2000 Sportage Installing Glow Gauges

Alright, so a couple of years ago, I decided to buy glow gauges for my Sportage, just think that it'd look cool when it glowed blue at night.

The dashboard dismantling and cluster was easy to get through, and the new gauge covers just slipped over the OEM gauges (no needles were removed, so I didn't have to worry about recalibrating and all the useless crap.)

So, the only thing I need to do now is wire the gauges. There are 3 new gauge wires that come out of the cluster (there is no inverter box, but I don't know if that's normal or not). It's just the wires with some sort of "plug" on the end, but it doesn't look normal.

Question: Do these wires plug into anything pre-existing in the car?

Or, will I have to strip wires and tap into the car itself? And if so, what wires would I need to tap into?

Thanks a lot guys for your help (if anyone knows). Thanks in advance!

:biggrin: ..guess I'm too conservative, never got across these....but following your post, I just browsed on the net to pick-up info ....funny!...So I understand you have slipped the new faces over the existing gauges with needles protruding where they were ..and all there is to do now is connect the light source...right ?
From what I read, you have three wires: one would be ground,black?, another +12V,red?, and another (any color?) tapping into the existing light dimmer output....
..can you indicate manufacturer and model of these glow gauges?....and did you have wiring instructions with them ?

NOw..here is the wiring diagram:
http://www.avigex.ca/kia/int_lamp_dim.gif
I see the dimmer switch has a 3 wire connection., probably a 3wire plug. with blu/yel as 12V, black ground, and red/grn as dimmer out. It is possible that the plug you have would just match this....may be it has both a male/female sides allowing to plug into the dimmer switch, then re-connect the original over it...well, that is the way Iwould have designed it..but as said, it would then keep the original lighting active under the glow faces...may be then the opriginal lights should be removed, but I read that the odometer would not be lighted at night then. Anyway, if you can send a photo pf the plug you have, color coding, and photo of the dimmer switch once you get there, we could comment on that and it could help others who may be inspired by you...

..can you indicate manufacturer and model of these glow gauges?....and did you have wiring instructions with them ?
I got the gauges off of eBay, and unfortunately the seller doesn't exist anymore. >_> Here's what's on the "bag" that I got with it:
Manufacturer: NEX TECHNOLOGY LLC.
Model: RiG-344

There are no wiring instructions with them, hence me posting on this forum. ;]

Anyway, if you can send a photo pf the plug you have, color coding, and photo of the dimmer switch once you get there, we could comment on that and it could help others who may be inspired by you...
I'm currently looking for the camera as of now. I'll post pictures of them as soon as I can find them and post them up here.

It is possible that the plug you have would just match this....may be it has both a male/female sides allowing to plug into the dimmer switch, then re-connect the original over it...well, that is the way Iwould have designed it..but as said, it would then keep the original lighting active under the glow faces...may be then the opriginal lights should be removed, but I read that the odometer would not be lighted at night then.

The plug coming from the actual gauge is a two-prong male. (Obviously I will be posting pictures as soon as possible), and with the orignal lighting under the glow faces, it doesn't show through at all. The odometer is still lit up, and that's all that's needed from the original lighting.

This is the wide shot of the cluster taken out. And with it are the three plugs that connect to the back of the cluster.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h32/HatrixMouse/P2230053.jpg

The left of the steering column, with the dim switch on the left side.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h32/HatrixMouse/P2230054.jpg

A close-up of the dim switch wiring. Sorry, the camera sucked, so the close-up was blurry. I hope you can make out the colors.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h32/HatrixMouse/P2230055.jpg

Here is the actual gauge cluster with the glow gauge wires coming out in three different locations.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h32/HatrixMouse/P2230060.jpg

A quick glance at the actual 'plugs' for the wires (different views). All lined up next to each other. There are only two wires per 'plug'/gauge, so I would only assume a positive/negative combination.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h32/HatrixMouse/P2230061.jpg

A closer sideview of one of the plugs. It's got two pins in the middle (if you can see), and getting an straight-on shot wasn't getting any quality whatsoever, so I hope you can make out what it looks like.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h32/HatrixMouse/P2230062.jpg

..I read that some of these devices are made to work withut any external regulator, just using the dim wire from the dash dimmer....but the little plugs you have make me a bit worried. These little plugs seem destined to be plugged somewhere where they would feel at home...propably a small power regulator with a brightness control...which is missing. I do not know the exact nature of the illumination source...probably LEDS..and in the unknown, conncting that directly to 12V unlimited supply is a risk...they could simply be shot dead in a second.
If I had your kit, here is what I would do, from a purely electronics standpoint....but if someone comes with a direct experience with this very device, they would probably have a more direct answer...
1: test one of the glow gauge plug with a multitester, first on the resistance scale, but better use a tester with a diode scale...and make two tests, inverting the connection of the probes.
ON diode scale, the reading is interpreted in volts: one reading will give "overscale", but the reverse reading will be something around 1.8 volt: with that 1.8 reading, notice which plug connector is in contact with the RED probe from the tester, and mark it RED or +: this will connect to the positive supply.
2: I would pick a 1000 ohms resistor from my drawers (this is the current limiting device); connect one side to +12V, the other to the pin marked+, and connect the other pin to -12V...or ground: I expect the gauge would then be illuminated...may be faint though......and I would then read the voltage across the 1000 ohm resistor, that is, between its two sides....and post that value.
http://www.avigex.ca/kia/test.JPG
..the voltage reading across the 1000ohm resistor would tell if some limiting resistor is already in the gauge, but I suspect it would rather be like 10V, telling all there is in the gauge is a LED, and thus it needs an external control device.....
..Someone familiar with semiconductors will figure all that out and can help you on this in case you are not.
If you can do that and report findings, we'll manage the next step thereafter....if you find a quicker answer, please also report
If some step outlined above is not clear, please ask for more details.....may be a better drawing...I'll work on this...

