which wires to use?

[cutty]

ok i got my silver face gauges the other day and i want to install them..but i need to know which wire to tap off of to get power when the lights turn on and a ground..heres some pics of the headlight switch and the wires to it..and i dont have a test lead so that dont help..

 

http://www.oznium.com/gallery/photos/full/4199/cutty-oldsmobile-cutlass-supreme

http://www.oznium.com/gallery/photos/full/4202/cutty-oldsmobile-cutlass-supreme

http://www.oznium.com/gallery/photos/full/4203/cutty-oldsmobile-cutlass-supreme

http://www.oznium.com/gallery/photos/full/4205/cutty-oldsmobile-cutlass-supreme

http://www.oznium.com/gallery/photos/full/4215/cutty-oldsmobile-cutlass-supreme

[Cueman]

I don't know about the wires, but I'm curious about where you got the gauges from. I'd love some for my Cutty, also where did you find those climate control knobs???

[cutty]

well i got the gauges from here http://www.makotoautotrends.com and the climate contol knobs i cleared myself i just boiled them in some hot water for like 5 mins then i just peeled the bacl rubber off of them..the gauges are actually 94-96 grand prix gauges but the fit perfectly over the cutlass gagues..

[DiscoStudd]

Looking at the Hayne's manual's schematics, it looks like the brown w/white stripe wire is what runs off the dimmer switch to the dash illumination, but I'm sure you don't want that wire, so I'd hook it to the parking light wire which is plain ole brown.

 

 

You can find the overlays on eBay and at ProCarParts dot com. ProCarParts has them cheaper than makoto does, too...

[cutty]

Looking at the Hayne's manual's schematics, it looks like the brown w/white stripe wire is what runs off the dimmer switch to the dash illumination, but I'm sure you don't want that wire, so I'd hook it to the parking light wire which is plain ole brown..

 

ok so i would hook up the power wire from the gauge switch to the brown wire..and which one should i hook the ground wire to?

[DiscoStudd]

Find a screw on the dash that screws through something metal that's attached to the car's body and attach it there (be sure to scrape away any paint that might be covering the metal.) FYI (I don't know whether you know this or not, so don't be offended if you do) you can connect any negative wire (except for speaker wire) for any electrical device to the chassis. That's the whole reasoning behind the "negative ground system." The negative terminal of the battery is connected directly to the chassis to cut down on wire clutter. All negative wires throughout the car are "grounded" to the chassis in various places instead of run to one central point...