OK. This will be long and have lots of photos. So grab your pocorn and coke and get ready for some learnin.

Things you need to complete this mod.

1. EA/EB/ED car, with an EL ECU and Engine - No, you can't just put in an EL ECU with an engine running the Log Manifold. ((EDIT - An EL ECU will run a log manifold engine, however they do suffer from overfueling at low to mid rpm due to the mismatch of fuel and ignition maps designed for the BBM manifold, to the log manifold))

2. EF or EL Instrument Cluster - In my case an EF Fairmont Cluster

3. A plug off the back of an EA/EB/ED Sports/Fairmont Instrument Cluster - Cut it off close to the cluster leaving as much of the metal as possible.

4. Both Plugs and as much loom as you can get out of an EF/EL Fairmont that plug into the Instrument Cluster

5. 4 metres of Auto wire from Jaycar/d**k etc

6. A selection of Crimp Terminals and relevant tools

7. A Soldering Iron and Solder etc

8. Pinout charts for BOTH Instrument Clusters

9. Metal 'Make a Bracket' strips from Bunnings

10. A good understanding of how all this works - This is NOT a mod for begginers


Step One

Using the Pinout charts for the Instrument Clusters, create a comparison spreadsheet to match common wires etc from the EB to the EF. This will be your guide for building your own adapter loom.

Step Two

Create your adapter loom. Now that you know what wire from which connector on the EF/EL side goes to which pin on the plug on the EB side you can start soldering. Carefully match up each wire from the EF/EL plugs to the relevant wire on the EB Plug.

Double check everything!!!!!!!

At the end you should end up with something that resembles this.



This is the EB Plug




These are the two EF/EL plugs

Left Hand


Right Hand


Note there are some wires not in the new loom. Two of these are connected to the ECU. One to the DATA line (Pin 34) and the other to the TFI line (Pin 36). Use 3 metres of the Auto Wire and run two wires from the Cluster area to the ECU and splice the two wires into the relevant ECU wires. I used Crimp Terminals to allow me to unplug/undo all the changes. The other two wires are for the DATA output which normally goes to the EF/EL Trip Computer and for the Smartlock LED. I left them out for use later if I needed them.

Here is the loom plugged in to the EF Cluster.



Step Three

Make mounting brackets. This is how I have done this. You may find a better way. I still need to work on the placement of my cluster. It is out 5mm to the left, but will work on that another day. I also used the screws and slide on clip thingos from the dash.







Step Four

Place the Cluster in the EB Dash. You will figure it out. It does not just simply drop in. You have to slide and juggle it all. Don't forget to plug in your new loom to the EB cluster loom plugs and the two additional wires connected to the ECU (don't mix them up).

Then use the Factory Mounting points for the EB Cluster to attach your new brackets to.

Example prior to attaching.



Now reassemble your dash. TADDAAAAAAA Finished.

Sounds Easy Huh?

So for those who patiently waited for some pics of gaps etc please see the following photos.






There are some small gaps. But these are only really noticeable if you look for them. I will add some small filler strips later to finish it off. From the drivers seat, I can't really see them.

A couple of night shots.

Bright Setting


Dull Setting - with all extras on




There are a couple of things yet to sort out.

The LCD is not lighting up at all yet. I believe this is due to the LCD Dimmer wires not being connect to anything at all. I will try and connect the normal park light wire to the postive side and connect the earth side to ground.

Also, the oil pressure guage is still reading hight. I believe the EF/EL cars use a different oil pressure sender to the EA/EB/ED cars. Ford have different part numbers for them. I will try to grab one from the wreckers and see if it resolves the issue.

It is also worth noting that the EF/EL Tacho does not use the same source wire as the EB. The EB gets the signal from the TFI module (Pink or Pink/Blue Wire) and the EF/EL gets the signal from the wire going to the TFI module from the ECU (Yellow/Green wire - Pin 36) Thanks snap0964.


I hope some of this makes sense.

YES, this mod is NOT for the first timers, and requires a variety of skills and tools to complete. Please contact me if you are serious about doing this and I will help you out.

Regards
BenJ

Last edited by BenJ on Tue Feb 17, 2009 5:41 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Thats some dedicated soldering/heatshrink work

Ben, don't forget VSS in, and VSS out - VSS out goes to the ECU, and will also go to the EF/EL cruise when it's fitted.

I'm betting it's a fairmont cluster - see http://www.fordmods.com/forums/documents.php?doc=14 "Adding the LCD dimming resistor". Pin 16 RHS plug then goes to the headlight switch, or splice it into the LCD dimmer line from your TC. Pin 17 RHS plug is ign 12v.

As I say, the books give different figs - I'm suspecting an EF/EL sender has an 94DA-xxx number, and EA-ED probably 87DA or 90DA, etc.

Has this fixed the issue you were having ??

I have the VSS coming in to the Cluster, but have decided not to run it to the ECU as the ECU is receiving the VSS directly.




Correct it is a fairmont cluster. I have the resistor here and will add this in. However the doco states that the LCD should light up without the Park lights on, and you add the resistor for the LCD to work with the Park lights on. As my car has no function for LCD dimming at all, I believe I will need to connect Pin 17 RHS (LCD Positive Illumination) to the Park lights wire and Pin 16 RHS (LCD Negative Illumination) to earth. Opinions?



Going to the Wreckers soon, so will let you know.



Yes, many Thanks Snap0964. The tacho needle no longer shakes. It is as solid as a rock now.

BenJ

sweeeet .
looking good..
will you have this fitted on the cruise on saturday?


ps..benj ive been working on the fuel door mod you were talking about.
and i have promising results..

It is in now, and have been driving around with it in all day. I want to secure it a bit more, but it should be in for the cruise on Saturday.

I look forward to seeing how you went with the fuel flap mod.

I got the Oil Pressure Sender from an EF Fairmont this morning. Am waiting for the car to cool down before I try to change it.

BenJ

f**k ben awsome mod mate. your car is now getting very uniqe now. You know what would set it off...is a ED XR front end and i happen to be selling one

Funny Bugger

BenJ

lol, since seeing the comment here about fuel flap mods.. I've been searching for more info..

Where have you detailed your efforts Troyman/BenJ ???

Only in our heads and in conversation. If it works out one of us, probably Troyman will post up details.



OK, it seems the Oil Pressure Sender I got off the EF Fairmont is actualy an Oil Pressure Switch. I am quite confused now as to what is what. I will go to ford and ask to see them both so I know WTF I am dealing with. LOL.

BenJ

I have to know now... what is the fuel flap mod?????

Funnily enough the other day I was looking at an EA ghia cluster I had, and whether an EF/EL board would fit in it. I'm a bit surprised how good the EF/EL cluster fits on it's own, seeing the EA one I have has a square LHS, but the RHS top is curved.
Actually, there's no reason now why an NF/NL cluster can't be fitted to an EA-ED.

You'll find the odo will only light up when parkers are on with that configuration.
Pin 17 RHS plug is ign 12v - so odo gets power during ign.
Pin 16 RHS plug this can splice to the blue/red line, LHS plug pin 4 (try this with a temp jumper lead first).
The resistor is used as a path to earth when parkers are on, as the odo globe has voltage both sides - hence why the odo goes out when parkers are on.

Last edited by snap0964 on Thu Mar 27, 2008 8:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Sorry if this have been covered but why is the oil pressure gauge reading full bore?

great job

has the oil pressure switch still in it, so it only reads as on or off. Needs an oil pressure sender to control the gauge correctly.