edit: mmm.an afterthought: you can skip the testing with the multitester and just connect with the 1000ohm resistor: reverse the connector leads if it does not light up the first time...then report the state of illumination.

Alright. Appreciated greatly. Unfortunately, there are no damn resistors just laying around, so I'll hit Radioshack tomorrow after work and see what I can do. I'll keep you posted. Thanks again.

..yeah..I was trying to figure out something part of normal household that would act as a 1k resistor....still searching...check tomorrow before going to buy...BTW, that is worth 10 cents, 2 cents in lots....... and resistors are classified by wattage...1/4w or 1/2w is plenty...
..of course, 1k (brown-black-red) is a test item, on the safe side....the appropriate resistance value for good light intensity would probably be less to allow for more current...

..???..As I told in first reply, I have not investigated that kind of product before. One thing puzzles me : most units offered indicate they have a "power INVERTER".....and if this is factual, a gauge unit might not be able to work from a DC source: power inverters convert direct current source into alternative current....and if this is actually what is needed (but there I'm puzzled) then there is no way to make the gauges work from DC. ..

..somethng like this:
http://cgi.ebay.ca/EL-GLOW-GAUGES-INVERTER-TOYOTA-CAMRY-CELICA-COROLLA-MR2_W0QQitemZ250378268288
http://cgi.ebay.ca/12-VOLT-UNIVERSAL-2-COLOR-EL-GLOW-GAUGES-POWER-INVERTER_W0QQitemZ360131022358
might be the easiest way to go....

BUt....if LEDS are used in the gauges, as I though, they do work from a low DC voltage , around 2 volts...; modern technology power supplies take the DC12V, INVERT it to AC, process the AC through a step-down transformer (DC transformers do not exist) , then rectify the low AC voltage into low DC voltage ..and there we are.
IN my suggested method, the excess voltage would be dissipated through the resistor instead, a much less elegant method (used for decades).....but functional anyway.

I'd like to hear from someone who has tested these unit and know for sure how they operate..

..???..As I told in first reply, I have not investigated that kind of product before. One thing puzzles me : most units offered indicate they have a "power INVERTER".....and if this is factual, a gauge unit might not be able to work from a DC source: power inverters convert direct current source into alternative current....and if this is actually what is needed (but there I'm puzzled) then there is no way to make the gauges work from DC. ..

..somethng like this:
http://cgi.ebay.ca/EL-GLOW-GAUGES-INVERTER-TOYOTA-CAMRY-CELICA-COROLLA-MR2_W0QQitemZ250378268288
http://cgi.ebay.ca/12-VOLT-UNIVERSAL-2-COLOR-EL-GLOW-GAUGES-POWER-INVERTER_W0QQitemZ360131022358
might be the easiest way to go....

BUt....if LEDS are used in the gauges, as I though, they do work from a low voltage DC, around 2 volts...; modern technology power supplies take the DC12V, INVERT it to AC, process the AC through a step-down transformer (DC transformers do not exist) , then rectify the low voltage AC into low voltage DC..and there we are.
IN my suggested method, the excess voltage would be dissipated through the resistor instead, a much less elegant method (used for decades).....but functional anyway.

I'd like to hear from someone who has tested these unit and know for sure how they operate..

Sorry, I've been doing a lot of work on this, and found it odd as well that all other gauges would have inverters with them, yet my package came with none.

So, upon scowing the internet, I FINALLY found the company that released these gauges (no webpage, was basically the yellowpages) and decided to give them a call. It took several days to actually get in contact, in which I explained my situation.

So, these gauges DO come with an inverter, and it was not in the factory package I had received. So, the inverter was overnighted to the house and also a free set (a friend wanted one). They apologized greatly for the inconvenience and the inverter made everything make sense!

I ended up tapping into the dimmer power and grounding it on a screw that mounted a piece of the dash onto a support bar.

All works now, and I would apologize for the hair-pulling strain I put you through. Hell, I surely went through it as well, trying to figure out what to do. Greatly appreciated! I'll throw a picture up here if you'd like to see the final product after all the work you've done. ;P

...the hair-pulling strain I put you through.
..well thanks..I discovered something I was not even aware of...