Analog to Digital Dash Conversion

[GTCGUY]

I have a 95 Lebaron GTC 3.0 with analog dash but have acquired a digital dash from an older model Lebaron 3.0. What do i have to do to get the digital one to work in place of the analog? The connectors are different so I got a wiring schematic to splice wires. I can get it to light up, but none of the numbers seem to be right or change appropriately. I think maybe it has to do with the two data bus wires stranded together. Has anyone else successfully made this conversion? Any info is very much appreciated. Thanks!

[madmanmapper]

Hi! I too am trying to convert to a digital cluster. I have a 94 LeBaron covertible, so it's the newer dashboard style, just like you, GTCguy. I found a 90-92 LeBaron convertible with the prized digital cluster in a local junkyard. Unfortunatley, it had the 2.5L engine and I have the 3.0L, also, the older barons have 2 different door switches on each door that turn on the interior lights, my baron has only 1 on each door, I'll get to that soon. Here's what I did, in chronological order:

1. Found dash, bought it, cut off the wires from the donor so i have the plugs/harness. Also took the body computer plugs.
2. Tested it at home with a 12v power supply - it displayed perfectly.
3. Printed out the wiring diagrams for my car (actually for the 92, because the diagrams I have for the 93 suck).
4. Took my car to my dad's mechanic shop and wired up the car as per the wiring diagrams, wired the harness for the digital cluster while leaving the analog cluster plugs intact, and replaced one body computer plug and rewired that. More information goes to the body computer with the digital dash, to be converted to serial bus. Everything is according to the diagrams, except I still have to get one wire from the headlight fuse, no biggy.
5. Tested the dash, bad news. It does its little start up demo and lights up everything perfectly, but none of the guages are reading any actual data. Speedo don't work, tach don't work, oil, gas, temp, volts, nothing. Although the odometer read 169,xxx, analog said 168,xxx, My traveler counts up miles faster than my trip on the cluster as well. Some lights work, the seat belt, parking brake, running lights, brights, blinkers. Headlights light doesn't work because I didn't get that wire yet.
6. Noticed that with the digital cluster in, the "door open" chime no longer beeped, it was a steady BEEEEEEEPing sound, not BEEP... BEEP... BEEP. Even with the doors closed and the ignition off, it stayed on. Some guy on the Imperial club website who put a digital cluster in his Dodge Dynasty noted the same problem, he took out a fuse to stop it, but that disabled his message center as well. His cluster worked though. Beeping would not stop until I took the cluster out and cycled the ignition.
7. Went back to the junkyard and got the body computer.
8. Plugged in the cluster and replaced the body computer, no more beeping, no interior lights either. Like I was saying, the older barons have 2 switches, so I'll have to find out which contacts on the new (older) body comp to feed for the lights.
9. It SEEMS LIKE the little guages work. Gas, oil, and temp seem to be reading correctly now, I think. Volts are still absent, just blank. The odometer reports 180,xxx now. Speedo and tach still dont work.

#s 7, 8, 9 were all yesterday. You can see why I wanted to leave the analog cluster wires intact. I'm thinking I'll need a new engine comp and trans comp, but the donor car was a 2.5, dif engine, and trans I believe. If I'm lucky, and I haven't been, the other comps simply don't have some wires going to them, like it was with the body comp. On the other hand, I said the same about the body comp before, then I had to change it.

GTCguy, you may be lucky. You say both cars have the same engine? Take ALL THREE computers out of the donor car just to be safe, along with all their plugs & wires. Engine and trans comps are under the hood, one by each fender. Body comp is inside, on the passenger side "kick panel." It's behind the piece of plastic just above the floor that looks like a little vent. It's the vent that you always look at and wonder why there's a vent for the passenger but not for the driver, until you find out there's a computer behind it. I would also suggest soldering the data bus wires instead of using crimp connectors like I did. The rest are fine with crimp connectors.

Anyone got any more advice? Maybe we can work this out together, GTCguy.

[madmanmapper]

Since GTCguy wont reply to this post or email, I'll add a little update. I just came home from the junkyard. Oh boy was I pleased that I made a mistake. The Baron I took the digi dash from actually was a 3.0L !!! I took the engine and trans computers, so now I have all three. I'll add another update perhaps later tonight if those computers make the dash work.

[madmanmapper]

Well I finally installed all 3 computers into my car. The tachometer worked! And so did the volt meter! I didn't test the speedometer... and hey, the asterick * by the odometer is gone! Now the bad news. The engine computer is messed up. It made my smooth running 3.0L V6 run like a piece of garbage. As if only half of the cylinders were firing, or half the injectors working. It gave codes 41 and 42. I believe they were 41: some kind of charging system problem, and 42: something like automatic shutdown relay voltage something.

*SIGH* Does anyone know how to FIX a computer instead of replacing it?? I really don't feel like waiting around for a new baron with the digital cluster to pop up in the junk yard, and I don't feel like forking over $150 for a computer from a dealership.

[Lee_Baron]

Did you get it going?

I found a nice 90 digital dash and got the engine pooter. I need to get the other 2.

The analog dash in my 91 Lebaron Convertible has 2 x 14 pin connectors and the digi has 2x 13 pin connectors.

I am looking for a factory manual to help me out, but often these variants are not covered.

What are the basic 'light-up' wires just so I can see if it's worth proceeding?

[madmanmapper]

Ooh, I wouldn't apply power to the cluster before knowing which wires are which... and get the other 2 comps asap before someone else nabs them. At least the body comp, trans comp is not as necessary, but it would make the * on the cluster go away if you had it... email me...