holding the gauge in, flip it down as shown. ...and remove the gauge. It will come out easily. If the gels are different, you can swap them out... or change them to say what you want... whatever you'd like to do. I popped the clear part off and painted mine to match the body off my car. So what? Here's how to take the gauge cluster out of your car. Pop the hazzard switch out. Note the position of the clips in the following pictures. There are 2 metal clips on the side of it that you won't break off. Behind the hazzard switch, you'll find a hidden screw. Remove the hazzard switch and un-plug it. Remove the hidden screw. These are the only other 2 screws holding your bezel on. Remove these... and pull the bezel out, working your way carefully around it... The heater vents like to fall apart, but they can be put back together if that happens. Pull straight out on it all the way around until you have it loose. Now you need to un-plug the clock harness. Once the clock harness is free you can move the bezel out of the way. 4 screws hold the cluster in. Remove them. rotate the cluster as shown so you can access the 4 harness plugs Remove all 4 plugs. Be careful not to damage them. Now you can pull the cluster out and disconnect the 1 wire-tie clip on the back of it. Here is a rear-view comparison. The speedometer/odometer gauges can be swapped using the exact same process on either cluster. This is how you keep your mileage accurate. You also now have a spare set of bulbs. Replace any that need it. If you want to change the color of your illumination, you can purchase new bulb condoms at your favorite electronic supply stores or on-line. Assembly is the reverse of disassembly. Be sure to put the rubber button back on your trip meter... the cluster harness back in the wire-tie on the back of the cluster... the clock harness back in its holder (or the clock if you have one... I don't)... the hazzard switch harness back on the switch, and don't worry about mixing up the screws for the dash. All the screws are identical so you won't mess anything up if they go back in different places. DISCUSS!

Registered and logged-in users don't see this ad! Register your free account today.

[Nelson]

This is awesome. Good info.

[westcoaststyle]

FINALLY someone did this. Great work man.

[Slipjack]

Very nice, and very thorough. Excellent job. I'll hit the auto salvages right away.

[monicle]

yeah swapped out the speedometer. Did it on my hatch just didnt write it up heh. nice job on the write up.

[00CivicSleeper]

ive got a 00 ex, im about to buy a si cluster. just wondering if its possible to swap out the odometer thingy from my ex cluster to the si one, i dont want to try and roll back the numbers, but is it possible to just "unscrew and replace" the one in the si?

[SP00NFed]

good write up

[HatchVX]

do you have a website where you can buy the bulb condoms? i have the light bulbs from autozone and they dont fit right. thanks

[Highmile]

Be carefull with the blub holders... That plastic is very brittle. I also had prblems finding bulbs that fit in there just right (I have loose bulb now that is on/off all the time.

Cool, good job. And it's good to know that all the wiring is already in the car? I like the paint idea... I mounted a Hot Wheels car inside my cluster...Check the mileage 24,300 miles ago!

[Ward Perfect]

Nice write up dude

[Antonio_pr2003]

awesome job

[tir_lilx]

I have a 94 DX. What about the tach?? how woould i get it to read.

[flyerhky11]

Does anyone know if this swap would work with a 96-00 speedometer placed in a 92-95 cluster?

[NickNack2398]

I am having trouble removing the stock beezel from my 1995 honda civic. I got the whole right side off, but it gets stuck at the left air vent and i can't quite pull it out. Any suggestions?

[Jafro]

Originally Posted by NickNack2398

I am having trouble removing the stock beezel from my 1995 honda civic. I got the whole right side off, but it gets stuck at the left air vent and i can't quite pull it out. Any suggestions?

That air vent has some metal clips on it that hold it together. If you can get access to them, pop them loose and let the air vent fall apart. It beats breaking it. You can re-assemble it before popping the bezel back on. That happened to me on the right vent the first time, but on future attempts it just came right out without a fight so I don't know why it got so hung up.

[jdmeg6hatchy]

is it possible to get the bulb condoms in amber/orange??

[Jafro]

Originally Posted by jdmeg6hatchy

is it possible to get the bulb condoms in amber/orange??

Haven't found a supplier for them, but yes. Pull them from a 95-99 Eclipse in a junkyard. All 2g DSMs use amber lighting.

[PacificDude]

Originally Posted by jdmeg6hatchy

is it possible to get the bulb condoms in amber/orange??

