Reverse Indiglo Gauges

[NUT03]

Hey guys,instaling them right now,just one question want to splice the wires from the gauges into the dimmer switch,does anybody know what wire is the power one ?there are 3 ,black ,grey and black with grey short lines every inch or so.thanx

[Pete03GLS]

hmmm..... id go check for u... but that means pulling off my dash.... n i have to go some where... if noone tells u b4 i get back... ill go n pull it off n check for u. ok

on a side note... does anybody know why the inverter these gauges come with makes this annoying *** sound... like... its a constant beep... like... hmmm

how do i explain it... when i flip my lights on, n the gauges come on... this ****in annoying beeping sort of sound comes on... like... UGH idk how to explain it... but it gives me head aches...

it doesnt beep like... beep beep beep... its constant.. like... BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP from the moment the lights turn on... to the moment until i turn them back off.... it reminds me of those dog whistles... its so high pitched... UGH!!!

[hyunelan2]

Can't do it.

If you have reverse indiglo gauges with the power inverter - you can't splice that into the dimmer switch. When you do this it has a reverse effect (dim the lights the gauges get brighter).

That inverter sound is just there. Better inverters make less noise though. If you have a 2-color inverter, try to switch the color. I know mine makes more noise on the blue setting than the green. The inverter is in the dash though, so I don't hear it much. If I have the music off and the windows up, I can make out the sound though.

[Pete03GLS]

not true... it CAN be spliced into the dimmer switch. one of the wires in the dimmer switch gets constant power... me n my dad hooked my gauges up into the dimmer and it works perfectly fine... both needles and gauges, at the same time. what ur talking about happened when i hooked up the power lead to the back of the STOCK gauges, to a bulb... then it had that flip effect where 1 is on n the other is off... but not anymore...

when i get home, ill take off my dash n check which wire it is for u. alright

[hyunelan2]

I originally wired mine, directly to the dimmer switch and had the effect I mentioned above. I solved it by wiring to the bulb in the ashtray. Did you ground the inverter differently, or also at the dimmer?

[Pete03GLS]

i think my dad grounded it to the frame of the dash.. off to the left closer to the door somewhere. my dad has this little screw driver with the bulb ontop of it that lights up when u touch it to any powered wire, so he checked all of the wires in the dimmer, i believe with the keys out of the ignition and found 1 that always has power to it, n thats the one we wired it to... and since noone gave this guy the answer yet, im gonna go outside n check it out, so i can tell him. brb

[Munky]

my dad has this little screw driver with the bulb ontop of it that lights up when u touch it to any powered wire

That's called a continuity tester.

I couldn't remember where to hook up it to make the dimmer work correctly, but I know it is possible.

[hyunelan2]

Munky, I'm with you on it being possible. I think it was something like using the + power from the dimmer, and then grounding it elsewhere. If you did + and ground to the dimmer, it wasn't happy.

[soullesselantra]

That's called a continuity tester.

I couldn't remember where to hook up it to make the dimmer work correctly, but I know it is possible.

i hooked yours up directly to a gauge light the first time, and it worked fine dimmer and all...lol just find a hot on a light, ground to a screw

[Munky]

i hooked yours up directly to a gauge light the first time, and it worked fine dimmer and all...lol just find a hot on a light, ground to a screw

No it didn't. The dimmer never worked with it. I hooked up the new gauge faces to the same place you put my old ones, and the dimmer still never worked.

[hyunelan2]

You can't use the car's dimmer to dim indiglo lights. Putting reduced voltage through the inverter will drastically shorten the life of the inverter. That's why they have their own dimmer with them, it dims the current after the inverter instead of before it.

[Pete03GLS]

ok well. the red power wire from the gauges has to be put into the MIDDLE wire on a thing NEAR the dimmer... i have pics.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y74/ricochetx16/car%20stuff/946138fc.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y74/ricochetx16/car%20stuff/0e87ec64.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y74/ricochetx16/car%20stuff/c0c9ad52.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y74/ricochetx16/car%20stuff/089959d6.jpg

that little white thing u c with the red wire coming from it is where u shud get ur power from, that red wire is the wire from my gauges... its right on the side of the fuse holder, behind the coin box. stick the power wire in THE MIDDLE of the 3 wires... THE MIDDLE!!!!!

[soullesselantra]

No it didn't. The dimmer never worked with it. I hooked up the new gauge faces to the same place you put my old ones, and the dimmer still never worked.

my bad, i coulda swore the dimmer worked...lol...at least the gauges worked though...lol

[NUT03]

OK thanx for the answer.Also how do I wire in the bloody on/off switch?So I do not have to use it?

[Pete03GLS]

ugh.... i dont think u can??? just route the switch thru the dash and hide it to the left of the steering wheel in the coin box, like everyone else does.

[Munky]

I cut out the switch and kept it as a constant current so they would always be on when the headlights were on.

[NUT03]

ugh.... i dont think u can??? just route the switch thru the dash and hide it to the left of the steering wheel in the coin box, like everyone else does.

Yeah,I did ,but it irks me each and every time to switch it on.OK Munky,how did you do it?Keep in mind that you are talking to someone who does not know that much about it.

[Pete03GLS]

uhh... u might have a different set of gauges than i do then... cuz mine turn on whenever i turn on my head lights... i dont even have to touch any other switch, flick on the lights n gauges turn on also... the only use for my switch, is to change colors, and brightness... thats it.