Hi guys,

I've run into a bump with my electrical boost gauge.

There are 4 wires leading from the boost gauge.

Red (12v/ignition), black (negative/ground), white (leads to boost sensor in engine bay) and a purple (supposedly connects to the dim wire according to their instructions).

Got the above quote from this thread. https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ight=autometer
My car is a 2003.

I opened up the dash, but there is NO clear indication which one was the dimming wire. Help?



Help would be awesome, this install has been 2 days an counting. Had to custom fabricate own brackets for gauge etc.

 

I do not have my manual with me right now but I think it is a red and white wire. What I recall is that there are at least two red/white wires in the bundle and I picked the wrong one first and had to search for another but finally found the correct wire. However, I found it to be too dim at the brightness level I use for the other instruments. Here is a link to the brightness discussion. I ended up using a parking light wire and changing the bulbs.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=107598

 

Thanks for the reply. Are you not confusing it with the red + gray striped wire? They also said in the autometer thread link I posted that there are two of those as well? I'm getting more and more confused!

Also I thought I was supposed to tape into the group of wired beneath my steering column? They look the most similar to the pics posted in the "How to" threads. Remember my car is RHD - so layout will be slightly different.

 

I believe you are correct on the red/gray wire. I could not remember and do not have my manual with me (currectly at work). You have a 50/50 chance of getting the correct wire the first time. The first one I found (and incorrect wire) was closer to the outside of the bundle and I had to dig further into the bundle to find the correct wire.

I thought the red/gray wire I used was in one of the two wire bundles near the fuse panel (driver's side footwell in my LHD car). I do recall splicing into a wire by the steering column but I can not remember which wire that was (seems like it was for a reference voltage used by the sensor transducer). Maybe I am just not remembering correctly. If you do not get it figured out, I can look it up when I get home in about 3 hours.

I ended up not using the red/gray wire and instead used the tail light wire that I found in the bundle near the fuse panel.

 

There is an easy way to find the dimmer wire. Get a test light, ground it, turn the lights on and probe wires until one lights. Dim the lights and if the test light dims, you have the correct wire.

** Warning! ** When the lights are turned off all light power wires will act like a ground!

 

So you did not tap into any of the either 2 "wraps" of wiring that both lead to the middle section of dash with the speedo?

You can see one on each side. (Would I find that "gray/red" wire in the above picture?

Here is a scan of the instructions. You can see the wiring diagram - I just don't know red/black/purple should go to the Mini equivalent (red/gray etc.).


Sorry if I sound totally lost and confused. Never did any work on my own cars before - so I thought it would be a good place to start.

 

I could do that, but I don't want to punch hundreds of little holes in my wiring harness :(

 

I dug up my ProMini Gauge instructions to help refresh my memory.
I connected the power wire (your gauge's red wire) to the brake light switch wire which is the Purple with black stripe and yellow bands. The wire is easy to find near the brake pedal.
I connected the ground (your gauge's black wire) to a bolt that holds the dash panel.
For the light dimmer control (your gauge's purple wire), you can connect to the gray with red stripe wire. It is located in the main wiring harness near the fuse panel. There are two gray/red wires so you might want to use a test probe to indentify the correct wire. As I previously stated, I found that my gauges dimmed too much when using the dimmer wire so I connected the dimmer (purple wire) to a non-dimming light source (I used the parking light wire). Reference the linked post that I included in Post#2 above, for dimming issues and solutions.

 

Thanks quikmini and much appreciated! That is much clearer. Will give it a go and let you know how it turns out!

 

Ok got all the wiring done and turned on the ignition (just before the engine starts). The boost gauge seems to be on and working. The dimmer works the wrong way round though. It dims when my dash is going brighter. Not a big difference though so I don't mind.

My new problem is the airbag panel won't go back into place. The bottom flaps around while the top feels like as if it's hanging on a hinge. How do I fix this?

 

I remember seeing a post on NAM about the dimmer working the wrong way. I suggest you do a search in the Gen 1 Electrical section to see what you can find out about that problem.
When you say airbag panel are you talking about the panel under the steering column? Maybe you car is not even like the US cars. Mine has a panel under the steering column that is a pain to remove and install. It is hinged at the top in three locations and has two pins that hold it at the bottom. First, you have to get the panel into the hinges. It is a struggle and takes a little force. Once it is correctly in all three hinged sections on the top, you can swing it up and pop the pins into the holes. I have to hit mine pretty hard to pop the pins into place.

 

No I meant the panel that covers the passengers front airbag. I don't see any clips nor any clips where it could clip onto if I accidentally broke any... :(
Edit: I attached an image. The panel circled. It is just hanging from the top side of it like as if it were on a hinge. I can freely move it up and down on that "hinge". I can't find any clips to secure it at the bottom?

1 more question, at what negative boost (vacuum) does your gauge show at normal idle (how much -psi)?

 

My gauge reads about -16 PSI at idle.
I have never taken that panel off so I looked at my Bentley Manual to see how that trim cover is attached. There appears to be three screws holding the bottom which are accessed by opening the glove box. Hopefully that is all you need to do (put in the three bottom screws). The top attachment looks more complicated because there appears to be three screws on the top but it looks like you have to take off the top dash panel to get to them.

 

I have a 2003, so there isn't a glove box, just a "shelf" :( I looked hard and there really isn't anything I can see which it must clip on to. I also didn't have to remove any screws to get it loose originally. Just had to yank on it with a little force. When it came off it made the same sounds as if it were clipping out.

 

Anybody?

 

Mike S,
Did you ever get the light dimmer working correctly and the air bag panel fixed?

 

So are there two red/grey wires in the speedometer harness? Because I installed two gauges near my tachometer, the first one I tapped into a grey/red wire going to the tachometer and that one lights rightly, while for the other one's lighting I tapped a red/grey wire going to the speedo (didn't want to tap the same wire twice) but the gauge led stays on even when the dash lighting is off, and when the dash lighting goes on it stays on but a lot dimmer than the speedo, tacho and the other gauge, there isn't any change in lighting to tell the truth. Might it be that I tapped the wrong red/grey wire?

EDIT: yes, I did tap the wrong wire. Switched to the other one and now the gauge lights properly