Using a newer BD gauge cluster on my 1996 BD

[mike-tracy]

If this has been asked and successfully resolved, please just direct me to that thread. I looked and searched through


I have a 96 Legacy L that I swapped my old '98 Forester engine in after wrecking the Forester. Car runs beautifully, especially after I put an ecu from a 1997 Outback with a 2.5D in, but I have experienced a problem with the speedo.

Before the swap it was acting up in that occasionally it would work, but most the time it just stayed at the bottom, meaning the needle didn't move. Now it almost never works, but I'm almost certain it wasn't due to the engine swap. I put in a known good speedo cable (electric type in the 96 Legacy) with no change. So I've come to the conclusion that either the speedo or the whole cluster is bad, as far as the electrical runs on the flexible circuit board goes. I have been using my GPS to monitor my speed.

So today I found a 1997 and a 1998 outback (the 97 has a 2.2, 98 has the 25d) and I grabbed the nicer one from the 98. Lo and behold, 3 of the connectors are identical (the ones at the sides and also the top), but the 96 has two connectors on the back to the 98's one:
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2009/10/1996legacygaugecluster-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2009/10/1998LegacyGaugeCluster-1.jpg

Is there a writeup of getting the 98 (or 97) to work with a 96 (or 95) gauge cluster, or should I just wait for a 95-96 Legacy to show up at the junkyard? Another possibility, could just the speedo be swapped into my 96 cluster? The '98 shows <5k miles difference from my old one (the odometer never stopped).

Thanks, Mike

[chuckthefuk]

Does your 96' L have a tachometer? And does the 98' Outback have a tachometer?

I ask this because I have swapped a 97' GT into a 95' Brighton. The 95' had the wiring for the tachometer but was not plugged in since the cluster did not have a tachometer. When I plugged in the 97' cluster I just plugged and played..

-Chuck

[mike-tracy]

Hi Chuck, both the gauge clusters had tachs. How do my pictures compare to your brighton and 97 clusters (as far as the plugs in the middle go?)
Thanks
Mike

[mike-tracy]

Anybody else? Otherwise the 98 gauge cluster is for sale. I've found a working '96 cluster to replace my broken one, just has about 80k more miles than the car really has.

[Huffer]

I have a feeling that the plug that that is different, on the LEFT side of the pic is related to seat heater indicators or things with a cold weather package.

Does the middle plug fit or is it also physically different?

[mike-tracy]

The plug in the middle doesn't fit between the two. The cluster with the additional plug on the left is from my 96 L, which has no additional options other than ABS (and hence rear discs). The outback (which only had one plug on the back) had heated seats but not mirrors.

[heli-mech]

I just swapped a 98GT cluster into my 95L. They are the exact same as the 2 pics shown above. Before messing around i plugged the GT cluster into the 95 dash and everything works/ lights up as it should. Except the speedo did not function, and the door ajar (has a pic of car on the 98) only shows the drivers side door is open when any of the doors are open....not a big deal.

What i did was unscrew the 5 screws holding the speedo in both clusters. And moved the L speedo over to the GT cluster. Snapped everything back together and it works perfect. I had to swap the speedo needle from the GT to the L. The needles on the GT cluster are red, L has white. Works like a charm.