analog to digital clocks

[Zeal 0]

hi, i'm planning on fitting a audi a3 dash to my rado! i know it's been done so i spent a few hours searching last night trying to find out the difficulties of fitting digital clocks into a 1.8 16v that has the old skool scrolling mileometer.

 

i read a few posts where jay renshaw seemed to mention older tt or mk4 clocks could be used in a rado but looking at the clocks the rev counters only go to 7000 and they have digital readouts on both faces so i guess its only true for the newer rado clocks?

 

(probably impossible) while searching on ebay i noticed that mk5 golf fsi/gti clocks all rev to 8000 and better than that they have no digital readouts on the faces, all they have is the centre info which i would blank off and run original clocks behind the dash to record the miles.

 

what i'd like to know is if the speedo and rev counters could be made to work somehow? they are both made by vdo?

 

or what are the other options if any? without swapping the engine or fitting loom and all sensors? the only other thing i can think of is breaking my clocks (partly broken already) and adapting them to fit a mk4 housing!

 

also what about the headlight switch? any ideas knowlage or help would be much appreciated

 

jon

[quicky1980 0]

good luck with this, sounds a knightmare. Can you not convert your car from cable drive to wire signal for the speedo? This would allow you to use the full led screen for mileage etc. or is this too difficult?

 

I spoke to Mark at SWICT and he told me that older generation audi a3 and golf mk4's use simple signals to feed the instrument cluster, newer ones use CAN bus which would be difficult to implement.

 

sorry, couldnt help further, but will keep an eye on this incase I decide to do the same thing

[Zeal 0]

thanks it all helps! well that might be a possible solution, thats what i want to know really, how difficult? i'm guessing that you mean the speed on a rado clock is machanically run and the mk5 is digital and plugged to sensors which just tell it the speed? which would make it impossible without the loom. i could probably do the job if it is possible, just not sure where to learn the info without re-training as a auto electrician!

 

so would all the essntial sensors from mk5 clock loom actually work/fit on a corrado?

 

i'm sure the old mk4 and a3 would be more likely to work but they still don't rev to 8000 :(

 

i know it sounds like hassle but i need a new project! i am thinking about changing the engine to a 20v turbo at some point, will this be less hassle than getting modern clocks to work in a 1.8 16v engine? :)

[quicky1980 0]

early corrado's came with mechanically driven speedo's later ones came with electrical senders. the senders should fit the gearbox easy enough, but the wiring may be a little more tricky, you may need to refer to the electrical wiring.

 

tbh, if your wanting to convert to the audi dash, you'll have to become comfortable with wiring diagrams to get the switches to work and even the instrument cluster.

[Zeal 0]

thanks again, think i read that somewhere else and it means i would also need the later dash loom, the mfa will plug in i guess? but does the speed sensor do more than just the speedo etc what about the rev counter and the mile readings on the second lcd panel where do they come from? that should give me the option of putting early mk4 clocks in?

 

i will continue to look into it as i have most of the dash now. for my dash convert i'm not going to change too much wiring at first. i'm going to put the a3 concert double din stereo in and below that i'm maybe going to use the mk1 tt stereo cover to hide the old skool heater controls depending on how it looks/fits, i also have a din size alpine ipod holder that might be used. i'm probably going to fit the fog/rear heat switches etc horizontally infront of the gear stick surround like a old audi, they will be out of sight in that position! spoiler control can go in its original spot but light switch might be a pain? (dont want a dummy) and clocks who knows? bit of ducting for the heaters, fixing the dash should be ok, thats about it, sounds easy :)

[Wullie 1]

I may be a bit daft here, certainly over literacised (IE ****ed) but where does the engine/gearbox Sensor get it's signal from. I'm sure you cant just take an old speedo cable out and stick in a digital sensor. I'm going to bed in a few minutes.

[Zeal 0]

I may be a bit daft here, certainly over literacised (IE ****ed) but where does the engine/gearbox Sensor get it's signal from. I'm sure you cant just take an old speedo cable out and stick in a digital sensor. I'm going to bed in a few minutes.

 

some of the 1.8 16v corrado's have digital mile meters so i guess it should fit on the gear box, god knows where or how tho? maybe the sensor connection is there but not used, might have a nose tomoro

 

how that speed sensor then like magic fits to mk4 clocks i can't see.

[mikkijayne 0]

I may be a bit daft here, certainly over literacised (IE ****ed) but where does the engine/gearbox Sensor get it's signal from. I'm sure you cant just take an old speedo cable out and stick in a digital sensor. I'm going to bed in a few minutes.

