RF wiring harness/dash question

[MaxVmo]

Hello experts!

I’ve begun the wiring process for vintage gauges using the supplied Ron Francis kit and am stuck on a detail—I’m looking for the “multi-color power distribution cable” to be routed to all the dials. It seems it is wired into the dash harness already. Is this what I’m looking at? I don’t have an independent cable in the box.

[robmccon]

MaxVmo, if you’re talking about the red, black and white wire harness, it should be in the box that the vintage gauges came in. It will daisy chain all the gauges together.

[MaxVmo]

Yes, that’s the one I’m talking about. I’m running revision W, I’m not sure that’s part of it. What I do have is the red/black/white wires plugged into each gauge but they are open ended. I’ll try to post a pic.

200592

[MaxVmo]

Follow up—I contacted Factory Five and was told to just daisy chain them together (it’s not in the package anymore). Now to figure that out!

[MaxVmo]

Frustration update:

The Vintage gauges no longer are supplied with the daisy chain cables, which leaves that to us. FFR told me to just daisy chain it all together, no big deal. OK!

I've researched the Forum and found several threads (like this (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?45814-Speedhut-Vintage-Gauge-Learning-Summary&highlight=daisy+chain) one) relating to this very topic...electrical stuff is something I'm quite nervous about and I'm trying not to overthink it.

I've decided to emulate some of the other ideas here, and have the WAGO 221 connectors on hand, and now I need a connector for my brain to turn the light on.

So, from my research the consensus is to gang the reds together (except clock), whites, and blacks and so forth. In the "chain" sequence, am I linking these boxes together with the same kind of wire?

Pardon my ignorance, how does one do this exactly?

I'm at one of those mental roadblocks. Thinking of dropping in my motor instead.

[robmccon]

Frustrating for sure! I didn't know they did away with the daisy chain. I have seen the Wago connectors (6 into 1, 8 into 1) and that looks like a nice solution. As you mentioned, one each for the whites (plus the white dash light feed wire from the harness), reds (plus the brown gauge feed wire from the harness), and blacks (plus the black ground wire from the harness). The red from the clock would connect to the red memory feed wire from the harness.

[F500guy]

WAGO connectors came in my kit, thought they shipped with speedhut gauges with the different colors. As you said, all the whites from the gauges need to connect to a single point that is connected to the white dash light supply in the RF harness, same with black (all connect to ground) and red all connect to a power supply. The clock is treated differently because it need to go to the red wire "always on" in order to maintain correct time when the ignition is off., while the other gauges go to the gauge power supply. As happens a lot in the electrical world do a mock up with a battery-start with 1 gauge, trim the ends, hook black to battery negative, red to battery positive and you should see the gauge go thru a start up process. Then touch the white wire to the battery positive and you should see the dash light up. Test it out that way and and get an understanding, all gauges should be the same. I did not use the Gauge WAGO's if you need them, happy to ship.

[MaxVmo]

To quote a great film, “so you’re saying there’s a chance!”

You guys are awesome! Thank you for the info.

F500guy, mine are the 221’s but only five slots in each. My Vintage pack came from FF5 which didnt equip them. Are yours different? If yours are better I may take you up on the offer. Like I said, I’m just a frustrated beginner!

I start a work trip in the morning so I’ll be able to regroup.

Thanks again all.

[Mat1asBEV&ICE]

Your vintage gauges should have come with three WAGO connectors, black, white, and red. If you didn't get them in the box with the gauges, then have them shipped to you. As indicated in the instructions, you can have more than one wire per slot. I would make sure you read the instructions that came in the box with the gauges (like installing the in-line fuse). Here's a photo of my dash for reference.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=200501&d=1717957834

[MaxVmo]

I’m running Revision W, Nov 2019 for the Chassis Wiring Harness. There is no mention of WAGO connectors or inline fuse. Is this the revision you have?

Thank you for the picture.

[Mat1asBEV&ICE]

Yes, but the directions are not in there. They are in the box with the gauges. If you didn’t get the instructions then go here (https://speedhut.com/product-instructions/) and download the correct ones.

[MaxVmo]

Ok thank you. I’m referencing the Ron Francis manual—no box instructions. Thanks for the links, I’ll be giving them a call.

[CDXXVII]

Here is mine. I did not care for all the daisy chain connectors so I cut them all off. The connectors are both D-Sub and Deutsch connectors with machined pins. Really good high quality connectors at a reasonable price. Only down side is that the proper machined pin crimping tool is pretty expensive.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=145179&d=1616798374

[Mat1asBEV&ICE]

This picture should also be helpful if you're using the WAGO connectors. You don't need to splice anything (EDIT) other than the in-line fuse.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=200681&d=1718449374

[MaxVmo]

Thanks again for the feedback—I received the correct items in the mail today.

[cc2Arider]

Here is mine. I did not care for all the daisy chain connectors so I cut them all off. The connectors are both D-Sub and Deutsch connectors with machined pins. Really good high quality connectors at a reasonable price. Only down side is that the proper machined pin crimping tool is pretty expensive.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=145179&d=1616798374

Hi CDXXVII,

Slightly off topic:

I noticed from your picture (of the back-side of your dash panel) that you cutout your dash panel for the RT Turn Signal Assembly...and it appears that your "6" guage is at 12o'clock from that, instead of slightly off-center. Did everything fit like you expected it to?

Craig C

[MaxVmo]

Mat1asBEV&ICE What are those square mounts you routed/ziptied the wires through? Are those stick on?

[Mat1asBEV&ICE]

They are cable zip tie mounts. They come with an adhesive, just peal and stick. I roughed up the area where I was going to stick each one by holding a burr bit and scratching the CF. Always give yourself a little bit of slack and mock it up before committing. Same for the RF dash harness; figure out the best location so it reaches all gauges, turn signal (if you have one), switches, and plugs from the main harness.

