I hate when my first post in a forum is a question, but I'm glad I found this group.

I recently bought these gauge faces for my first project in my 01 Civic.

http://www.elgauges.com/index....y=196

Of course the first thing it says is for experts. However I managed to get the cluster out and the faces on, but now I need to power them. I wanted to tap into my dash lights so they would light up like my old gauges, but after seeing those blue and green blocks of wires I realize I don't know what to do. The kit came with a dimmer attached to a power inverter with a black wire for grounding it says and the red wire with a built in 1 amp fuse for the hot wire. But where do I attach this red wire? I don't mind digging around behind the dash but this is my first project (of many I hope!) and I don't know alot. I do have the haynes manual but not the aptitude to understand the wiring chart. Any help?

 

bump before bed.

I've looked around some more still no luck. I see posts about accessory sockets but I can't really get under the steering column well enough to see if the 01 has them (info was in 00 forum) plus I think they would just stay on as long as the car was on. I was kinda hoping to have them act like my original gauges, but I'll take anything right now. Just need to know where to attach that darn red wire.

 

Personally, you just wasted your money, but that's just my opinion.

The red wire is probably a 12v power lead, that needs to be attached either directly to the battery, or to something that receives power directly from the battery.

 

I appreciate the reply and opinion. It was only $10 or so, Chinese special no doubt, but it has helped me get familiar with the dash workings abit, and I can't stand those original grey faces. I'll try extending the wire and running it directly to the battery soon as I get some daylight time to work on it. In the meantime any website recommendations on some quality goods to improve the interior that wouldn't be a waste? Very new to all this, and really only interested in the inside, I don't know anywhere near enough to tinker with the engine or body. Thanks again.


edited for my poor spelling habits

 

Well, the 2003-2005 clusters are not gray-faced, and have a more "futuristic" look to them. There's a nice DIY tutorial in the FAQ's on how to run one of those.

As far as interior parts go, I guess some Recaro's and either a DC5/EP3 steering wheel or something aftermarket, is all that's really necessary. The interior is quite nice from the factory. The seats are the most problematic, though. I'd definitely say that replacing them is worth it (from a comfort and side-bolster perspective).