 

Yes you can actually ;) Unscrew the speedo cable from the top of the 'box and screw on a digital sensor. It needs 12V and ground, and it will give you the Vehicle Speed Signal that the digital clusters use.

 

The Corrado mechanical cluster generates the VSS from a hall sender on the back of the speedo, which it then conditions and feeds to the rest of the electronics - spoiler, cruise control, etc. The digital cluster gets the VSS straight from the sender on the 'box, conditions that, and again sends it out to everything else.

 

The mk4 / A3 cluster uses the same sender that digital Corrados have, so it ought to work in the same way. You do need it to have an output to feed the spoiler with though. An early one should have this as it will feed it back to the engine ECU amongst other things. A later CAN one won't though so you need to be careful you get the right one.

 

Hope that helps :)

[Zeal 0]

Yes you can actually ;) Unscrew the speedo cable from the top of the 'box and screw on a digital sensor. It needs 12V and ground, and it will give you the Vehicle Speed Signal that the digital clusters use.

 

The Corrado mechanical cluster generates the VSS from a hall sender on the back of the speedo, which it then conditions and feeds to the rest of the electronics - spoiler, cruise control, etc. The digital cluster gets the VSS straight from the sender on the 'box, conditions that, and again sends it out to everything else.

 

The mk4 / A3 cluster uses the same sender that digital Corrados have, so it ought to work in the same way. You do need it to have an output to feed the spoiler with though. An early one should have this as it will feed it back to the engine ECU amongst other things. A later CAN one won't though so you need to be careful you get the right one.

 

Hope that helps :)

 

That answers everything! nice one mikki genius information!

[Zeal 0]

i managed to wire in pre can-bus mk4 clocks into my rado using a mk4 can-bus pinout diagram, does anyone know which pin is for the tach signal on the pre can-bus mk4 pinout?

also i'm not sure where to get the tach signal from? a friend seems to think it can be taken from the coil? on the vr6/g60 you can take it from the knock sensor btw

 

any ideas?

[Corrado1441 0]

On my 1995 VR6 you can pic it up at the ISO loom for the radio as long as the original clocks are still hidden away behind the dash which I did :-) , I think from memory the wire colour is blue/white

[mikkijayne 0]

i managed to wire in pre can-bus mk4 clocks into my rado using a mk4 can-bus pinout diagram, does anyone know which pin is for the tach signal on the pre can-bus mk4 pinout?

also i'm not sure where to get the tach signal from? a friend seems to think it can be taken from the coil? on the vr6/g60 you can take it from the knock sensor btw

 

any ideas?

 

Normally the tach on a mk4 would come from the ECU. On a 16V it is taken from the - side of the coil, but that is a very different signal to the ECU tach. I would be hesitant to simply hook that up in case it kills the clocks, unless you can find firsthand info from someone else who has tried it. It may be necessary to run a converter to condition the signal to make it suitable for the later clocks.

[dannyboy 0]

Sounds stupid,but is there a harness/connector in the engine bay for digital clocks if the original one had older mechanical drives? ive searched and not found any.

Ive had a set of digital clocks sitting in the shed for 4 years now because harness doesnt exist on older model.

 

Im sure someone going to shoot me down here! lol

[Zeal 0]

On my 1995 VR6 you can pic it up at the ISO loom for the radio as long as the original clocks are still hidden away behind the dash which I did :-) , I think from memory the wire colour is blue/white

 

if i had a vr6/g60 or a 2.016v the clocks would nearly be a straight rewire, would just need the tach signal from the knock sensor and thats it. the 1.8 16v has no knock sensor tho so i'm struggling to find a place to get it from.

 

Normally the tach on a mk4 would come from the ECU. On a 16V it is taken from the - side of the coil, but that is a very different signal to the ECU tach. I would be hesitant to simply hook that up in case it kills the clocks, unless you can find firsthand info from someone else who has tried it. It may be necessary to run a converter to condition the signal to make it suitable for the later clocks.

 

have seen a those convertors on the net, still need to do a bit more reasearch to find out weather i need it or not. much better if i can find somebody who has already done it tho. guess if i find out how to change the signal for later clocks that will be the answer?

 

Sounds stupid,but is there a harness/connector in the engine bay for digital clocks if the original one had older mechanical drives? ive searched and not found any.

Ive had a set of digital clocks sitting in the shed for 4 years now because harness doesnt exist on older model.

 

Im sure someone going to shoot me down here! lol

 

you can use a later speed sender for the speedo signal, not sure about the tacho/rev signal yet tho, all i know is that it can be done!

 

i will get back this soon