# b15 cluster in b14?



## SiL200SX (Nov 23, 2005)

is there any way possible that i would be able to put a cluster from a b15 gxe in a b14 200sx? i saw some really cheap ones at the junkyard and i was gonna get one but im not zsure how to go about putting it in and if it would even work.. because of the lights and what not..


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## Teknik_SE-R (Feb 7, 2006)

this would be insanley and unnecessarily difficult if not impossible 
first of all, the clusters are different sizes, second, I doubt the wiring harnesses are the same, which would require you to go wire by wire to try to figure out what connection on one car corresponds to the other cars connections, and third some of the insturments potentiometers might not be calibrated to the same voltage per degree of rotation, so you would get a different readout than the original intended insturment.

in other words, don't bother. if you need a new instrument cluster, go buy one that works for your car.

if you have a low end (xe or base) B14, and want the tach from a higher end B14, this might be possible, becasue the wiring might already be there (the ECU needs rpm readouts anyway, and nisan may have wired every ga car with the same harness to save $)

do a search, I'm sure someone has done this no-tach to with-tach swap before


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## psuLemon (Apr 23, 2003)

its definitly possible, but i dont know the extent of work needed. ScorchN200SX put a QR25DE in his b14, so he had to use the spec V gauge cluster. but he had a lot of custom work.


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## SiL200SX (Nov 23, 2005)

Teknik_SE-R said:


> this would be insanley and unnecessarily difficult if not impossible
> first of all, the clusters are different sizes, second, I doubt the wiring harnesses are the same, which would require you to go wire by wire to try to figure out what connection on one car corresponds to the other cars connections, and third some of the insturments potentiometers might not be calibrated to the same voltage per degree of rotation, so you would get a different readout than the original intended insturment.
> 
> in other words, don't bother. if you need a new instrument cluster, go buy one that works for your car.
> ...



I have the higher end gauges [w/ tach] but instead of going thru all the b.s. of changing the bulbs i'd rather have the setup of the b15 gauges i think the setup is better, even though im pretty sure it's quite similar.. would it be 10 x easier to just buy the orange bulbs?


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## Jared592 (Dec 21, 2004)

SiL200SX said:


> I have the higher end gauges [w/ tach] but instead of going thru all the b.s. of changing the bulbs i'd rather have the setup of the b15 gauges i think the setup is better, even though im pretty sure it's quite similar.. would it be 10 x easier to just buy the orange bulbs?


More than 10x easier, unless you feel like cutting up your dash and fiberglassing it to make the new cluster fit aesthetically, then going wire by wire to determine which one does what and coordinating it with the B15 cluster.


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## Teknik_SE-R (Feb 7, 2006)

SiL200SX said:


> I have the higher end gauges [w/ tach] but instead of going thru all the b.s. of changing the bulbs i'd rather have the setup of the b15 gauges i think the setup is better, even though im pretty sure it's quite similar.. would it be 10 x easier to just buy the orange bulbs?


 is that all you are after is orange backlight? and you are willing to take on the task of doing a B15 cluster conversion? LOL you are crazy!

again I think that the sensors on the engine and the stuff in the ecu that controls the gauges are probably different(for the QR gauge cluster anyway). that theory is backed by what psulemon said about scorchn200sx and how he put a QR cluster in his QR swap car...it was probably necessary

edit: go to auto zone, buy four orange 194's (they look like the ones that go in your rear plate lighting and your trunk light) pull six screws, pur the lights in, and forgeddaboutit. there's no BS, just 6 screws and four little 1/4 twist sockets in the back. I put hyper whites in mine and they look like they are led lit like on lexuses and infinitis


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## psuLemon (Apr 23, 2003)

Teknik_SE-R said:


> is that all you are after is orange backlight? and you are willing to take on the task of doing a B15 cluster conversion? LOL you are crazy!
> 
> again I think that the sensors on the engine and the stuff in the ecu that controls the gauges are probably different(for the QR gauge cluster anyway). that theory is backed by what psulemon said about scorchn200sx and how he put a QR cluster in his QR swap car...it was probably necessary


you might be able to get an engine harness and splice it in the b14's but you need extensive knowledge to do so plus all the custom fitting. its not really worth it.


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## NismoGa16 (Dec 8, 2005)

Teknik_SE-R said:


> I put hyper whites in mine and they look like they are led lit like on lexuses and infinitis


Pics Please !!! I was thinking of doing this but I wasn't sure how it would turn out.