[CDXXVII]

Hi CDXXVII,

Slightly off topic:

I noticed from your picture (of the back-side of your dash panel) that you cutout your dash panel for the RT Turn Signal Assembly...and it appears that your "6" guage is at 12o'clock from that, instead of slightly off-center. Did everything fit like you expected it to?

Craig C

Everything fit perfectly. the gauge is actually off center a bit. My favorite mod.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=200779&d=1563580292

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=200781&d=1718856963

[cc2Arider]

Wowsers! Another of my "saved" pictures :)

Such clean looking holes. Did you drill using hole saws or laser cut, or?

Thanks,
Craig C

[Mat1asBEV&ICE]

If you have access to a drill press, a tool like this (https://www.amazon.com/General-Tools-55-Cutter-Adjustable/dp/B00004T7P1/ref=sr_1_5?crid=CIPYAE666DMM&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.U5NLZMnBYycBLW1RkzX9zNa3_BVuplxY-QJCURLg_BhouazUVMJVeLgJfXSN8vDhhF3d_bJwC3f7Qhu2NK9 0C3Fem7BxTZCDWO3oM2zaTshEZ94ViFSlBWniEOjw9pGnmoN5p bLi_Uc9dhrnsjKovxeNluY14-0SQpLd94mKw5_lN6XpbSb-FI2Dnao5qmRovDmSqmJyvJBa-zRacPM-yzwBS9CfyWO0FR3Vg99TCwakBXtKfLGiJzRw42K0SZMWJX5faj Yw4QdFj5ffVv2_zY1Y4VucD1CgWbgCVVY1xOk.b-pWkMg9-Rw6__MjfbKnY5AYUCChkOhsU0gtmm1KKLM&dib_tag=se&keywords=drill%2Bpress%2Bhole%2Bcutter&qid=1718968161&sprefix=drill%2Bpress%2Bhole%2Caps%2C128&sr=8-5&th=1) is what you want. Otherwise use a hole saw slightly smaller in size than the hole you need, as stated in the instructions.

[MaxVmo]

Update—here’s my preliminary results. Not as pretty as some of your engineer types, but I’d appreciate input.

[Mat1asBEV&ICE]

That should work, now you have to connect the dash harness to all that stuff. :)

[F500guy]

I would be concerned having the fuse behind the dash, I went to some length to ensure that a couple mods were fused thru a panel. Imagine future checking that fuse. The rest looks really clean!

[Mat1asBEV&ICE]

Yes, good point. I did put my fuse nice and low so I could access it and not where I have one of my lower dash supports.

[MaxVmo]

Good idea. Simple enough to drop it down.

[MaxVmo]

OK! Continuing on it's like I'm learning Greek. I've moved the fuse down to the bottom of the panel for easy access.

I'm a little confused as to the number of "dash light" white wires coming from the harness. There are three instances of white gauge feed wires (two sets of double wires and a single wire all with blue connectors).

There are two clock memory wires, etc.

I understand that this harness feeds different vehicles--how do I pick the correct set/s?

[Mat1asBEV&ICE]

I’m away on vacation, but if I remember correctly the white wires are daisy chained. Pick the one that comes out of the connectors. Look at page 34 of the chassis wiring manual, that will also help.

Everything I said above applies to the clock memory wire.

There are extra wires for different vehicles and for people that want to customize, like add a radio, nav, etc.

[MaxVmo]

Thanks for the reply! Enjoy the vacation.

[MaxVmo]

Dimmer arrived. Mounted it like this so far and wired into WAGO connectors. Mounted the button on the brace. Moved my fuse lower. This looking correct so far?

[MaxVmo]

Quick question regarding the online fuse—this is the primary entry point for the power source, correct? I have the Speedhut Zero Dimmer I’d like to add in. The Zero Dimmer has a set of “to vehicle” red/white/black (and constant) wires, and “to gauges” red/black/white wires.

Do I route the vehicle side with the inline fuse? I assume the power supply has to go through that first….

[KayzDad]

Just came in from the garage confused as hell about wiring my vintage gauges. This was the first thread listed on the forums front page and it has answered so many of my questions. Thanks to all that posted. The phrase "I'd rather be lucky than good" applies to me here.

[MaxVmo]

These forums are filled with excellent people! The wiring has been slow for me but I’m getting there. You will too!

[MaxVmo]

Speedometer question—the small harness that plugs into the Vintage Speedo is for turn signal/high beam indicators on the gauge with three wires. I’m a little unclear on which RF harness wires to connect here as the harness has two wires of different colors labeled the same. I’m away from the house or I’d post a pic. Any tips appreciated!

[Mat1asBEV&ICE]

Not sure which wires you are referencing, but if you look at the Chassis Harness manual (https://www.factoryfive.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Chassis-Harness-rev-W.pdf), page 34 in revision W, you will see which wire corresponds with which indicator light. You then use the manual (https://store-ta980ko58k.mybigcommerce.com/content/instructions/GPS%20LED%20Instructions.pdf) that came with the gauges to determine which wire on the gauge should be spliced with which wire on the dash harness in order for the indicator lights on the speedometer to work properly. And to make double certain just turn to page 65 of the Chassis Harness manual. It's all right there. :)

[MaxVmo]

Totally understand. Maybe I’m just missing something-here are my blue, green, and high beam wires. Note I have two LFT dash Ind wires despite being colored differently. Causing me some confusion.

[Mat1asBEV&ICE]

Looking at the chassis harness manual, it looks like the blue one is mislabeled. That's for the right. Se if it's also mislabeled for the turn signal and hazard switch wires.