Try this place for bulbs ==> Click here

I picked up another cluster and I want to replace all the bulbs with the above

[jdmeg6hatchy]

Originally Posted by PacificDude

Try this place for bulbs ==> Click here

I picked up another cluster and I want to replace all the bulbs with the above

Thanks man!

[westcoaststyle]

Originally Posted by jdmeg6hatchy

is it possible to get the bulb condoms in amber/orange??

http://www.honda-acura.net/forums/sh...ght=jdm+orange

[jdmeg6hatchy]

Originally Posted by westcoaststyle

http://www.honda-acura.net/forums/sh...ght=jdm+orange

SWEET! thanks man!

[CIVIC22]

just got done doing this. very very very easy. and great write up!!

[Mugenfreak]

where can i get a bulb condom that size?

after reading this i took my cluster out(alot faster than i thought about 10 mins) and called autozone and radioshack and neither carry the bulb condoms in that size....thanks for the help

[Jafro]

I noticed 3 weeks ago that Pep Girls has them in the ricer section. Now I know somebody out there is thinking... "Why the hell was Jafro in the ricer section?"... Um... I'm uhhgh... really tall... and I saw them all the way from the tool asile? Not buying it? Okay, I had time to kill and was just looking around? Um... Shopping for a friend for a gag gift? Okay, you got me. I was buying the neon shift knob with dancing LED's. You got me.

[Mugenfreak]

i replaced 4 of the bulbs.....they had gray bases and it looks like it only affected the miles and trip miles lighting...i had to buy diff. bulbs that fit into the bases but had larger bulb heads than used the smallest bulb condom they had and push it in where it caught in between the lip of the base and the bulb so it would stay secure(also changed a single bulb that was a 194 with a LED bulb i already had)....i'll take a pic of the results....the two main ones i need to change are at the very top and are the smaller bulbs...anyone know a site i can them from? or a part number to try to get them off ebay? its a 00 civic si if that helps

[Mugenfreak]

well the problem is actually finding a small enough bulb condom....hum that might sound familiar to some anyways i just wonder what the bulb number is....i found some on ebay...are these what i need?(there 74/37 bulbs)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=5728052538

[Mugenfreak]

ok in addition to what i did with the 4 #74 bulbs(putting a larger head bulb w/ a 194 bulb condem and changing the one 194 bulb to a white led bulb) i also took the cluster out again cuz i had a bright idea....i ddnt take pics cuz i dont have a digital camera and my friends girls had his....anyways this is what i did on my 00 civic si and assume this would work on 96-00 civics as well but may be wrong. IF you take the cluster out and look at the top of the cluster you will notice there is a long piece of "see through" black plastic with a couple spots that are like a real light blue to allow the light to come through from the two top #24 bulbs. I took the clear plastic front piece off by unsnapping the tabs and then there are tabs for the black plastic bezel and cover just snap those off(oh you'll have to take out the top right bulb) and remove bezel. Now like i was talking about earlier there is a long black transpearent plastic with a couple light blue spots for the light to come through that lights up the cluster from the front. What i did was take that piece out and cut the middle/center section out. This way i could insert a piece of cut colored gel filter that is used for strobe lights to change the color of the light. I choe to use blue and cut the strips to fit in the section i removed and then just used tap to secure. Now when i reinstalled it the light was just real white w/ a slight blue tint and not the effect i wanted so i took it out again and added another layer of the plaste gel filter and then reinstalled to get the desired effect. Now i know this is kinda confusing w/o pics but im pretty sure that if you have a similar cluster than once you remove it and start looking it over you see exactly what im talking about. Ill try to get a camera and take a pic of the cluster now. If i remember when i get some reverse glow gauges and put em in i;; try to remember to take pics what i described unless someone does this before than and takes pics. Like i said i just used the colored plastic gel filter from a storbe light and of course not the hard plastic disc but the flimsy colored filters. Hope this helps!

[CrJenkins13]

Curious as to how I keep the same odometer on a non working speedometer? I've only got 80,000 miles on my integra so if I ever sell it I really want it to be somewhat close.

[Civic2Scooby]

BUMP FOR NOOBS...lc

[loprofilefl]

theres not much use in getting bulb condoms for a 5watt 194wedge. nowadays you can get multidirectional LEDs, much brighter and deeper colors than bulb condoms can (they look like theres a little cone inside) for a couple of bux + ship off ebay. ditto for the indicator bulbs but those are straight.