My little mod

[CME-LFT]

Hi guys, well i got bored and have been wanting to install a volt guage for a while without knowing really where to put it. So over the weekend i went supercheap and bought one of those calibre volt guages.

I chose it cause it was the shortest 52mm volt guage i could find and space is kind of limited. 5.5cm clearance behind i think it was. You could probably fit two guages if you wanted. Just wanted to know what your thoughts where and if i did good?

I just used a bit of clear perspex, taped a centre line and sprayed over it with chrome paint, then wired it directly to the cigarette lighter. Theres a red t5 led behine that was used to light up the ashtray previously. In the light photo the silver i spprayed looks completly different to the original sportivo console silver, but in face to face it looks pretty close.

The guages seem of decent quality and the blue breaks up all the red with the console,dash and shiftlight while still keeping that red needle.

Anyways i would like to hear your thoughts so thanks all. :)

Edited May 25, 2009 by CME-LFT

[mrcrazyrolla]

Looking good! Thats the same place where my trd badge sits till the grill arrives.

-Azza

[azzman372]

I was just at SCA and i saw you can buy the same guages in red

[¥uri]

nice job on a neat install ... but i read you smoked, did you ever use that ashtray anyway?

also, a n00b question, what does the volt meter measure?? i know its a measurement of power for the battery/electrics, but why the need for a gauge?

[the_random_hero]

Couldn't have installed a more useful gauge in there? Not a bad install though, looks nice and neat + red lighting looks great.

[ELEGNT]

looks trick as mate, should have done an oil pressure tho, atleast that moves lol

[DJKOR]

How much was that gauge? I am searching for some gauges to replace my A/C dials like this guy, and those might send me in the right direction:

[Seano]

Very sexy, this could solve the ugly missing compartment door problem that I have

[ELEGNT]

How much was that gauge? I am searching for some gauges to replace my A/C dials like this guy, and those might send me in the right direction:

how are u going to change your fan force and temp etc lol

[DJKOR]

how are u going to change your fan force and temp etc lol

I'll figure something out.

[alpine_vs_sportivo]

what year sportivo is that??? we got a 05 and our a/c etc lights r green, where urs green originally???

[CME-LFT]

nice job on a neat install ... but i read you smoked, did you ever use that ashtray anyway?

also, a n00b question, what does the volt meter measure?? i know its a measurement of power for the battery/electrics, but why the need for a gauge?

No, the ashtray is still brand new, never been ashed in once, and the cig lighter has never been used either. It measures voltage, why the need, more for rice factor than anything else, and i was curious as to how much it moves with the subs and such going off.

looks trick as mate, should have done an oil pressure tho, atleast that moves lol

Volt guage moves, especially with the subs going off. I noticed that itll sit around 12-12.5 volts with car off, 13v with car idling and moves to 14 when driving, until subs kick in thens its swinging from 14-13 like crazy.

How much was that gauge? I am searching for some gauges to replace my A/C dials like this guy, and those might send me in the right direction:

I think i paid around $60-65 from SCA. Like i said, i searched ebay and even though theres a few fancy ones, i liked the quality of this one, and i msged a few ebay sellers for the depths of their units, and most of them where over 6-6.5 cm long which didnt give me the clearance i needed.

what year sportivo is that??? we got a 05 and our a/c etc lights r green, where urs green originally???

Yeh they where green its a 2004, i changed them to Red t-5 LEDs. Theres a guide here somewhere on the forum how to do it. pack of 5 leds cost like $10 at autobarn, theve lasted for a while now. I heard a few say that the cheap ones off ebay always blow.

I was thinking of installing another gauge but got a little excited and just wanted it done lol. And it was a simple install with the wiring. Most likely ill put another guage in later, just have to remeasure again as space is tight. My first install i drilled the gauge hole to the left so i could modify it later but realised when i went to put it in there's little tabs that stick out on the side of the ashtray space. If you look at yours youll understand what i mean.

Edited May 26, 2009 by CME-LFT

[¥uri]

nice job on a neat install ... but i read you smoked, did you ever use that ashtray anyway?

also, a n00b question, what does the volt meter measure?? i know its a measurement of power for the battery/electrics, but why the need for a gauge?

No, the ashtray is still brand new, never been ashed in once, and the cig lighter has never been used either. It measures voltage, why the need, more for rice factor than anything else, and i was curious as to how much it moves with the subs and such going off.

fair enuff... if only there was a gauge the same size that measures dB's, that'd be sweeet...

[mrcrazyrolla]

nice job on a neat install ... but i read you smoked, did you ever use that ashtray anyway?

also, a n00b question, what does the volt meter measure?? i know its a measurement of power for the battery/electrics, but why the need for a gauge?

No, the ashtray is still brand new, never been ashed in once, and the cig lighter has never been used either. It measures voltage, why the need, more for rice factor than anything else, and i was curious as to how much it moves with the subs and such going off.

fair enuff... if only there was a gauge the same size that measures dB's, that'd be sweeet...

^^^^ Best idea ever!!!!

[vvti16v]

was it hard to remove that flap or cover?

[CHA54]

would be hard to read that mounted down so low compared to mounting in the DIN slot along with a single-DIN headunit.

[CME-LFT]

would be hard to read that mounted down so low compared to mounting in the DIN slot along with a single-DIN headunit.

Not really, i found that i quite liked the position as its not a shift light which i really need to notice, plus the fact that its a fairly bright gauge i think it wouldbe distracting if it was any higher.

[supra25]

Guide on how to change from green to red console lighting:

http://www.corollatsport.net/CorollaTSport...er%20onsole.pdf

Info on how it was done:

http://www.corollatsport.net/CorollaTSport...sole_light.html

Alternate way of placing gauges:

Info on how it was done:

http://www.corollatsport.net/CorollaTSport...ges/Gauges.html