ok thanks heaps man, im pretty sure i understand it now. Your a ledgend *kiss*

I've never swapped rectangle-dash (Standard) for round-dash (Deluxe), since we didn't get Standard dashes here in the US. That is Scott's article.

But the dash MUST be grounded properly. Otherwise the current goes through a too-small harness wire, which cannot handle the power and starts smoking. The real way to ground it is by using the tab at the bottom of the dash:



Wiring Article

Notice right above connector #5 there is a large screw that holds the gauge cluster to the the metal frame of the dash. That's your ground for the Gauge Cluster. There is another one on the other side of the cluster (2 large screws total). Also, so that the dash metal is grounded to the body, the entire dash MUST be bolted to the body (3 screws on top, 1 on left side, 1 on right side).

The other connector above #1 (is this the "female connector" you mentioned?) is the ground only for the Tachometer.

ddgonzal, after looking here and reading the posts, ive got the 'female' hooked up to an earth. i havnt got the male plugged in yet. i get the wire 2moro. you say there that it shouldnt be grounded? but if i dont ground it, the whole dash smokes up and i get scared. so if i hook up the female to the ignition barrel.. where do i earth the dash then? im confused.

Have you seen this article in our Tech Section? Dash Changes for Sedan, Ute and Station Wagon

ok well i duno, i earthed it and now its not doing it.

anyway, i was wandering. does anyone know if the coupe dash is wired up diferent to the standard dash? alot of wierd stuff is happening. the indicators are lighting up as the oil and high beam lights, and several other little things like that.. do i need to re-route some of the wires in to the thingy that plugs into the back of the dash?

cheers, evan

The wire to the coil would be for the tach & would have nothing to do with the electrical fire under your dash.

ok. lol all is good. its all working now.



no im not noob..

oh, i just put a new coupe dash in. didnt realise you had to earth it.. doh! so its not smoking anymore. everytime i turned the lights on lots of smoke came out.. i was told by the guy that i bought it off that i have to hook up a wire to the + on the coil. if that isnt hooked up, would that be why the lights on my dash arnt coming on? or did i stuff them before i earthed the dash?

It means either that you messed with something that you shouldn't have, or possibly someone else did.
It would seem that you have probably suffered an electrical short circuit in an unprotected section of cable. If the damage is severe, it may be easier to get another front wiring harness from a wreck & install it complete.
That's what i have had to do with my 1000 coupe.

umm. what does it mean when a big cloud of smoke come up from under the dash and everything stops working? ffs.