Temp Guage Wiring

[dman]

I just installed this temp guage and am wondering if there is a wire in dash that connects to the sender under the car or does the wire only run down the tunnel to the center consul location. By the way what did this originally come out of, my friend
wants one?

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

I don't remember if there is a wire behind the dash or if that was added to cars that had that type of temp gauge. Look for a green wire with a black stripe. It may end below where the console would go, or there might be a wire connected there that runs up behind the dash.

Early versions (70-73; silver cone in the center) came out of 914-6es. There may have been a handful of 73s with those kinds of temp gauge as well.

Later ones (74+; no silver cone) came out of non-center-console 2.0s.

--DD

[jmcleod]

i had a 74 914 that had this oil temp gauge in the dash, i've seen only 2-3 others (but haven't seen many 914s) that have this gauge. it is connected by the green/black wire mentioned in previous post and the wire goes thru the tunnel via the wiring harness. with a console, it goes to the console harness. in dash, it goes up behind the dash to the gauge. the sender for the temp gauge is in the sump of the engine NOT the sump in the middle of the bottom but mounted in the round "cover" i think under the front drivers side of the engine (hmmm.... let's remember...oil cooler on front passenger side) yup, think it's drivers side. there is a special "plate" that mounts the sender, sender needs to be matched to the gauge. if you have the temp gauge in dash, it would free up a gauge hole in the console for: oil pressure, cylinder head temp, air/fuel ratio gauges. best thing was that triple "904" gauge we saw on this site about a yr ago!

[dman]

I checked on the 904 guage Pelican does not have the guage any more and a new one runs about $600. I machined an aluminum cover for my lower dash so I could move stuff around and fit a guage there. What is the best solution for the oil pressure sender and wiring? Can you use the wire for the idiot light? My car is a 72.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

For the most part, a wire is a wire is a wire. If it's big enough to carry the current you want, that's all that really matters. So you can use the wire for the oil pressure light--as long as you unhook it from the oil pressure switch and the light, and hook it up to your new sender and gauge.

If you want to actually have the oil light functioning, you'll need to use another wire. On 73+ cars, the green/black wire should be in the harness. On earlier cars, it probably isn't. In that case you'll have to run your own. Not that hard, I have used a coat-hanger to run extra wires in the main wiring harness of a couple of 914s.

--DD