Guage cluster swap questions

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2003 Protege DX 5MT
I searched and there isn't much info on it that I could find-

I have a 2003 Protege - I think its a DX. No power locks/windows, MT, no Tach. My question is can I swap a cluster from a 2001-2003 protege with a Tachometer with no problems? Can I use an automatic transmission cluster? I pulled my gauge cluster today and there is a a purple wire with a white line going into the side that gas gauge is on (left), I think it is the tach signal.

Any help would be appreciated!
 
I don't really know much about it but this is from the wiring diagrams.





It looks like the tach is built into the microprocessor inside the cluster.

I don't know how it gets it's information or if it's controlled by the ECU.

It may be plug and play but I don't know.
It may need an extra connection in the harness.

I'm pretty sure that it's the same cluster for manual and automatic transmissions.
 
I was looking at this exact same diagram before I posted. All the way to the right almost 3/4 the way to the bottom it says "V/W" on the connection which I am assuming is the Violet/White wire. I followed the manual to the pinout diagram, and it seems to be exactly where my Violet (Purple) / White wire is. I can not find anything that definitively says it is the RPM signal.

I was seeing if anyone has experience with this, I might just go grab one at the junk yard ($25) and see if it works haha. I can't remember where I found on another forum that power lock clusters and manual lock clusters are not compatible, it was a few months ago when I read it.
 
I found this...








Check your ECU and see if there is a purple/white wire coming out of your connector on pin #48

You may be able to connect a wire from your ECU to your cluster.

I'm just guessing though.

Sometimes the wire color code changes when it goes through a connector.


I will look into it tomorrow when I'm sober. Lol
 
In the meantime, try to find out what "3B" means.

It refers to the type of connector and harness it goes through...


 
I remember back in 1980 in electronics class the teacher knew a "poem" that gave the color code but he wouldn't tell us because it was frucken nasty.

He just let the rumors spread around the classroom so everybody would remember.

Bad Boys Rape Our Young Girls But Violet Gives Willingly.


There's a cleaner version of that acronym now but I will never forget the original version...


 
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I remember back in 1980 in electronics class the teacher knew a "poem" that gave the color code but he wouldn't tell us because it was frucken nasty.

After about 2-3 weeks of electronics 101 in college the instructor brought in a grocery bag full ot cut off 1/2w carbon resistors, gave each of us a handful and a 1 foot square piece of Styrofoam. Our task was to arrange them in increasing order. We had a couple of class sessions to complete it.
I got so good at reading resistors that I could just look across the room and immediately know the value and the tolerance at a glance.

Then after graduation I went to work in the defense industry had to learn the MIL-Spec code....
 

It looks like this guy was doing a MSP swap on his 2000 dx, which did not have a V/W wire going to his cluster, which I believe I do. He connected it through his diagnostic port (located behind battery by firewall).
 
Okay, I got some sleep and sobered up then read through that link you posted.

It all makes sense to me.

I think you should get the cluster with a tach of the appropriate year and go for it.

It's worth the $25 gamble.

One thing I would add is to get the connectors from the parts car cluster as well, with as much wire length attached as you can get.

You can remove the individual wires and metal tabs from the plastic connector and install it into your cluster connector.





You insert a needle into the plastic connector and push down on the metal "tang" that was mentioned.

The tang is accessed from the wire side of the plastic connector.

That way, you've got the exact shape size and dimensions of the metal clip and tang so it just pops right into your plastic connector and you don't need to source a computer board which may have different tabs and tangs.

You'll have a whole bunch of wires/tabs to practice on.
 
If you've got that V/W wire on your cluster connector then the replacement cluster might just plug right in and work.
 
It’s plug and play! I got a nice cluster from a P5, automatic tranny. Everything works- high beam light, turn signals, and tach. I think if you have a Violet/White wire going to your guage cluster on 2001-2003 Protege/Protege5 you can swap these to your hearts desire. I think you have to run your own tach wire On 99-00 Protege DXs. Thanks again.

These white gauges are a lot more visible when you are concentrating on the highway and it’s super nice having a tach 👍.

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What did the odometer do? Value stored in ecu or cluster? I forgot.............
 
It's a foggy memory but I remember a guy that wanted to reprogram his odometer.
 
I think I have 2 extra clusters but was late to the party.......................
 
My parts car has the cluster with the fancy chrome rings on the gauges, whatever they're called.





EDIT: It's not the metal rings, ... It's a metal faceplate.
 
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The DaveB rings? My main one does................

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surround is charcoal now............
 
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