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## Teknik_SE-R (Feb 7, 2006)

it looks great. I need to get a photobucket or cardomain account. I'll set one up and post pics when I do


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## setnra_bitch (Jul 12, 2005)

Teknik_SE-R said:


> it looks great. I need to get a photobucket or cardomain account. I'll set one up and post pics when I do


you know, if you already got the pictures loaded on your computer, you could just put the pictures into html format from coolphotohost.com

just upload and copy paste so we could see the pictures.....


i want to see what is to come of this little project if it works


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## Teknik_SE-R (Feb 7, 2006)

oh. um. I think you may have mistaken my post for saying I have a B15 cluster in my B14. I don't.

Here is my freinds supercarfreak album of my car before I got in a wreck (with the chrome headlights, stock hood, and smoke tails) and after it got repainted (I got blackout tails and projectors, and a cf hhod, but still before the painted corner lights)

http://www.supercarfreak.net/gallery/album993
it doesn't have any night shots of my gauge cluster, but it has a weird angled one of my interior. I'll post some night shots on my *new* photobucket account as soon as I take some.

edit: the dash is so oxidized cuz when my car was in the shop, it got broken into, my dash got thrashed cuz the person couldn't undo 9 screws in 10 minutes, rather they took a crowbar to my dash for 30. so I got a new stereo and a new dash. the dask was oxidized really bad from sitting at nissan for so long. I've been giving it a massage about once a month with meguiars. it looks alot better now


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## Teknik_SE-R (Feb 7, 2006)

here are my gauges at night with the hyperwhite 194s installed


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## SiL200SX (Nov 23, 2005)

Teknik_SE-R said:


> here are my gauges at night with the hyperwhite 194s installed




those are pretty hott.. where'd you get em i try to go to advanced and get them and they only have the white ones.. does anyone have any other colors besides white? like blue or red?


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## toolsheded46and2 (Jan 31, 2004)

i bet a b15 cluster from a se model would work fairly easy since it us an sr20 powered car..... so who knows how differant they really are


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## Nostrodomas (Jun 15, 2002)

SiL200SX said:


> those are pretty hott.. where'd you get em i try to go to advanced and get them and they only have the white ones.. does anyone have any other colors besides white? like blue or red?


Search ebay for 194 led.


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## Teknik_SE-R (Feb 7, 2006)

mine arent leds. they are incandescent BL hybrids, some asian brand the local speed shop carried. they weren't much less expensive than the PIAA hyper white 194's and I'm sure the color is about the same

leds aren't omnidirectional like an incandescent light, so they produce bright spots and dark spots on the gauge face.

other incandescent colors like blue and red aren't bright enough, or the colors aren't the true color, i.e. blue is blue-green, and red is red-orange. 

for a deeper orange, I'd recommend normal 194's with some of those red silicon caps. For a lighter orange, I'd go with amber. but like I said they are often dim and also it washes out your needles becasue of the lack of contrast.

I've tried nearly every color and I've also tried leds. (I had blue illuminating gauges for about a year) I've tried puting reflective tape all inside the cluster housing so it would illuminate more evenly and everything. trust me, it's not worth the trouble of doing, and it never looks as good as some good old incandescent hyperwhites.


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## NismoGa16 (Dec 8, 2005)

Dude those look Awesome !! Have you been able to find them in the teeny tiny size that goes into the HVAC controls ? I just replaced the bulb on the left side and it's a different color that stock, now i have a half orange/half white HVAC panel. In true Tiger style, I'll call the color " Citronasion "


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## Teknik_SE-R (Feb 7, 2006)

Nice.
I used to work at a machine and sheet metal shop that put together video poker machines, and they had a bunch of spare 12v white leds that go in the buttons, so I "borrowed" some. they look great, but they have the bright spots and and dark spots I mentioned before, just not as bad since the gauge faces are smaller. to be honest, they don't look much different in color than the oem incandescents with blue caps, just a little brighter. It's not really worth the effort. not unless you are a pure show car. in that case, youshould go all out and build a led panel to go inside the cluster.

cheap leds tend to stop working really easily too. I think its the design in the circuitry which makes the anode deteriorate faster than normal. That and probably vibration. 

http://www.ledtronics.com here is a site for industiral quality leds. they aren't cheap tho, and you have to buy in bulk. they also have line load modules that make it so your blinkers don't blink fast like a ricer. :hal: 

of course there are cheap led places too. like here www.lightlens.com/ledbulbs.htm

don't buy from lightlens, every led I have bought from there has popped within a year of installing them. very good customer service though.

edit: found the BL hybrid 194 lights i used on my instrument cluster here http://www.prolightstar.com/access_bulb/polarg_acc_bulb.html

piaa bulbs are here
http://www.piaa.com/Bulbs/Bulbs-Miniature.html
check out the price of the orange bulbs 47 bucks!!!!

and here is the index for prolightstar http://www.prolightstar.com/access_bulb/index.html


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